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Pilgrims queueing at the entrance to Sita Gufa in Panchavati, Nashik, beside a sacred banyan tree
Sita Gufa, Panchavati. Photo: Omkarwalimbewikitakesnasik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Simhastha · Places

Sita Gufa during the Nashik Kumbh 2027

KumbhMela.info Editorial TeamChecked on Fri 16 Oct 2026

Sita Gufa is a small cave shrine in Panchavati, Nashik, a short walk from the Kalaram temple. According to tradition, Sita stayed in this cave, and it was from here that Ravana carried her away.

EvergreenChecked on Fri 16 Oct 2026

Place facts are from Maharashtra Tourism, the Ministry of Tourism's Incredible India site, the Nashik district and the 1883 Bombay Gazetteer. The Ramkal Path project is a proposal reported by PTI. No official source we found gives opening hours or entry rules, and arrangements for 2027 are not announced.

Gufa, also written gumpha, means cave. Sita Gufa is a place of darshan, not a Simhastha bathing centre.

This page covers Sita Gufa during the Nashik Kumbh 2027. Its history, darshan timings and year-round visitor details are on the Sita Gufa page on Tirth.com.

Sita Gufa at a glance

  • Where

    Panchavati, Nashik, a short walk from the Kalaram temple, beside the old banyan trees of Panchavati.1,2

  • Known for

    By tradition, the cave where Sita stayed and from where Ravana carried her away.3,1

  • Daily ritual

    Not published yet. No official source gives opening hours.

  • Steps and access

    Not published yet.

  • Kumbh 2027 status

    Not a bathing centre; the bath in Nashik is at Ramkund. Opening hours and entry on Amrit Snan days are not announced.4

On a Kumbh day

  • There is no Kumbh bath at Sita Gufa; Ramkund has the Amrit Snans on Monday 2 August, Tuesday 31 August and Saturday 11 September 2027.
  • The proposed Ramkal Path names Seeta Gumpha among the places it is meant to present, PTI reported in November 2025. A proposal is not a finished work.
Sources for these facts (4)
  1. Department of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra: Kalaram (temple architecture, festivals and access)
  2. Nashik District, Government of Maharashtra: Panchvati
  3. Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India: Panchvati
  4. Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority, Office of the Divisional Commissioner, Nashik, Government of Maharashtra: Kumbh Mela Plan (First Edition) · Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027 (2026)

Sita Gufa in tradition

According to tradition, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana lived at Panchavati during their exile. Sita Gufa is believed to be the cave where Sita stayed when Rama and Lakshmana were away, and the place from where Ravana carried her off, the Ministry of Tourism’s Incredible India site and Maharashtra Tourism note.

The 1883 Bombay Gazetteer records the same story: that Rama hid Sita in this cave when he had to leave her, and that Ravana, disguised as a religious beggar, took her from here.

These are matters of faith and memory. They are not findings of archaeology.

What you do here

Darshan in the cave

A small cave with a dimly lit sanctum that holds idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, Maharashtra Tourism says.1

The five banyans

Close to the Kalaram temple stand very old banyan trees, believed to have sprung from the five banyans that gave Panchavati its name, the Nashik district says.2

Sources for these cards (2)
  1. Department of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra: Kalaram (temple architecture, festivals and access)
  2. Nashik District, Government of Maharashtra: Panchvati

Inside the cave

Maharashtra Tourism describes Sita Gufa as a small cave with a dimly lit sanctum that holds idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana.

In 1883, the Gazetteer described a front room hidden behind a rest-house, and inner rooms reached by a short flight of steps. A shrine held images of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita in a niche, and beyond it, through a narrow opening, was a small shrine of Mahadev (Shiva) with a linga. The cave may have been altered since then, so the description may not match what you see today.

The five banyans of Panchavati

The Nashik district says that close to the Kalaram temple stand some very old, tall banyan trees, believed to have sprung from the five banyans that gave Panchavati its name, and that this is where Sita Gufa is. Pancha means five and vati means banyan.

The 1883 Gazetteer placed the cave north-east of the Kalaram temple, beside these trees. See our pages on Panchavati and the Kalaram temple.

Sita Gufa and the Simhastha

There is no Kumbh bath at Sita Gufa. The Simhastha bathing in Nashik is at Ramkund, on Monday 2 August, Tuesday 31 August and Saturday 11 September 2027, according to the Kumbh Mela Authority’s plan of 15 June 2026. Amrit Snan days usually draw the most pilgrims; follow police and mela instructions on the day.

The proposed Ramkal Path project, about ₹99.14 crore, names Seeta Gumpha among the places it is meant to present, along with Ramkund and the Kalaram temple, PTI reported in November 2025. It includes renovation and conservation of structures. A proposal is not a finished work.

  • Not announced: opening hours and entry on Amrit Snan days
  • Not announced: whether the Ramkal Path work will change the approach to the cave
  • Not announced: road closures and walking routes in Panchavati

Where it is

Panchavati: Ramkund and the temples near itGodavari12345500 mN
Panchavati: Ramkund and the temples near it
  1. 1RamkundGhat
  2. 2Kalaram TempleTemple
  3. 3Sita GufaTemple · This page
  4. 4Kapaleshwar Mahadev TempleTemple
  5. 5Sundar Narayan TempleTemple

A guide to where places are, not a route plan. During the mela, roads and ghats open and close by the official plan; follow police and mela directions.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Some temple locations from Wikidata (CC0). openstreetmap.org/copyright

Nearby

The black stone Kalaram Temple in Panchavati, Nashik, under a clear blue skyKalaram templeAbout 100 m awayThe carved stone shikhara of the Naroshankar Temple in Nashik, in warm lightNaroshankar templeAbout 400 m awayThe Godavari at Gandhi Talav in Nashik, with ghats, temples and houses along the far bankNashik's ghatsAbout 400 m awayThe Godavari ghats at Panchavati, Nashik, with riverside temples and pilgrims at the waterPanchavatiAbout 400 m away

All ghats and placesWhere to stay nearby

Distances are in a straight line between map points, not walking routes.

Where next

How to reachTrains, buses, roads and the last stretch
Where to stayAreas, camps and what to check
First visitA simple order for getting ready
Ghats and placesWhere the bathing happens

Sources

6 sources · checked 16 Oct 2026
  1. Kalaram (temple architecture, festivals and access) · Department of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra ·
  2. Panchvati · Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India ·
  3. Panchvati · Nashik District, Government of Maharashtra ·
  4. Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Volume XVI: Nasik (1883) · Government of Bombay, Government Central Press (compiled under James M. Campbell); scan by Cornell University Library on the Internet Archive ·
  5. Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh: Fadnavis lays foundation stone of projects costing Rs 6k cr · Press Trust of India (via The Week) ·
  6. Kumbh Mela Plan (First Edition): Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027 · Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority, Office of the Divisional Commissioner, Nashik, Government of Maharashtra ·