Blessed with natural beauty and historical sites, Vasai is being promoted as a major tourist destination
The historic Vasai taluka, which has several temples, churches, mosques and beaches,is being promoted on the lines of Goa, one of the most-favoured touristdestinations in the country. KMC Holidays and Offshore Pvt Ltd has come outwith a site www.minigoa.com and isconducting several package tours of Vasai.
Vasai, rich in natural bounty -- according to legends – was created by‘Bhagawan Parshurama’. It has some beautiful and historical tourist spots.Vasai is blessed with historical forts, spiritual places and clean beaches, churchesof Portuguese era, green farms and lakes. Tourist spots are spread over Vasai,Nalasopara and Virar.
“Vasai has potential to become an international tourist spot,” said KiranBhoir of KMC Holidays and Offshore.
Vasai’s most historical place is the ‘Vasai Fort’. This fort was in custodyof Portuguese nearly for about 205 years. In 1739 Maratha PeshwaChimaji Appa conquered this fort from the Portuguese. This fort had sevenchurches, but today only five are left. Here we could see a very old spiritualNageshwar temple which was restored by Peshwa.
Another fort, Arnala Fort is on an island surrounded by sea water. Whatis amazing about this fort is that though it is based in sea water, it hasfresh drinking water wells.
One of the most important spiritual places in Vasai is Nirmal, created byBhagwan Parshurama. Here we can see a mausoleum and temple of the fifth Adyashankaracharya Vidyaranya swami. This temple is situated on a hillockwith a spectacular 360 degree view.
Hira Dongari Dutta temple is one of the most charming places in Vasai, whichis on a small hillock near Giriz. The whole Vasai region can be viewed fromthis vantage point.
A famous ancient place of Vasai is Nallasopara’s Bauddha Stupa, which wasinaugurated by Bhagwan Gautam Buddha himself. Samrat Ashoka also visited thisplace. We could find a same copy of this stupa in Madhya Pradesh- Sanchi. The governmentis planning to declare this ancient stupa as an international tourist spot.
Vasai has some beautiful and pristine beaches like Bhuigaon, Rangaon,Kalamb, Rajodi, Navapur and Arnala. One can fine stretches of sand to relaxfrom the hustle and bustle of city life.
At eastern side of Vasai there are tourist places like Vajreshwari,Ganeshpuri having natural hot water springs. Usgaon and Pelhar dams are alsolocated in this area. Ganeshpuri is a beautiful temple complex, famous forSwami Nityanand’s Samadhi (mausoleum). It has a very peaceful ambience with aflowing river behind the temple and natural hot water springs. The NitynandAshram nearby is famous worldwide for its Yoga meditations.
Vajreshwari temple is situated about 2 kms from the Ganeshpuritemple. The temple was constructed by Peshwa Chimaji Appa, after he wonthe Vasai fort from Portuguese. The views from the hillock are breathtaking.
Goddess Jivdani Temple is also a famous tourist spot, which is on a hillsituated at Virar East. A ropeway facility is available here.
