Shirdi - Welcome to the holy abode of Sai Baba

Shirdi is a city in the Indian State of Maharashtra and it is flocked by devotees from all over India to offer their prayers to Sai Baba. Sai Baba is said to have come to Shirdi and lived all his life protecting the people of Shirdi from sickness and any troubles they faced here. Hence the sacred temple town of Shirdi is also known as Sainagar. His teachings inspired lakhs of devotees every year to visit Shirdi and take his blessings. We had visited Shirdi almost 15 years back. It was family vacation time and we had planned Shirdi for a 2-3 days trip. But this time I saw it from the lens of a travel blogger and here goes my journey.

We had booked to and fro train tickets from Bangalore since it was last minute booking we were not getting flight tickets. There are direct flights to Shirdi but not on all days. Other option is to take flights to Pune or Mumbai and hire a cab to Shirdi from there. 

18^th April 23, 2023

We boarded Mysuru Shirdi train on April 17^th from Bangalore at 8:30 am and reached Shirdi at 11:30 am next day. Its quite a long journey but it was fun since we got to spend good quality family time.

We had booked our stay in Pride Inn. So we hired an auto from Shirdi station to hotel and we were charged Rs. 200.

Hotel Pride Inn is good for a short 2 days stay in Shirdi. Amenities provided here are ok since when we checked in there were no towels and dustbin in the rooms. These were given only upon request. Also the taps were not working in bathrooms. Looks like preliminary checks before letting out the room to the customer were not done.  They have a restaurant also. Best part is they provide free shuttle service from Hotel to Sai Baba temple.

We freshened up and asked the front desk people to arrange the shuttle service to drop us to temple. We were dropped at Gate# 2. Before getting into the darshan queue, we thought of having quick bite since we were hungry. We quickly got into a restaurant located around the temple premises and had Pav Bhaji. After that we proceeded towards the locker room. Devotees should deposit mobile phones and any electronic gadgets here.  So I quickly clicked pictures of the temple street and deposited phone at the locker room. There is a footwear stand also next to the locker room.

Since it was afternoon lunch time, there was hardly anyone in the darshan queue and the best part was queue was moving fast. It just took us 20-25 minutes to get a good darshan of Sai Baba and come out of the temple. At the exit, we are given Sai Prasadam (a packet of sweet boondi) and Udhi( ashes or Vibhooti) which is very precious. Around the temple premises we saw Lendi Baug, Gurusthan, Maruthi Mandir, Shani temple, Ganapathi temple and many more which is located within temple premises. But it was too hot here and moving around from one spot to other was very tough in the boiling summer heat. Unfortunately, since we had deposited our phones at the counter, we couldn’t click any pictures here. 

We then headed towards the locker room to get our phones and also footwear. We called Hotel and asked them to send hotel shuttle for pick up from Sai temple. 

We then headed to our hotel for a refreshing power nap since it was very hot outside to move around anywhere in Shirdi. Visiting Shirdi during Summers is highly not recommended. Even if you plan, brace yourselves for a scorching heat outside. 

We had a good power nap. We freshened up and decided to have evening darshan of Sai Baba and see other temples around the main temple premises peacefully. 

This time since it was evening, we decided to walk towards the temple from hotel so that we can see Shirdi town. Enroute, we stopped by at Chulivarchi Misal to savor Maharashtra’s most famous Misal Pav. This hotel had a good ambience and service also was fast. Misal was bit spicy, but we were told that that’s how it is supposed to taste. (Misal is a popular Maharashtrian street food made out of spicy sprouts curry topped with onions and sev(fried savory mixture) which is served with two pieces of soft pav(Indian soft bread)). 

We then started walking towards the main temple. 

By now darshan queue had started getting crowded. In the evening time it took us more than an hour to get darshan and the queue also was slow moving. Temple authorities have placed coolers at regular intervals in darshan queue which was a huge relief for us. After praying to Sai Baba, we came out of the temple and explored all the other temples peacefully this time since there was no heat and rush. Gurusthan (Sthan means seat, Guru means teacher) is the main place where Sai Baba used to sit below the Neem tree and share his teachings with people. It is also believed that this is the place he was first seen. Dixit Wada museum hosts Sai’s belongings and some rare photographs.

By the time we came out it was 9 pm and dinner time. We stopped by at Sai Bhog restaurant which is located right at the temple premises for dinner. This was a good decision we took since this restaurant had all the cuisines and service was quick.

After a good yummy satisfying dinner, we headed to our hotel for early bedtime since we had booked a taxi to visit most famous Shani Shingapur temple next day.

19^th April 23, 2023

We woke up at around 7 am and quickly freshened up. Our vehicle was ready. We were charged Rs.2200 for a to and fro visit to Shani temple and back to Shirdi. Distance from Shirdi to Shani Shingapur is 70 Kms and it takes around an hour and half to reach this place.

Enroute, we stopped by for a quick breakfast. Then headed straight to Shani temple. 

Shani Shingapur is one of the most popular Shani temples of India. The temple houses a huge black stone of Shani deity. One very interesting fact we have been hearing since childhood is that people in this village don’t lock their homes since they have a strong belief that Lord Shani will protect them.

There were not many devotees here at this temple. We had a quick darshan. But it was too hot. So we quickly headed to our vehicle for our return journey to Shirdi.

We reached Shirdi around lunch time. Driver dropped us at our hotel. We quickly freshened up at our rooms and inquired about the most famous devotional theme park Sai Teerth at the reception which planned to visit during second half today. Front desk folks told us they have some coupons and if we show these at the ticket counter in Sai Teerth we will get discount on each ticket.

We took those coupons and requested for hotel shuttle to drop us at the main temple road. Here we stopped by at a hotel for lunch. We quickly had lunch, took an auto and reached Sai Teerth which was the next best highlight of our trip after Sai darshan. But this experience itself will require one entire blog. Hence I will covering all the details on our experience at India's first ever immersive devotional theme park in my next blog (link). 

Sai Teerth - India's First Immersive Devotional Theme Park