A Traveler Guide to Shirdi from Pune-Distance, Best Time & More

Shirdi is a place located in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. If you are in Pune, you should not miss this wonderful town in Maharashtra. This guide to Shirdi from Pune will turn into a pro traveler in under no time! It is a place of the great Saint, Sai Baba who took Samadhi in 1918 and since then Shirdi became a pilgrimage center for many devotees all around the world. The distance between Pune to Shirdi is 186kms which takes around 4 hours if you are traveling by road. Pune to Shirdi train journey is about 220kms from Pune Railway Station and takes around 6 hours. If you want to enjoy the real beauty of nature of Pune to Shirdi trip then the road trip is something you can bank upon! [caption id="attachment_2801" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: commons.wikimedia.org[/caption]

Ways to travel to Shirdi from Pune

By Bus A Bus is one of the convenient ways to travel to Shirdi from Pune and also a stress-free journey when you are traveling with your family. There are many private bus operators who provide trips to Shirdi from Pune. When traveling by bus it takes around 5 hours to travel from Pune to Shirdi. By Car/Bike The best way to travel from Pune to Shirdi is by a car/bike. There are many vehicle rental companies from where you can rent your vehicle and enjoy the of the road trip. You can travel to Shirdi via Ahmednagar – Manmad State Highway No. 10. When traveling by road, the distance is around 186kms and it takes around 3 – 4 hours to reach the destination. By Cab/Taxi If you want to have a stress-free journey in a car, then there are various Pune to Shirdi taxi services which provides full Shirdi tourism packages from Pune at cheaper rates. Some of the cab services are Oneway Cab, Balaji Cabs, and many more. Their operating time is from 4.00 AM to 11.30 PM. By Train Trains from each part of India run to Shirdi, so that's not a problem at all. The nearest railway station to Shirdi is Shirdi Sai Nagar and Sai Temple which is 2kms from this station. Another nearest station is Kopargaon which is 15kms from the main city of Shirdi. Distance from Pune to Shirdi by train is around 220kms.

Attractions in Shirdi

Since it is a place of a great Saint Sai Baba who took Samadhi in 1918, the major attraction of this place is the Sai Baba Temple for which devotees from all over the world come visit each year to pay the respect. Sai Baba Temple [caption id="attachment_2802" align="aligncenter" width="937"] Credits: holidayiq.com[/caption] Sai Baba temple of Shirdi is located in the middle of the city and is the place where the great Saint Sai Baba took Samadhi. If you are in Shirdi, then this is the first place you should visit. Entry to Sai Baba Temple is free but if you want to take a proper tour of the temple, it costs just ₹100 per devotee. On weekdays, the queues to visit the temple is average of 1 hour but if you are going on weekends the queue can be long and can take up to 2-3 hours. The temple opens at 4 A.M. and stays open till 11 P.M. If you want to take the real glimpse of the Samadhi, it is said that you should spend some time near the Samadhi. After Samadhi darshan, you can visit Gurusthan, a tree where Sai Baba was first spotted meditating by the people of Shirdi. Mobile phones and camera are strictly prohibited inside the temple, so if you are taking any, do not forget to keep them in the cloakroom. The Sai Baba temple has a bookstore too where you can buy Sai Baba books such as Aarti book, Shri Sai Samartha Satcharita, and many more. Dwarakamayi Masjid The great Saint Sai Baba believed in all the religions, his ultimate words were “God is one”, so this place is not limited to temples only. After Sai Baba Temple, you must visit Dwarakamayi Masjid which is located adjacent to the temple complex. Dwarakamayi served as a place where Sai Baba lived for 60 years, and near the Mosque you can find the Shila (stone) on which Sai Baba used to sit during his meditations. Also, Sai Baba lit a 'Dhuni' (fire) here which keeps on burning. Entry to this place is free. On weekdays and weekends, the timing is from 5.30 A.M. to 9.45 P.M. Chavadi [caption id="attachment_2805" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: bcmtouring.com[/caption] Chavadi was Sai Baba’s sleeping place where he used to sleep every alternate night during his last days. It is located just a few meters away from the Dwarakamayi Masjid from where the procession of Sai Baba took place along with his followers. Even today this procession is followed on every Thursday with the idol of the Saint inside the Palki. Entry to this place is free and it is open all day. The timing followed is 5:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. and 4 P.M. to 9 P.M. Apart from these pilgrimage spots, there are other places too that can be visited when you are in Shirdi such as Maruti Mandir, Dixit Wada Museum, Wet N Joy Waterpark and many more. There are various Pune to Shirdi tour packages which you can avail from Pune when you are going with large groups. To get great packages, you can visit websites such as kptravels.co.in, balajicabs.co.in, purplebus.in. These are some travel agents which provide an affordable Pune to Shirdi tour packages. [caption id="attachment_2803" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: justdial.com[/caption] Shirdi doesn’t end here! Apart from all the above activities, you can also go shopping to buy trinkets and souvenirs – statues, books, magnets and pictures of Sai Baba. Well, what more are you waiting for?