After our wonderful day at Sula Vineyards, the next day we decided to cover some of the religious places for which Nasik is famous for. Unlike the previous day, we decided to head out early today since it was a Saturday and we knew the temples could get crowded. We left around 8am in the morning to Trimbakeshwar Shiva temple – which is also one of the 12 Jyotrilingas. You can read about details here. The drive to Trimbakeshwar is good and the roads are nice. Since we had a relatively early morning start, the weather outside was also cool and I enjoyed driving on that road. The temple is around 30 kms from where we were staying and it took us approx. 45 mins to reach the place. You are allowed to park in one of the streets inside the temple complex. There is also a parking area which is some distance away from the temple – but is walk able. We decided to park inside the temple complex. On reaching the temple, we were informed that you cannot take camera’s and mobile phones inside and taking pictures of the temple is not allowed. The temple is really beautiful with intricate art work done on the outside. I was a bit surprised that not a lot of people were present in the temple, which worked out well for us as we were able to pray in peace. The sad part was I couldn’t take pictures and I was really looking forward to taking pictures there. Behind the temple lane, there is a route to go Brahmagiri mountains – the origin of river Godavari. We wanted to trek there, but it was going to take approx. 4 hours to finish the trek and hence decided against it.
After visiting the temple, we decided to visit the Coin Museum which was en route to Nasik city. The coin museum is maintained by Indian Institute of Numismatic studies and was reasonably maintained. The collection that they had was also alright, I didn’t find it very good – but my wife did, so don’t know. It is worth visiting once though. The entrance fee is Rs. 10 per person and you can take pictures inside. The collection includes coins from 1st century BC until the latest currency issued by the Government of India. I was very surprised to know that each kingdom had their own currency and was wondering how or what was the exchange rate for those currencies in that period. Whether the one currency could be used in different kingdoms, if yes – how did it work. I am sure there must be some research on this – however, I have yet to come across it. We finished touring the museum in approx. 45 mins and then decided to head back to the city.
On our way to the city, we decided to make an impromptu trip to the Gangapur dam. The dam is located on way to Sula Vineyards and is very scenic. However, to visit the dam you need to take prior permission from the Chief Executive Engineer, P.W.D. Trimbak Road, Nashik. We didn’t have any permission and were just trying our luck. We found our destination after 30 mins of driving and found an open gate. I was hoping that probably the God’s have been kind to me today and I will get to see the dam without any permission. We walked through the gate and after a few meters heard someone calling us from behind. We walked back and the person asked to show the permission document. I said I don’t have any and I just want to go and see the place and take some pictures. He flat out refused saying that without permission you cannot enter inside. Apparently a couple of years ago, some students had committed suicide at the dam and since then you need to take permission to the visit the place. With a heavy heart, we turned around and started driving towards the city.
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