Panchavati, the land where Lord Ram spent of his 14-years vanvas(exile). This place is known in Ramayana for Sita Haran and many events that happened here. Panchavati is situated on the banks of river Godavari, the second largest river in India. It got its name from 5 Banyan Trees which is situated there.
Panchavati is not very far from Nasik which is a major city of Maharashtra. When you will enter Panchavati you will find that it is a place of lots of mandirs (temples). You can cover Panchavati all by walking only.
First there is Kalpeshwar Mandir, it is situated on the way to Ramkund. This is one of the few mandirs of shiva where Shivalinga is available but not Nandi. The story behind this is that, Shiva and Bhrama got in a huge fight in the result Shiva cuts one of the Brahma’s faces thereby sinning, this is known as Bhrama Hatya. Shiva realized his sin and he tried to do all that he could to rid himself from that sin. Nandi suggested shiva to take a dip in Godavari River. After this Shiva accepted Nandi as his guru and in this case Nandi has higher stature than Shiva, so he can’t be placed next to Shivalinga.
Then the next destination is Ramkund, it is said that Lord Ram used to take bathe here in the Godavari and that is why all the people come here to take bath here and some of them come here to dissolve ashes of their loved ones.
The next destination is Kala Ram Mandir, when you will enter this mandir you will feel twice the happiness by just walking in that mandir. It is believed that Lord Ram built his hut right at this place. It is named Kala Ram Mandir because the sages of this region were constantly attacked by Rakshash so to kill them Lord Ram came into his Kala avatar.
Now there is Sita Gufa, Devi Sita was a Shiva devotee and she used to pray to him in those caves. It also has a make-up room where Devi Sita used to spend most of his time. Those 5 Banyan Trees from which Panchavati got its name are also situated next to Sita Gufa. It is said that Sita Gufa is the place from where Raavan kidnapped Sita.
Connectivity:-
The nearest airport is Nashik Ozar Airport, which is around 20km away.
Nearest Railway Station is Nashik Railway Station, which is 10 km away.
And Nashik is well connected by roads from every major city.
There will be no problem in finding accommodation in and around Panchavati and Nashik.
When I reached Panchavati I find it very astonishing to come to such a place that plays such an important part in our culture. I find all the temples very interesting and the story behind that temples. But there is something that upsets me a traveler, as a human being and as a religious person because of the polluting of that place. We as a traveler finds it very difficult to explore the town in such a condition
which is clean and in good condition to travel, but Panchavati is so polluted because of the peoples doing pooja on the banks of Godavari which is polluting the river very much and the garbage is lying everywhere which is bad signs.
If you are a religious person then you have to visit Panchavati because of its importance in Ramayana and in Hindu Religion.