Things To Do In Nashik

Nashik is a city in the northwest region of Maharashtra State in India about 3-and-a-half hour drive from Mumbai on a high way. It is known as a wine capital of India. Nashik may not be as well known as some other cities in the Maharashtra State, but it feels like the city is gaining more popularity thanks to the wineries. The drive to Nashik from Mumbai was pleasant and easy. I highly recommend a trip with a group of family friends to make the trip more fun especially for kids. It is so much easier to drive to another city with other family friends for a short vacation than to fly. We have heard from our friends who made a trip before us how nice Nashik was, so I have always been curious and was excited when we were asked to join a family trip by our good friends. They organized our trip, found a lodging and planned our schedules during our stay in Nashik, which made it really easy for us to travel. The best part was that the kids had the best time together.

Pandavleni Caves

Pandavleni Caves are Hinayana Buddhist caves which were carved out from the 4th century BC till the 12 century AD. It was very hot outside when we were at the caves, but inside the caves felt as if the AC was on. There are 24 caves and the carvings on each cave were very interesting and beautiful.

Go Kart
Zonkers Adventure Park

Zonkers Adventure Park
Gangapur-Savargaon Rd
Gangavhare, Maharashtra 422222

TEL: 09890554880

Winery Visit

There are many wineries in Nashik. We went to the York Winery which was recommended and arranged by our friends. We first experienced a tour of the winery followed by wine tasting upstairs. Then we went downstairs to have a dinner. It was a great fun and we enjoyed the lovely company which accompanied the tasty Indian dinner we marveled at with some wine. The whole meal was fantastic and so inexpensive.

The restaurant tables were outside on a patio, but it was very pleasant. In Nashik it gets very cool in the morning and evening even in the hot season. Since the children finished their dinner early, they played hide and seek and simply rolled around on the grass in front of the restaurant in a cool evening breeze which they don’t get to do in Mumbai. The parents fully indulged in the relaxing dining experience at the York Winery while children played. When we looked up, we saw the grape fields, lake and mountains in the warm sunset. We forgot where we were for a moment.

My husband and I looked at each other and said we should have done this type of outings more often during our stay in Mumbai.

York Winery

York Winery

Gat no. 15/2,
Gangavarhe Village,
Gangapur-Savargaon Road,
Nasik, Maharashtra 422222
India

TEL: +91 253-2230700
E-MAIL: mail@yorkwinery.com

Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple

Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple is a black stone Hindu temple in the town called Trimbak which is on the way to Mumbai from Nashik. Since the visitors to the temple were not allowed to bring in a camera or any belongings (our purses), the men of our group, our husbands, kept our shoes and purses and waited outside while the women and children went into the temple. It was too bad that I could not take any photos of inside of the temple. We had to wait for a long time to see the main hall of the temple in a long line. It was a long wait and the children were warm and tired. I felt a bit claustrophobic as well. Before we finished the end of the hallway tour, we decided to step out and meet with the dads. It was too bad as we were only a few minutes away from what everyone lined up to see. We have no idea what it was. However, I must say that the street that leads to the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple from where we parked was very interesting. To me seeing that made the trip to the temple worth the visit.

Ramkund

We did not get to visit Ramkund during our visit in Nashik unfortunately, but it seems that for Hindus it is one of the most popular and famous places to pay a visit in Nashik as Ramkund is a holy place for them. River Godavari flows through Nashik and there is an area where the river flows in the city center. The area is called Panchavati which literally means five banyan trees. There is a religious meaning to Panchavati with several temples and it is a pilgrimage site. Ramkund is considered the most important part in Panchavati.

Viewing Sunset

The sunset that I saw on our way to Nashik on a small road we took was stunning. My photography did not do justice to the beauty of the twilight that we witnessed. We took a small minor highway off of a main high way by accident. Seeing on the map, I believe that we passed by the Upper Vaitarna Reservoir on the way to our lodging. If I am not mistaken, we took Ghoti Vaitarna Road which became Ghoti Trimbak Road. The roads were small and windy which made our children in the car become car sick. In fact, my son in the end threw up. However, the landscape and the sunset you could see on the road was breathtaking.

Activity Map of Nashik

The weekend trip to Nashik became one of the most memorable trips we made in India thanks to our friends. If you live in Mumbai, I recommend a weekend get away with friends to Nashik.

Previously I have also enjoyed weekend trips in Pune and Alibaug. In Alibaug I have stayed in Firefly and Ccaza Ccomodore. They both would be a fun place to stay with friends. I hope you will have a lovely weekend!