Day 1 – 1st October 2008
The plan was to start early morning and reach Pune by evening. But plans are just plans. Some last minute urgent work at office ensured that we don’t leave until 3:00 pm.
I am not going to drain this part. The journey till Pune was uneventful and we reached Pune at 3:00 am.
Road Condition
The roads are excellent except the Chitradurga – Haveri stretch. I am not sure if this stretch is facing some land disputes. No work was in progress as well. My advice to fellow bhpians would be to avoid traveling on this stretch after sunset. It is dangerous as incomplete work has resulted in many diversions and there are no proper sign boards. The traffic is moderate to high.
Day 2 – 2nd October 2008
We had checked in Hotel Radha on the Pune bypass (just before the Wakad flyover). The stay was comfortable and we got ready only at 2:00 pm. We had decided to have our lunch outside at a restaurant next to the hotel (around a kilometer). It is kind of a popular joint –
Sour Curry,but every time I eat at this restaurant, my distaste for the restaurant keeps increasing. It’s decent enough but for some reason I don’t enjoy eating food in this restaurant. Everyone else was happy with the food though.
It’s already 5 when we hit the NH50 to Nashik. Please remember I have 10 months old son with me. Everything takes more time than usual. We reached Nashik at around 9:00 pm. After taking our dinner at Nashik, we head towards Tryambakeshwar temple – our first destination. We reach Tryambakeshwar at around 10:30 pm.
Road Condition
The NH50 between Pune and Nashik was in good condition. It’s a two lane road. The traffic was moderate.
The road from Nashik to Tryambakeshwar was also in good condition. It’s also a two lane road and the traffic was sparse.
Search for the hotel
If you are traveling to Tryambakeshwar, finding a stay shouldn’t be difficult. At the cross road, just before the temple, there were many people (even at 11:00 pm) – auto wallahs, young guys on bikes, etc – who were more than eager to help you find a stay. Finding stay may not be that easy during the festivals though.
If anyone is to take my advice, stay at this dharmshala that is situated on the left hand side just before the main entry gate to the
temple town (some 500 meters before the temple entry). It’s cheap, organized and adequate for a short stay. Unfortunately I have forgotten the name of the dharmshala as well as the trust that runs it. May be the pictures below will help in identifying the place.
Day 3 – 3rd October 2008
At 5:00 am, the alarm scares the hell out of me; seems to be the ugliest ring tone. I don’t have an option but to wake up. And if waking up early was not enough, all the rooms of this dharmshala are such that only cold water is available in the attached rest rooms. For hot water there are couple of common taps on each floor. I rush with a bucket to one of the common taps. Aagh, there are 3 people already in the queue. And the water is flowing drop by drop by drop… Oh my God. Half an hour later, I have half bucket of moderately warm water. I return to the room. My son is to take bath first. I say okay. But if you keep the bucket engaged, there is no extra bucket. How will I bring more hot water?
So? Oh yeah, nothing…
All of us were ready at 7:30 am and left the dharmshala for darshan. I was warned by some well wishers that the temple is usually extremely crowded and queue for darshan would be frustratingly long. But to my surprise there were hardly 40-50 people. We spend some 2 hours in the temple. The temple in black stone with the blue sky and Brahmagiri on the background looks majestic. It was clean. Meditating for an hour or so inside the temple was a calming experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it. When not meditating, observing activities of devotees, pandits, and temple priests is quite intriguing as well.
Only a part of Tryambakeshwar temple is visible
The temple has a large compound. There were hoards of pigeons feeding on the grains scattered by the temple authorities. It was my son’s turn to have fun. He is quite amazed seeing so many pigeons up close. So far, he had only come across some pigeons and crows when I take him to terrace for the morning sun. He is uneasy in my lap now. He wants to get down. Okay. He quickly crawls towards the pigeons but the pigeons take a flight. The sound of so many wings fluttering and not been able to catch any of them makes my son look in disbelief. Disheartened, he crawls back towards me. The pigeons are back in a few seconds. My son makes a second attempt with the same result. The game continues for some time and he finally gives up.
We then decided to offer our prayers once again and take leave. It was time to have some breakfast and roam around in the market.
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We left Tryambakeshwar at 12:30 pm. Our next destination was Maheshwar, 350 kilometers from Tryambakeshwar.
Note: This post has fewer pictures. The camera was not allowed inside the temple and I missed taking pictures of the market and a few others. While visiting temple, it is advisable to leave everything (especially mobiles, cameras and leather products) in your hotel room or car. Otherwise you will have to take a locker to secure these belongings. To be continued…