[cartrail]

In this travelogue, I am writing about my two-day trip to Shirdi, Ellora Caves, and the journey by Vande Bharat in December 2023. It was my first time to travel in Vande Bharat. And also I had never gone to Shirdi by train.

Itinerary:
Day 1: Board 22223 CSMT-SNSI Vande Bharat Express from Thane. Take Sai Baba Darshan. And Explore places in Shirdi.

Day 2:
Go to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar by Taxi. Visit Grishneshwar Temple, Ellora Caves, Bhadra Maruti Temple and Bibi ka Maqbara. Then, return to Mumbai by Vande Bharat.

So let's begin the journey.
Day 1 Friday:
Our train was scheduled to arrive at 6.50 AM at Thane. We arrived 30 minutes before, but the train was 10-15 minutes late. I had booked a Ticket for the Chair Car Coach. This particular Vande Bharat is usually fully booked on weekends despite having 16 coaches. The ticket cost from Thane to Shirdi was Rs.775 (without food).





The coach was clean and the seats were comfortable. The seats in CC are reclinable and have charging points. But I was disappointed that even on getting a window seat there was this pillar . This was the case with every alternate row. That is the reason I would prefer a 3rd AC over this as we at least get an entire window. But in VB, this and which direction your seat would be facing depends on your luck.


The "Window Seat"

We had brought some food from home. But I also purchased 2 breakfasts in train costing Rs. 170 each. The poha and upma were not that tasty and were bland. It was hygienic but I would say it is not worth the price. If you are trying for the first time then take it otherwise I would recommend carrying food from home or outside.

The service provided by the Catering Staff is very good. They are available all the time for your service. And are well-groomed. The toilets on the train were also clean. We reached Shirdi at 11.30 AM. Then took an auto to Sai Ashram Bhakta Niwas.


Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station




Vande Bharat captured from platform

Now coming to Accommodation

I had booked a room in Sai Ashram Bhakta Niwas in advance. The Bhakta Niwas is 2 Kms away from the station and 1 Km from Mandir. The cost of the room that I got Non Ac 3 Bed was Rs. 250. Which is quite cheap. And also the rooms were clean. I would suggest booking well in advance so you get rooms in Bhakta Niwas which is close to Sai Baba Mandir and also AC Rooms. The rooms can be booked at Sai Sansthan Website https://online.sai.org.in/#/login . One also needs to carry the Room Booking Receipt and Aadhar Card of all members. You can also show it on mobile. This Bhakta Niwas complex was very huge with 12 buildings and each building has around 100 rooms. Parking is also available.

After freshening up, we then took an auto to Mandir. I also purchased the Darshan Pass at the Reception. You can also book it online or in Mandir Complex. The Pass costed Rs. 200 per person. With a pass, you can get Darshan in less time as there is crowd on weekends. You have to keep Mobiles in a locker which is near the entry gates. So one needs to take care that all family members are always together. We got Darshan in about 30 Minutes.



After taking Darshan we visited the Museum and temples in the Mandir Complex. Ladoo Prasad is available to purchase near the entry gate. Prasad Food is available at Prasadalaya which is 10 minutes from the temple. There you can also take Rs. 50 coupon to avoid the crowd or take free prasad. We didn’t know about this so had to eat at a restaurant. And I would like to say that the majority of restaurants in front of the temple are not good. There are only a few restaurants where you can get good food. Check Google Reviews before visiting.

Day 2:
I had booked a Taxi online. I found this agency via Google Maps. The itinerary was to visit Grishneshwar Temple, Ellora Caves, Bhadra Maruti Temple, Bibi ka Maqbara, and return to Shirdi as we had a return train at 5.30 PM.

We started the trip at 6.00 AM. It was a quite cold winter morning. We reached Ellora in 1 hour 30 Minutes thanks to Samruddhi Mahamarg. First, we took Darshan at Grishneshwar temple which is one of 12 Jyotirlinga.

Then we stopped for breakfast at Vrindavan Restaurant near Ellora Caves. The food was good. There are many restaurants available on this road. After eating we went to Ellora Caves. I booked the tickets online there and avoided the queue. Also, the tickets were cheaper by Rs. 10 online. Ellora Caves is a series of rock-carved caves. It takes about 2-3 hours to visit all the caves. The Kailash Temple is spectacular. It makes one wonder how they carved the temple out of stone without modern tools. There are many statues, and paintings carved on stones. Each tells some stories. Winter is a good season to explore the caves as it is pleasant. Also one can visit Ajanta along with Ellora, it is about 2-2.5 hours from Ellora. We didn’t as we had to return by train in the evening.

Here are some pictures of Ellora Caves













Next, we proceeded towards Bhadra Maruti Temple. The temple was crowded as it was a Saturday. Then went to Bibi ka Maqbara also known as mini Taj Mahal. The monument is beautiful and is a good place to visit if you like historical places.



We then returned to Shirdi and first ate thali at G. Chinnarao Restaurant. This restaurant is not on the main road. They serve Andhra-style food. The thali included 4 Bhajis, Chapati and Rice as required, Gulab Jamun and Chutney. The taste and quality was very good. I would say it is best restaurant in Shirdi and would recommend trying it.



After that we went back to our room, packed our bags, and left for the Railway Station. The train was at the platform and we rushed towards it as we had reached sharp on time. The train was not fully occupied at Shirdi. And once again, we got the same “Window Seat” with no window. But as it was going to be night till we reached Kasara Ghats so anyway it didn't matter now. The train departed on time at 5.30 PM. Some passengers also boarded at Manmad and Nashik.

I had pre-booked 2 dinners this time to try out. The dinner consisted of Paneer Sabji, Chapati, Dal, and Rice. And a dahi packet. The taste and quality was good. But again the pricing was a bit high. We reached Thane at around 10.00 PM.

The trip was a good experience. We got to experience the Vande Bharat Express. It also reached speeds of 120 Km/h after Nashik towards Shirdi. The cleanliness and service was very good. I enjoyed this trip very much. Thanks for reading.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[animeshc]

Thanks for sharing. I am planning to do a similar trip via Road from Hyderabad. How much time it took for you to visit the Grishneshwar temple, was the queue manageable or are there are special tickets to help beat the queue?

[cartrail]

Originally Posted by animeshc

How much time it took for you to visit the Grishneshwar temple, was the queue manageable or are there are special tickets to help beat the queue?

I reached there around 8 AM. And it took about 15-20 minutes for darshan. There was not much queue even though it was Saturday morning. It might get crowded later in the day. There was no special darshan pass or queue and those selling are unauthorised as per Google reviews. Try to go there early morning to avoid crowd.