Nashik Tourism

"If you are not happy, if you are not peaceful, then steal some moments of happiness." Visit Nasik - the ancient city on the banks of the Godavari River. In the search of spirituality, you will come across interesting history and religious fervour. Located on the western edge of the Deccan peninsula, this holy city is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre with rich culture and tradition.

Significance

Look back to the 1st century - Nasik was home to Buddhist monks and a great centre of religion. This was the place where Lord Rama with his wife Sita and brother Laxman resided here for sometime during his 14 years of exile from the kingdom of Ayodhya. Known as Gulshanabad in the reign of the Mughals, Nasik came into limelight with its wine industry. This 'Wine Capital of India' is also dotted with temples, forts, wineries and several other industrial units.

Kumbh Mela

Known as the largest religious gathering on the earth, Kumbh Mela is organized at four holy sites of India – Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar. As the legend goes, when there was a fight between the Gods and demons to obtain 'Amrit' (the immortality syrup), a few drops fell on these four sites. Therefore, the Hindu devotees organize a fair in all the four cities after a duration of three years. This way, each city hosts the Kumbh Mela once in twelve years.

During the fair millions of devotees take holy dip in the river Godavari to clean their souls. As per the Hindu mythology, this activity leads to salvation. The state government makes all the arrangements for food, accommodation etc. Tourists can shop for various souvenirs in the small shops of the fair.

Sightseeing

Pandavleni Caves

Dating back to the 1st century, these caves are among the oldest in Maharashtra. Earlier the Buddhist monks used to practice for their religion here.

Panchavati

This pleasant and quite place is dotted with soothing greens all around. As the legend goes, this is the place where Lord Rama, Devi Sita and Laxman spent a few days during the 14 years of exile.

Sita Gumpha

This beautiful cave is located near the five Banyan trees in Panchavati. A narrow staircase leads to the interiors of the cave where one can spot idols of Shree Ram, Laxman and Sita. People believe that Devi Sita was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana from this place only.

Sundarnarayan Temple

This ancient temple was built in 1756 by Gangadhar Yashwant Chandrachud. Situated at the corner of Ahillyabai Holkar Bridge, the temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is frequented by a number of tourists from all over the world.

Modakeshwar Ganesh Temple

This temple has a very interesting legend associated with it. The idol here is believed to be self emerged and is known as 'Swaymbhu'. It was named after 'Modak', a special Maharastrian sweet made of coconut and jaggery, which is considered as the favourite of Lord Ganesha.

Excursions

People visiting Nasik can also plan short trips to Shirdi (holy town of Sai Baba), Kapaleshwar Mandir (dedicated to Lord Shiva) and Someshwar temple (dedicated to Mahadeva/Lord Shiva).

Coin Museum

Founded under the Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies in 1980, the Coin Museum is one of its kind in Asia. It displays a very rich collection of research and well-documented history of the Indian currency system.

Shopping

The wine capital of India is also famous for grapes . Apart from that, the bazaars are loaded with good quality bronze statues and beaded jewellery.