Weekend getaways from Nashik

Sahyadri lake district around Arthur Lake and the century-old Wilson Dam, with Randha and Umbrella Falls thundering July to September. Lakeside camps, Ratangad treks and some of the darkest star skies near Nashik.

Best time: September to February

Misty Western Ghats town under some of the Sahyadris' highest peaks, home to the huge Dhamma Giri Vipassana academy, Tringalwadi fort and Camel Valley views. Waterfalls roar in monsoon; winter is prime trekking.

Best time: July to February

Temple town at the foot of Brahmagiri hill, home to one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and the source of the Godavari. Pair the black-stone temple darshan with the Brahmagiri hike and Anjaneri, Hanuman's legendary birthplace.

Best time: October to February

Gujarat's only hill station, a lakeside resort on a Sahyadri plateau over the border. Boating, a ropeway to Sunset Point, Dang tribal culture and cool air year-round; the ghat road from Nashik is narrow but scenic.

Best time: March to November

One of India's busiest pilgrimage towns, built around Sai Baba's Samadhi Mandir, Dwarkamai and Chavadi. Pair a dawn darshan with a second-day run to Shani Shingnapur, the village famous for houses without doors.

Best time: October to February

UNESCO World Heritage rock-cut caves crowned by the monolithic Kailasa temple, with the Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Daulatabad fort and the Taj-like Bibi Ka Maqbara nearby. Best in the cool months; caves shut on Tuesdays.

Best time: November to February

Monsoon-famous mountain pass in the Western Ghats: cliff-hugging waterfalls, mist, migratory flamingos at Pimpalgaon Joga dam between July and September, and the Harishchandragad fort trek. Quiet and clear in winter.

Best time: July to March

Cliff-face shrine of the 18-armed Devi set among seven Sahyadri peaks, reached by 510 steps or a funicular. One of Maharashtra's three-and-a-half Shakti Peethas; electric in Navratri, lush and waterfall-lined in monsoon.

Best time: July to October

Maharashtra's highest peak at 1,646 m: a 13 km round-trip trek from Bari village with iron ladders on the steep pitches and a tiny Kalsubai temple on the summit. Post-monsoon and winter skies are clearest.

Best time: October to February

Former tribal princely capital in the Western Ghats, known for Warli painting, the pink-stone Jai Vilas Palace and the Dabhosa and Kal Mandavi waterfalls. Uncrowded and green, at its best from the rains through winter.

Best time: October to February