Sahyadri Devrai — Pemgiri, Ahmednagar
A Sacred Grove Beneath a Legendary Banyan
At Pemgiri in Ahmednagar, where one of Maharashtra's oldest banyan trees has stood for centuries, Sahyadri Devrai is planting a forest worthy of its company. Indigenous saplings — chosen for this dry, hilly terrain — are taking root across land that has carried history but lost much of its green. Slowly, around the great old banyan, a new generation of trees is rising to keep its ancient spirit alive.
The Land and Its Story
Pemgiri is a place where land and legend grow together. The famous Pemgiri banyan — one of the largest and oldest in Maharashtra — has shaded saints, soldiers, and centuries of villagers, becoming a symbol of resilience itself. But the land around this giant has not been so fortunate.
Decades of grazing, farming pressure, and shrinking common lands have stripped much of the native forest that once stood beside it. Trees like khair, palas, hirda, behda, neem, and audumbar — built for Ahmednagar's dry climate — have grown rare in the open countryside. Sahyadri Devrai chose Pemgiri to honour what is already here, by planting back what has been lost. The Devrai is not just a forest; it is a tribute to a tree that has waited a long time for company.
- Land of the great banyan
- Heritage hill terrain
- Lost native cover
- Reviving forest legacy
Before & After
