Nashik

On 7th Aug 09, I, parul and Daksh set out for Nasik, my second trip. Next day morning after visiting trumkeshwar we arrived back at Nasik. We started our local sight seeing in an auto, total damage: INR 600.00. We first arrived at Pandav Leni which was roughly 08.00 k.m. from the city towards Mumbai highway. There are 2 mountains separated by the road and to the left was the Panduv Lena. At the base of the mountain was the Buddha auditorium (Pagoda kind structure) and inside the structure was a huge hall which was having Gautam Buddha’s statue in a sitting position. The place was quite and peace and even the slightest murmur were echoing like anything. Beside this monumental structure was a garden and we started our climb after passing through the garden. The climb was for roughly 20-25 minutes and the place was used in true sense by the college couples. At the summit there is an entrance fee of INR 5.00/ person. The caves are look like’s of Ajanta/Ellora, however of small stature. There were total 20-21 caves, however hardly 3-5 were worth visiting. There was just one eating place at the base and since we were hungry had no choice. We had dosa, uthappa and tea. Our next spot was Jain temple roughly 10 minutes further from this spot. The temple was stunningly situated beside the highway with mountains on all the sides. It was a Jain temple with the statue of Lord Mahavir weighing 10.00 tonnes /10 foot. The temple was amazing built with 2 more floors and the top floor was having lord’s statue in all the directions. The temple provided meals and the food is quite good as suggested by our rickshaw. We proceeded towards other side of Nasik- Chambharleni near Mashrul, roughly 85 km from the city towards Jain temple build on a mountain. The place was having a deserted look and at the base was dharmashala with bathing/staying facility. There were steps to be climbed and after a tiring journey it was quite exhausting. Parul and Daksh stayed in the auto and I decided to climb up the mountain and scaled the top in flat 10.00 minutes. The entire city could be seen from the top and there was temple of Lord Mahavir.

Key Takeways: Bargain hard, avoid night trains while returning from nashik.