Nashik in Maharashtra is home to one of the 12 important Jyotirlingas which is Trimbakeshwar. It is an important city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune. It has temples of great significance, lakes, vineyards, adventure laden forts, treks and many important rivers of India. Even a human being’s new journey to the other world begins from here once the ashes are poured in the Triveni Sangam(the confluence of Rivers Godavari, Varuni and Tharuni). It’s a complete city… Nashik.
Godavari river which is the 2nd longest river in India after the Ganges flows through the heart of this city. It is also called Dakshin Ganga _ Ganga of the South. You must be wondering “Nashik is in the west of India and the river located there is called Dakshin Ganga.?” So, well, the length of Godavari river is 1500 kms and it has a large drainage basin which covers parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
Nashik is a 5 hour drive from Mumbai and approximatley 166 kms. There is an inexhaustive list of place to be visited when one is in Nashik. The beauty of this place lies in the place itself and not the eyes of the beholder. Because everything that you see is Gold.
The road towards Nashik is a lovely drive with scenic views, ghats and climbs that take you to the cloud covered mountains.
We undertook this trip to visit Trimbakeshwar – a swayambhu. Towering high in the skies behind the temple is the Brahmagiri hills from where the Godavari river rises and creates it’s large basin. One can undertake a trek to the Brahmagiri hill too to witness the springing of Godavari and get an eagle’s eye view from there. Trimbakeshwar is the only Jyotirlinga which is housed in a depression/located below the ground. For devotees a large mirror is hung on the wall above the jyotirlinga which reflects the image and they receive the blessings. After this, we sat in the temple area with a view of the jyotirlinga in front of us and the shanti took over us. Nothing could, now, disturb this peace in our minds ever.
The Anjaneri hill trek is another exciting journey upwards. The trek is easy but the monsoons can create slippery zones which need to be taken good care of. Atop the hill is the temple of Hanumanji who lends his name to the hill.
The vineyards are the landmark of Nashik. Most of the vineyards in India are in Nashik. The climate of Nashik is perfect for grapes cultivation and Nashik is called as the “Wine capital of India”. The Sula Vineyards are the primary source of wine here but there are many other wineries such as Soma, York, Vallonne, Renaissance and many others. The wine tasting ceremony is something that youngsters relish at these wineries. The wine tasting and tour of the vineyard is a paid tour where children are not allowed. We visited the York winery as the resort where we stayed had tied up with this one for providing their patrons with free tours to the Vineyard.
Nashik has abundant places of interest for new visitors and the old ones keep coming back for more!!
