BETWEEN THE LINES

Fancy glasses clinking with reds and whites, AMEYA BUNDELLU brings to you the charm of Nashik beyond its vineyards

- AMEYA BUNDELLU

If YOU ARE LOOKING for an answer to Tuscany (yes literally!) in these troubled times then simply look no further and just look within. Our very locus for great wine, good food and a good life is a place just 167 kilometres from Mumbai. Would you believe that Nashik, an almost unsung city guarded by the awe-inspiring Sahyadri Range, that rises out of the mist now basks in international recognition among oenophiles. Especially, when after languishing for years it has become a sort of a scenic escape from the steamy heat or rather lack of a real winter in Mumbai.

Founded several eons ago, Nashik remains till date one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. I read somewhere once that Nashik was older than history, older than tradition, and older even than legend. One of the most underrated and possibly least visited cities in Maharashtra from a tourism standpoint, at the very heart of Nashik lies the Godavari River (the city’s lifeline), a spectacular and undiscovered mountain scenery. The hand-hewn cave temple complexes found here prove to be worth every bit of the effort. Housing a number of natural ecosystems within its land area, Nashik and its surrounding districts remain Maharashtra’s natural showpiece, a place of sparkling streams, lakes and a few rugged mountain peaks. And in between are the hiking trails.