AIR
Though there is an airport in Nasik, flights from here are currently not operational. The nearest operational airport is in Mumbai, 185 km away. Mumbai is well connected to all other metros and small cities by IA, Jet and Sahara. The international terminal at Sahar has flights coming in from all over the world. Airport: The international terminal Sahar and the domestic terminal Santa Cruz are 30 and 27 km respectively from Nariman Point (downtown Mumbai). There are regular shuttle buses between the two terminals (4 km). At Santa Cruz, Terminal 1A caters only to Indian Airlines and 1B caters to all private domestic airlines.

RAIL
The nearest railhead, Nasik Road (10 km from Nasik city), is well connected to most metros and smaller cities. The Howrah-Kurla Express and Howrah-Mumbai Mail link Nasik to Kolkata. The Punjab Mail and Dadar-Amritsar Mail link Delhi to Nasik Road.

ROAD
Nasik is well connected to both Mumbai and Pune by road. You can also travel to Shirdi, Aurangabad and other cities of Maharashtra. Buses ply to Mumbai and Pune every hour and tickets cost between Rs 75 and Rs 200 per head depending on the comfort levels offered by the bus. The City Bus Stand is approximately 10 minutes from the centre of the town. The journey from Nasik to Dadar Station, Mumbai takes approximately 4 hours. Hire a cab from Nasik to Mumbai or Pune if you want to choose comfort over expense.

By car: Take the Mumbai-Agra National Highway, the Nasik-Pune National Highway or the new Nasik-Aurangabad Highway, if you are driving down to Nasik.

Sunder Narayan Temple
Located across the Godavari River, on the western end of Victoria Bridge. Originally built in 1756, the temple houses 3-ft high idols of Lakshmi and Vishnu frequented by hordes of devotees.

Naro Sankara Mandir
The Marathas built this Shiva temple in early 18th century. During the battle of Vasai in 1739, the Indians acquired a fairly large church bell from the Portuguese and placed it here.

Kala Rama Mandir
Considered one of the holiest temples in the city, it was so called because of the jet black deities of Ram, Sita and Lakshman housed within it. Built in 1782, the temple also has an 83-ft high tower.

Pandulena Caves
Situated approximately 8 km from Nasik, these Hinayana Buddhist rock-cut caves were built by the Jain kings in the 1st century AD. Similar in appearance to the ones at Ajanta, there are 24 caves here. If you are prone to easy fatigue, just remember that the climb up to steep and takes a good 15 minutes.

Sita Gufa
An important landmark in Indian mythology, this gufa or cave is supposed to be the site from where Ravana abducted Sita and carried her off to Lanka. You have to crawl into the cave in order to catch a glimpse of the deities of Sita, Ram and Lakshman.

Tapovan
Panchvati or Tapovan was the place where Ram is supposed to have spent a large part of his exile. This was also the place where an enraged Lakshman cut off the nose of Ravana s sister Shrupnakha. Down the ages, many saints have practised penance at this spot which was originally part of the Dandakaranya forest.

Ramkund
The main pilgrimage site in Nasik, Ramkund by the Godavari River is the place where Sita and Ram used to bathe. The most interesting thing about the place is that bones dropped into this tank dissolve. The remains of several renowned people like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have been immersed here. This site is also known as the Asthi Vilaya Tirtha, or the Bone Immersion Tank.

Muktidham Temple
Located near the Nasik Road railway station, it is an architecturally modern temple. Milk-white marble has been used in the construction of this temple and its interiors depict over 18 chapters from the Bhagavad Gita.

Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies
Established in 1980, this museum is located in the Anjneri Hill region. It has a well-documented resource system and you can have a glimpse of the various currency systems that existed in India. What s more, it has an exhaustive archive of photographs of Indian coins!

Trimbak (30 km)
A climb up the Trimbak hill is akin to a trek. Opt for the 690 steps up the hill behind Trimbak instead, if you want to catch a glimpse of the source of the Godavari River. The Trimbakeswar Temple located here is one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Shiva. A record of people visiting it has been maintained and you may just be lucky to find your ancestors in the books!

Shirdi (90 km)
Shirdi is home to Sai Baba who has millions of devotees round the world. Visit Sai Baba s Samadhi Temple located here. This is where his body is enshrined and you can also see his personal memorabilia such as clothing that the baba used in his daily life. There are several other temples and Dwarkamai, a mosque where the baba resided for many years.