Tapovan, Nashik

Tapovan is a wooded stretch along the Godavari in Nashik with temples, ashrams and meditation centres scattered along the riverbank. Its name joins the Sanskrit words tapas, penance or meditation, and vana, forest, and the area has long served as a retreat for sages and ascetics. Pilgrims visit it in large numbers for its Ramayana associations.

Tradition holds that Rama, Sita and Lakshmana spent part of their fourteen years of exile in this forest and that Rama meditated here; the nearby Panchavati, where he is said to have built his hut, is thought to have been part of the same forest. Another story tells of the sage Agastya meditating at Tapovan. Today the hills, trees and river make it a place for walks, birdwatching and photography, at its greenest during the monsoon.