Team-BHP - What is the Best Time to Reach Shirdi ?

Hi All,

I am planning to do a one day trip to Shirdi & I am planning to start early morning & come back the same day to Pune. Now due to various reasons I can go there either on 25th Dec or 3rd Jan.

So My queries are:

- What is the good time early morning to reach there as in I would not like to stand in Que for long hours. From what I know it takes around 4 hours from Pune(Correct me if I am wrong). So please guide me on this

- Which date is better for ease of Darshan. 25th is Public Holiday so high chances of crowd. 3rd is Thursday which again is a busy day in Shirdi.

- Would also appreciate if someone can share road conditions from Pune to Shirdi. The last I traveled it was good till

Kindly help me in planning my trip. Aurangabad.

Thanks

Techno

I think the early morning Aaarti at 5am is the only time when you can finish the darshan in 1-2 hours and is also the best time for the darshan. But, this means you need to stay overnight. Other times, it takes anywhere between 2-4 hours depending on the day. Thursdays are the most crowded and try avoiding Saturday and Sunday.

It is going to be tough since the Chritsmas holidays will bring on the crowds in droves, regardless of the day. But weekends and public holidays are to avoided. The early morning darshan (Kakkad Aarti) is definitely better than the others that follow, and the evening aartis are the most crowded.

You could always drive through the night from Pune, synchronising your arrival at Shirdi for the first darshan. Road conditions are good. Route is on Nashik highway via Chakan, Narayangaon, Alephata, Sangamaner.

Needless to say, if you can get one of the trustees to put in a word (ask around, you will be surprised that you will find someone who has used that introduction) and you will get VIP darshan without any botheration of Qs. As far as I know, there are no paid-darshan tickets to help you gain a quick entry - the only person who assures that is the recent Jagson helicopter service from Bombay who promises fast darshans as part of the air fare!

@hvkumar: Thanks for replying. I was planing to take the Ahmednagar highway from Pune which one is better the one you suggested or this one ?

By Early morning Aarti you mean 5 am one? Even this is crowded ? I mean how long will it take for a darshan

I had visited Shirdi almost 8-9 years back at that time there used to be special darshan for xx amount anyways am not looking for anything like this.

Both highways are OK. Unfortunately, I don't off hand have the distances for quick comparison.

Yes, the 530 am aarti is also quite popular. The aarti itself takes 30 minutes. If you lucky enough to get in, you will be asked to sit down and watch the aarti. Those who are not so lucky will be allowed in only after the kakkad aarti is over.

Quote:

The darshan begins at 7:00 & I am planning to leave home by 4 am or so.

Techno, whatever you do, ensure that there is sufficient daylight when you are nearing Shirdi. The roads leading up to Shirdi have a notorious reputation for theft and an army of road dacoits. We have had a narrow escape once.

Thanks GTO-T thats some good advice.. I think if I leave by 4 am I will reach aurangabad around 7ish & by that time I think it should be good light & if not we will halt for breakfast which will help in getting there at broad daylight :)

25th(Being a holiday) is the best day to visit the temple according to me as your other option is Thursday, which is otherwise very heavy rush day in shirdi.

Regarding, "When to reach ?" It good if you can reach by 7-9 AM so that you can get the darshans by 12-1 at the max. After Darshan have lunch in yatri dhams and start over for pune, which i think u'll reach back by 6-7 at the max.

@Techno. I had travelled to Shirdi on 11-Nov-07. I travelled from Pune (Aundh) via Chakan-Narayangaon-Ale Phata-Sangamner-Loni-Babaleshwar-Rahata-Shirdi. The total distance was 192.6 km from my home. I had started at 5:47 a.m. from my home and reached Shirdi at 9:46 a.m. So it took me 3 hours 59 minutes including a break of 41 minutes for breakfast. You have 4 lane roads till around chakan. Beyond that it is 2-lane highway. The roads were good throughout except for a small stretch between Loni and Babaleshwar which had a patched up surface but no potholes. There was hardly any traffic till I reached Babaleshwar (at this point you join the Ahmadnagar-Shirdi road). You have to pay toll at two places. There were also a couple of unmarked small speed breakers on the Nashik highway

While coming back along the same route, it took us 5 hours and 7 minutes including a break of 51 minutes for lunch. Plenty of trucks and two-wheelers on the road. I think the Nashik route may be better than the Ahmadnagar route.

It took us almost 4.5 hours to have darshan on that day. The queue was stretching for nearly a km on the roads outside the temple.

@pjbiju : Thanks for the detailed info Mate. I think I will chose the Nagar road since itsa straight road with not diversions & also have traveled before on this route so more confidant of covering distance faster. :-)

How is the parking scene anything to keep in mind ?

[quote=Technocrat;655247I think I will chose the Nagar road since itsa straight road with not diversions... How is the parking scene anything to keep in mind ?[/quote]

Hey, even it was my first trip along the Nashik highway. Again it is a straightforward road. The only place I stopped to ask for direction was at Sangamner (wanted to know if I should go via Loni, because I had seen another route on the map). You find directions at most of the places. Also heard from friends that road widening work was in progress on the Ahmadnagr-Shirdi road. I can PM you a detailed travel log with distances if that will help you.

Bosssssss

For kakad aarti, when we went, circa sep 05, then we needed to be in temple by 1am, to sit in queue for the aarti. Even then, mom/sis had a better time in ladies section. I was behind. If you wanna see it up close, please camp in temple from 12ish.

Morning is when they do ritual of waking/bringing out the idols/bathing et al-google for more. Kakad aarti is definitely worth it. But timing is key.