July 22, 2018

My TripAdvisor Review No.345: Sita Gumpha, Nashik.

Sita's Hideout During Exile.

Sita Gufa (or Gumpha) is a small cave in the Panchavati area of Nashik where Sita, Lord Rama’s wife is supposed to have hidden, to escape the clutches of the demon King Ravana. Lord Rama’s brother Laxman found the cave and planted 5 banyan trees around it to mark the area, hence the place is known as Panchvati (five trees). The trees are still standing, and are very close to the Sita Gumpha.

It is located in a very narrow lane, made more so by the huge banyan trees with their dangling auxiliary roots. There is also a huge crowd of tourists and pilgrims thronging around. We kept our slippers in our auto-rickshaw and joined the queue to enter the small cave through a very narrow staircase and passage way. We had to wait about an hour in the queue. Photography is not allowed inside.

Just opposite the cave is a museum known as the Sita Haran and Marich Vadh Museum. This museum was more interesting than the cave, and we had to pay a full rupee as entrance fee. Inside we got to see the story of how Sita was kidnapped by the demon king in the form of statues and larger than life models and murals. It is also the place where the demon Marich was killed.

It is best to visit the cave and museum early by around 9.30 am on a weekday to avoid the crowd and a long queue. There is very little parking space as it is in a crowded narrow street so we have to walk a bit. There are many small shops in the street that sell sweets, bangles, imitation jewellery, trinkets and devotional items.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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