The wall of desolate bluish brown hills of Western Ghats overshadows the horizon misses the seemingly endless concrete jungle, petrochemical works and mosquito infested swamplands of Greater Mumbai. The Western Ghats form a series of huge steps that march from the narrow, humid coastal strip to the edge of the Deccan plateau in a vast, dry table land punctuated with ridges and plain dotted with scruffy villages and market town.

Northern Maharashtra’s main transport arteries, the NH-3 and Central Railway line, wind in tandem through this stark landscape, following an ancient trade route that once linked the western ports with the prosperous cities further north. Over the centuries, a number of pilgrimage sites sprang up to take advantage of the lucrative through traffic, and these form the principle points of interest in the region today.



The holy city of Nasik is handy place to break journeys to or from Mumbai. From Mumbai it takes almost four hours away by road. Amongst beautiful scenery, the town of Trimbak, 10 km west to the city, is the base point of half day trek to to the source of sacred river Godavari. However, most outside travelers head straight for Aurangabad, the place of famous rock cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora. Bibi-ka-Maqbara is the dramatic answer to Taj Mahal of Agra. Aurangabad although an industrial metropolis in Northern Maharashtra, the largest city compensate clamor by its architectural brilliance. Scattered around in ragged fringes, the decrepit gateways, fortifications, domes and minarets, rock cut Buddhist caves are remnants of ancient civilization.

The dramatic hilltop fort at Daulatabad, and the tiny tomb town at Rauza, 5km from Ellora, where the Emperor Aurangzeb was buried. From Aurangabad, a well- beaten track cuts through the middle of Madhya Pradesh, via Jalgaon towards Varanasi and Nepal. Alternatively, one could go across central India to Wardha and Nagpur, in the far northeastern corner of the state, the place is dotted with Gandhi Ashrams. Ramtek is another interesting place to see where a pristine temple complex make a pleasant pause on long cross- country hauls.