April 2, 2023, was the day when we suddenly planned to en route and explore Nashik city as it was a long weekend, and wanted to spend some more time with my family as I was migrating to Canada for my higher studies.
Nashik is an ancient city located in Maharashtra which is the most cultural and historic destination. It is known as the Wine capital of India. It is situated on the enchanted banks of the Godavari River and is the 4th largest city in Maharashtra.
Places to visit in Nashik for 2 Days
- Shirdi – Holy place
- Kalaram/Goraram Temple – Ideal for a Pilgrimage Site
- Panchavati – The Holy Land
- Saptashrungi Temple – Ideal for trekking
- Sita Gufa – A Cave temple
- Ram Kund – Spiritual History
- Sula Vineyards – Wine and picnic spot
Hotel Triton in Nashik
We have taken 2 rooms for a 2 Day stay in Nashik. The hotel rooms were clean and tidy and even the staff was polite. There was a buffet for breakfast, afternoon dinner, and evening lunch. Their main speciality was tomato soup which was very scrumptious and delicious. It is an affordable restaurant for a 1-2 day staycation.
Shirdi – Holy Place
Shirdi is a well-known destination place for tourists as everyone knows it, because of Lord Sai Baba. He is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva who preached goodness and taught the art of living. Saibaba’s teachings have a greater impact on every generation and more number of his disciples is growing day by day. Shirdi temple was built around 1922 and is one of the popular pilgrimage sites to visit among tourists.
If you do not want to stand for a long time try reaching there in the early morning. We commenced at 6 a.m., yet we had to face a long queue for hours. The temple is open throughout the year for his devotees and there are different timelines for visiting. Although there are different options for viewing the deity, like VIP darshan, and Kakad Aarti Darshan, Samadhi Mandir darshan. Photography is not allowed inside the temple as each of the temple members is going to be at a certain distance to maintain the crowd.
Peak time of Shirdi festivals
Ram Navami is one of the important festivals that a large flock of crowd celebrates with great enthusiasm and devotion at Shirdi Saibaba temple. People start their day at midnight by standing for hours for praying and viewing the deity. The disciples beautifully decorated the whole temple with flowers and lights and performed several pooja and Aarti during that time.
Around October for Dussehra large number of devotees come together to celebrate this festival keenly and various religious activities are carried out for the people. At that time, devotees are provided with meals as a Prasad/ Bhog during these special festives.
Kalaram/Goraram temple – Ideal for Piligrimage
We visited Panchavati to see all the serene beauty and culture of our country. So, I took a visit to Sita Gufa, Kalaram/Goram temple, Ramkund. All of them are within the same lane. Kalaram/ Goraram temple is dedicated to Lord Ram and the idols of Shri Ram, Laxman, and Sita are black-stoned, so the temple has the name of Kalaram.
Goraram temple name is given because in that temple the idols of Shri Ram are white-stoned and it is a very small temple to visit.
Outside the porch and the main entrance, there is one Lord Ganesha Idol and Lord Vithal idol. Sita Gufa is one of the most exciting temples I have ever seen. It is a very complex cave as one has to crawl down the cave. Everyone believes during the exile of Lord Ram and Sita they used to worship Lord Shiva and Shivlanga was also present inside the cave. Photography is not allowed inside the cave.
It was so inspiring to see the spirit of aged people crawling down such a complex cave, due to their belief in Lord Rama and Sita. But, people with Asthma and heart diseases do not have entry inside the premises.
Sula Vineyards – Last stop to Explore in Nashik
Sula Vineyards is heaven for wine lovers. It is spread across 30 Acre with different attractions like Wine tasting rooms, souvenir shops, vineyards, restaurants. You can purchase the wine tour ticket near the entrance where they make groups of 15-20 people and explain the process of the winery from harvesting its seed to making wine in an oak barrel.
This tour takes about an hour and timings are from 11.30 am to 7.30 pm. For people coming from distant places, they do have a stay option. Most people visit for a day trip which costs around Rs 1000/- during the weekends, however, you can redeem it by purchasing food or by booking a wine tour. On Weekdays they will charge you Rs 600/-. Redemption is only in the tasting room while purchasing wine, in restaurants, or in stomping activities.
Wine Tour
The wine Tour is very exciting as it lets you know the process of fermenting, their aging process, with which food it can be paired, and its benefits. They take you towards the winery produce where they will explain in detail the process of making all different types of wines They have different sections for Red Wines, Dessert Wines, and Sparkling Wines.
Last comes the tasting of wine, they serve all three types of wine with the cracker so that if any non-drinker is trying it for the first time, they can easily bear it. My personal favorites were Sparkling wine and Red Wine i.e. Brut Tropical and Rasa Syrah.
The server gave us detailed information about its aromas, temperature details, the percentage of alcohol, and the technique for handling the glass and swirling it before drinking.
It was a beautiful experience to learn about the vineyards. Lastly, we went to the restaurant and we tried a Mushroom creamy garlic Pizza with red wine and Rissoto. It was a very delicious lunch and I had a leisure time with my family.
I hope you have cherished my blog and would love to hear about your experience as well. Do let me know in the comments and what other things you have explored.