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Nasik

Pop: 790,000 Area Code: 0253

Nasik is an important holy city located about five hours northeast of Mumbai (187km). Lord Rama stayed here for some time during his exile, and Ravana carried off Sita from this place. Nasik is on the banks of the holy Godavari River, which flows to the Bay of Bengal.

Laksman, Rama’s younger brother, cut off Surpanakha’s nose here. (Surpanakha is Ravana’s younger sister). It was this event that gave this place its name. Kumbha-mela takes place here every twelve years.

Nasik is a fairly large city, although it does not appear to be. Few foreign tourists come here, and it is a relatively hassle-free place. Coming from Mumbai, you can easily stop here on the way to the Ellora and Ajanta Caves or while traveling by train between Delhi and Mumbai.

Information
The Maharashtra Tourism Office (70059) is near the golf club on Old Agra Rd.

You can change money at the State Bank of India, on Swami Vivekananda Rd, by the City bus stand.

Lifeline Hospital (578-418) is one of the best in town.

Nasik Darshan Tour
There is a daily “Darshan Tour” (7.30 am to 5 pm, Rs 40), which is a good way to see some of the sites in the area. The tour takes all day, and visits the Pandava Lena caves, Sita Gupha, Kala Rama Mandir, Tapovan, Trimbakeswara Temple, and other sites. It is a good value. You find the bus by asking for the “Darshan Tour” bus. You should book this tour at the City Bus Stand in advance, as it is quite popular. The counter to book your ticket is to your right as you enter the station.

Ram Kund Area
This interesting area by the Godavari River is the main pilgrimage site in Nasik. It is easy to spend a few hours wandering around this area. Ram-kund is the place where Rama and Sita used to bathe, so this tank is considered especially sacred. Lord Rama is said to have performed his father’s funeral rites in this kund. It is also known as Asthi Vilaya Tirtha (Bone Immersion Tank), because bones dropped in this water dissolve. In recent years the following people’s bones were dropped in the Asthi Vilaya Tirtha after they had died: Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv Gandhi, and Dr Rajendra Prasad. A concrete viewing tower surrounds it.

The Sundara Narayana Temple, built in 1756, is architecturally interesting. It contains 1m (3 ft) tall Vishnu and Lakshmi Deities. This temple is across the river from Ram Kund by the bridge.

The Naro Sankara Mandir is a Siva temple built by the Marathas in the 18th century. It is also known as the Rameswara Mandir. It has an enormous church bell which was taken from the Portuguese at the battle of Vasai (Bassein) in 1739.

Near Ram Kund is the 600-year-old Kapileswara Temple, “God of the Skull,” dedicated to Lord Siva. It is up fifty steps.

Nasik Kumbha-mela
Kumbha-mela is held in Nasik every twelve years. It also takes place at Allahabad, Haridwar, and Ujjain. This is one of the places where the drops of nectar fell when the demigods and demons fought during the churning of the Milk Ocean.
It is said that if one takes bath in the Godavari River while the nectar is falling, one accumulates merit equal to bathing in the Ganges for 60,000 years. About 3.5 million people attended the 1991 mela. The next Kumbha-mela will be held in August-September, 2003.

Sita Gumpha & Kala Rama Temple
Sita Gupha is said to be the place where Ravana came to abduct Sita. It is a small cave by the Kala Rama Temple. To see the Deities of Sita, Rama, and Laksman, visitors must crawl into the cave entrance.

Nearby the Kala (Black) Rama Temple (1782) has jet-black Deities of Sita, Rama, and Laksman. The tower over the temple is 25m (83 ft) high. There is no restriction on who is permitted into the temple.

Tapovan
It is said that at Tapovan, Laksman cut off the nose of Ravana’s sister, Surpanakha. Rama lived here during his exile. Great sages and rishis used to practice austerities at this place, which was then part of the Dandakaranya forest. It is fairly close to Sita Gupha.

Pandava Lena Caves
These Hinayana Buddhist rock-cut monasteries and temples, built in the 1st century AD, are located 10km from Nasik on the road to Mumbai. They are similar to the Ajanta Caves. There are twenty-four Buddhist caves, the most interesting being numbers 3, 8, and 15.

The most straightforward way to get to the caves is by auto-rickshaw or the Nasik Darshan tour bus. There are infrequent and crowded buses that pass the caves. It is a steep, ten-minute walk to the caves, and some people find the climb too difficult.

