Introduction
Nashik is a city in Maharashtra, India. Nashik is located in the northwest of Maharashtra, 180 km from Mumbai and 202 km from Pune. Nashik is the administrative headquarters of Nashik district and Nashik Division. Nashik, which has been referred to as the "Wine Capital of India", is located in the Western Ghats, on the western edge of the Deccan peninsula on the banks of the Godavari. It is claimed to be the fastest growing city in Maharashtra. Nashik has prospered the most in the past 20 years.

In addition to supplying the name to the famed Nassak Diamond, the city is known for its picturesque surroundings and pleasant climate. The Godavari River flows through Nashik from its source, which lies to the southwest of the city, in Trimbakeshwar . Nashik Urban Agglomeration (Nashik UA) has a (projected year 2009) population of 1,995,860 and a total area of 264.23 km² which makes it the fourth largest urban area in Maharashtra in terms of population. Nashik is the third most industrialized city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune .

History
Hindu religion has it that Lord Rama, the King of Ayodhya, made Nashik his home during his 14 years in exile. At the same place Lord Laxman, by the blessing of Lord Rama, cut off the nose of Surpanakha and thus this place was named as "Nasik"(From Sanskrit word 'Nasika'). Several other references to the Ramayan era can be found in Nashik, which includes the Sita Gumpha caves, from where Sita, Lord Rama's wife, was abducted by Ravana. Nashik in 150 BC was believed to be the country's largest marketplace.

The city got its present name in 1818 when the Peshwas got control of the city. The Peshwa rule however, did not last long and the British captured Nashik in the very same year. In 1840, one of the first modern libraries of Maharashtra (then, the Presidency of Bombay) was founded at Nashik.

Some of the major events in history of Nashik in the 1860s are-

1862 : Nashik Road railway station was built.
1864 : Nashik Municipality formed
1869 : Nashik district formed.

Geography
Nashik is located in northern Maharashtra at 600m (1 968 ft) from the mean sea level.
The river Godavari originates from Trimbakeshwar (24 km from Nashik) and flows through various parts of the city. The river forms the northern boundary of the city in some areas and then flows through the old residential settlement in the city.
Nashik lies on western edge of the Deccan Plateau which is a volcanic formation. The soil here is primarily black which is favorable for agriculture. Prashant Koli, India's renowned Agricultural Scientist said;" It's the best in North Maharashtra Region due to its iconoelasticity" The total land area of the city (Municipal Limits) is about 259.13 km2 which makes it the third largest urban area of Maharashtra after Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Urban Region (together as Second).

Climate
Nashik has a mild climate for most of the year apart from the hot summers which last from March to mid-June. The city has a semi-arid climate under the Koppen climate classification. The period from June to September is the (South West) Monsoon Season, which sees about 620 mm (25 inches) of rain. The city experiences a mild, dry winter from November to February, with warm days and cool nights, although occasional cold waves can dip temperatures. The maximum temperature ever recorded in the city was 44.8 °C (108.3 °F) on 12 May 1960 in Nashik. The lowest temperature recorded was 0.6 °C (33.1 °F) on 7 January 1945 in Nashik.

Administration
Nashik is the headquarter of Nashik District and is also the headquarter of Nashik Revenue Division of Maharashtra. The city is administered by the Nashik Municipal Corporation which came into existence in 1982 by combining Nashik Municipality and surrounding civic bodies e.g. Nashik Road Municipality. A planned area was introduced in Nashik which was designed and executed by CIDCO which is now administered by the Nashik Municipal Corporation.

Deolali, which is also a part of the Nashik urban agglomeration, has a separate civic body called the Deolali Cantonment Board.

Cityscape
The older quarters of the city are peculiar to many similar cities of Maharashtra such as Pune, Satara and Kolhapur. It is characterized by the wadas narrow, shaded, winding streets, peculiar projections onto the street, streets swelling into a chowk[disambiguation needed] (public courtyard) and the vibrant and active bazaar (market) streets leading towards the river (in many cases). Streets are identified by the goods they sell and still attract large number of buyers from the city and more so from adjoining towns and villages.

Education
Nashik has been the educational hub of North Maharashtra. The city has two state-run universities, the Yashawatrao Chavhan Maharashtra Open University and the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences.Colleges in Nasik are affiliated to Pune University. Today the city houses a large number of private and governmental educational institutions offering higher education in Medicine, Engineering & Technology, Architecture, Pharmacy, Management among others.NDMVPS'S College of Pharmacy is the only Government-aided pharmacy college in Pune University and ranks amongst top 5 pharmacy colleges in Maharashtra. Indian Railway has also established its Advanced Training Institute for electrical engineers namely, Indian Railway Institute of Electrical Engineers IREEN here at Nashik. Recently Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, a premier management institute offering MBA in Operations Management has put Nashik in India MBA map. Good placements backed by a very strong curriculum has pulled engineers from various parts of the country to Nashik

Taxi services
Transport services are provided by Taxis in the city which ply to Mumbai, Thane, Shirdi, Pune and a few other locations.