Panchvati and Around

According to Valmiki Ramayana, its Sage Agastya advised Lord Rama to proceed to Panchwati. It is from here the story of Ramayana took a decisive turn. This place was situated in Dandakaranya. In modern era , it is a place in Nashik. The word “Panchwati” means 5 banyan trees which are still present.

How i went

I hired a guide at Ram Ghat which charged Rs 100 to show important places of Panchvati. It included

1)Shri Sunder Narayan temple

Here Lord Vishnu regain His complexion from dark to fair.

2) Ram Ghaat

A very auspicious place where river Aruna,Varuna and Godavari meet. Donot forget to collect the holy water from here.Bathing here is a must do.

3) Godavri Temple- This is the temple which opens only once in 12 years at the time of kumbh mela and on Ganga Dusherra.Luckily when i visited there , the temple was open.I had a magnificent darshan of goddess Godavri.

4)Goreram Mandir

5) Kalaram Mandir

A rare temple around the world where all the deities along with Lord Hanuman is Black Stone. One may come across huge crowd here as this is one of the most famous temple of Nashik

6) Sita Gufa- A narrow cave where it is believe that Sita was abducted from Ravana. The entrance to the cave is too narrow.

7)Kapaleshwar Temple

Where Lord Shiva treated Nandiji as His Guru. It is situated just few meters away from the Ram ghaat.

I started the trip at 10.30 am and finished it by 12.15 pm.Except KalaRam temple and Sita Gufa each site could be covered quickly . It is worth to explore KalaRam temple. As far as Sita gufa is concern, if you are travelling with kids, its not advisable to enter the cave together as there are chances of stampede in case of power failure and the local authorities told us that there is frequent power cuts here. Opposite to Sita Gufa there is a museum. I was temped by its entrance fare which was just Re 1. But when i entered i found that I found that even Re 1 was too much to see that museum as it can be seen in 2 minutes with nothing to be seen :)

Last but not least do not forget to see the 5 Banyan trees just outside the Sita Gufa as these trees which formed the basis of the name of this region "Panchvati". If you have time , hire an auto from here to explore "Tapovan" region. They charge Rs 40 per person and in an hours time they could drop at the Ram ghat.