Where to Stay—Central Bus Stand
Most of the hotels in town are in the middle level, so it is not easy to find a decent budget place. The budget places are by the Central bus stand and fill up early, and they are more expensive than average.
Raj Mahal Lodge (572-880; fax 571-096), Sharampur Rd, has rooms with hot water and TV for Rs 225/300 up to Rs 450/500. It fills up early. It is about the best value of all the budget places.
Padma (576-837), Sharampur Rd, opposite the Central bus stand, is clean and has rooms with hot water for Rs 300/400.
Basera (575-616), Shivaji Rd, is a good value. It has rooms with bath and hot water for Rs 300/400 and with A/C for Rs 450/500.
Holiday Plaza (573-521) is a popular place with Indian businessmen. It has rooms for Rs 450/600 and Rs 650/750 with A/C. It has a vegetarian restaurant.
Hotel Midtown has small singles with common bath for Rs 275 and good clean doubles for Rs 400.
Hotel Samrat (578-211; fax 581-246), Old Agra Rd, is a good, small, centrally located place. Rooms with TV and hot water go for Rs 450/600 and Rs 700/750 with A/C. I would recommend it, but it is slightly overpriced.
Hotel Panchavati Yatri (571-273; fax 572-293), just behind the Hotel Panchavati, has rooms with bath for Rs 350/500 and Rs 600/700 with A/C. It is an older version of the hotel in front of it, and at this price is recommended.
The two-star Hotel Panchavati (575-771; fax 571-823), 430 Vakilwadi, has A/C rooms for Rs 800/1100 and other rooms for Rs 650/800. It is one of the best places in town.

Where to Stay—Other Places
Hotel Krishna, near the Ahilyabai Holkar Bridge, by Ram Kund, is a nice place with hot water for Rs 300/450.
Greenview (572-231; fax 579-754), 1363 Trimbaka Road, is a modern place with rooms for Rs 650 /700 and Rs 900 /1000 with A/C. It has a nice garden.
Hotel Dwaraka Tourist (594-241; fax 593-028) Deolali Naka, is a Western-style hotel with rooms for 350/500 and with A/C for Rs 600.
VIP, on Old Agra Road, has modern rooms for Rs 400/500 and Rs 600 with A/C.
Hotel Sachin, on the Mumbai-Agra highway 3km outside of Nasik, is a good place but is inconveniently located.
Hotel Siddharth (554-288), on the Nasik-Pune Road by the airport, is a good place. The good-sized, well-maintained rooms are Rs 350/450 and Rs 450/550 with A/C.
The two-star Wasan’s Hotel (577-881; fax 594-202), Old Agra Rd, is a good place with rooms for Rs 600/800 and Rs 800/1000 with A/C.

Where to Eat
Pangat, in the Hotel Panchavati, Vakil Wadi, is a good vegetarian restaurant with reasonable prices.
Suruchi, beneath the Basera, Sivaji Rd, serves good South Indian and snacks.
Hotel Holiday Plaza, Shivaji Rd, Shalimar Chowk, has a vegetarian restaurant.
Centre Point Restaurant, on the main road near Hotel Panchavati, is a good, medium-priced place, which serves good macaroni and cheese and vegetable biryani. Recommended, but it is not cheap.
The best place in town is the Woodlands Restaurant, across the road from the Hotel Siddharth on the Nasik-Pune Rd. It serves excellent South Indian meals and thalis. The service is good, and it is reasonably priced.

Travel
Air The nearest airport is in Mumbai, 182km away.

Train The railway station is at Nasik Road (8km southeast of town). It is on both the main Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Calcutta line of the Central Railway. Train tickets can be booked at the city-booking counter off MG Road (Mon to Fri 10 am to 5 pm).

There are regular trains to Mumbai (twelve daily, 5 hr). The Panchavati Express departs at about 7.20 am (4 hr). It is best to reserve this train in advance. The Punjab Mail #2137 (10.30 pm) is the best train to Delhi (21 hr) and Agra (17½ hours). There are also trains to Bhopal, Calcutta, and Varanasi. Aurangabad Tapovan Exp #7617 (10.07 am, 5 hr); Bhopal Punjab Mail #2137 (11.10 pm, 10 hr).

Bus Most buses depart from the City bus stand in the center of town close to the hotels and restaurants. There are regular buses to Pune (5 hr, 210km) and Aurangabad (5 hr).

You get buses to Mumbai at the Mahamarga Bus Stand, a ten-minute auto-rickshaw ride from the center of town. There are four luxury buses a day to Mumbai (4 hr to Dadar Station). Tickets for these buses must be booked in advance at the reservation counter of the City bus stand.

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