Day 6 (08th September, 2010): Nashik – Trimbakeshwar – Nashik – Shirdi Trip Meter – 1580kms to 1730kms
After a tiring Day 5, I wake up to a cloudy Wednesday morning at Nashik. It has rained the entire night and the weather is pretty gloomy now. We plan to leave the hotel by 10:00AM to Trimbakeshwar. We get ready and head towards the restaurant for breakfast. I notice mine is the only car in the parking lot as all other tourists have left the hotel for sightseeing. Breakfast at the hotel was pretty good and by the time we leave the hotel is around 10:30AM. The road towards Trimbakeshwar is right next to the hotel and is a straight drive.
Leaving the hotel my first priority is to find a decent IOC outlet to fill up diesel and also get the air pressure checked. About 5-6kms out of the hotel I spot an IOC outlet and fill the tank to the brim with diesel. The price of diesel at Nashik was similar to Bangalore. Mileage I got was 19.76kmpl.
After this we drive towards Trimbakeshwar which is about 36kms from Nashik. The road is pretty wide and in good condition throughout but only while exiting Nashik that you find broken tarmac. We enter Trimbakeshwar only around 11:30AM and after paying an entry fee we are directed towards the parking lot which was very badly maintained. The monsoon had only made it worse. The entire place was slushy and you had big sharp stoned sticking out of the mud. After carefully parking the car, we walk towards the Shiva Temple which is about 500mts from the parking lot.
Road out of Nashik towards Trimbakeshwar.
View of Brahmagiri hills nearing Trimbakeshwar.
Trimbakeshwar is a religious center having one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The temple is at the foothills of Brahmagiri hills. It’s in these hills that River Godavari originates. The temple here is very ancient, is built of black stone and enclosed in a spacious courtyard. The place was crowded with pilgrims and cameras are not allowed inside the temple. I had to keep the camera in a locker outside the temple.
Trimbakeshwar Temple
Trimbakeshwar Temple
Trimbakeshwar Temple
View of Trimbakeshwar Temple and courtyard taken from a 2MP Cellphone camera.
View of Trimbakeshwar Temple and courtyard.
The queue was pretty long and was stationary due to Aarti going on inside the temple. After sometime the queue slowly started to move and by the time we finished darshan and came out of the temple it was close to 2:00PM. Now we were very much behind schedule and after collecting the camera decided to head back to Nashik. Just out of Trimbakeshwar it started raining heavily and we thought of having lunch at one of numerous Dhaba’s on the road towards Nashik. We stopped at a Dhaba serving Andhra food just Outside Trimbakeshwar. The food was nothing close to Andhra cuisine and was below average. After quickly finishing the lunch we drove towards Nashik. We reached the hotel, packed our bags and checked out of the hotel a little after 3:00PM.
We drive out of Nashik on the Nashik – Pune highway. Traffic was pretty heavy at this time of the day and also the rains were intermittent. After travelling about 30kms on NH50 from Nashik we take left towards Shirdi at Sinnar. The left deviation is about a kilometer after Sinnar College on the highway. A little further ahead we take the right onto SH39. The light drizzle now turns into a heavy downpour. I tail a Tata Sumo at a safe distance as the visibility gets bad. The SH39 is being widened. There is work going on the left lane and there is enough room for 2 cars to pass on the right lane, but the rood surface is good. Continue driving further ahead and take right at a T junction. Drive a little further and you meet SH10. We take the right here and enter Shirdi around 5:00PM. We have our accommodation booked at MTDC Pilgrims Inn very close to the temple. We don’t find much trouble finding the hotel. Park the car in the spacious parking lot inside the hotel compound and check in around 5:30PM.
SH39 - Towards Shirdi. Heavy rains all along.
Bear territory!!!!
MTDC Pilgrims Inn is a very well maintained hotel, has a huge parking place and very close to the temple. We had passes arranged for the 6:30PM Aarti at the temple and after some phone calls we were directed to go to the Gate # 1 at the temple.
We entered the temple little before 6:30PM and I was fortunate to get a place right in the front inside Samadhi Mandir during the Aarti.. After the Aarti we went around the Samadhi Mandir. First we visited Gurusthan located outside the Samadhi Mandir, this is a small temple under a neem tree, where Baba is said to have meditated. This temple houses a shivling and a picture of Baba. Then we visited Dwarkamai which is actually an old mosque where Baba stayed. Today it houses images of the saint and articles used by him, including an old grinding stone, where he used to grind wheat for the poor, and a stone stool used by him. Highlight of this mosque is the dhooni that burns for 24 hours and provides the sacred udi (ash) to the devotees. Then we visited Chawadi which is a small stone structure where Baba used to retire every other night. It houses the wooden bed and the stone chair as was used by him. Also opposite to Chawadi is Abdul Baba's Cottage where one of the most devoted followers of Baba lived. Interesting articles here include the Koran and photographs of the devotees.
View from the balcony at MTDC Pilgrims Inn, Shirdi
View from the balcony at MTDC Pilgrims Inn, Shirdi
We also shopped for some photos and statues of Sai Baba and returned back to the hotel around 8:30PM. After resting for sometime in the hotel we had dinner at Sher-E-Punjab right in front of MTDC hotel. Dinner was just about average and we get back to the hotel. We then decide to go for another darshan around 9:45PM and finish darshan in just 30-40mins. Finally, our desire to visit Shirdi and have Darshan was fulfilled. Got back to the hotel by 11:00PM after having Ice Creams outside the hotel and retire by midnight.
Sorry folks, not many pics on Day 6 as No cameras allowed inside Trimbakeshwar and Shirdi and also on top of that was raining all throughout the day. I promise more snaps on Day 7 and beautiful ones too!!! Day 6 was about visiting the 2 most important temples I had planned for the trip. Did not foresee the crowd at Trimbakeshwar and plan was pushed behind schedule by almost 2hrs. But thanks not so crowded Shirdi, we could finish Aarti and Darshan with ease. Visiting Shirdi on a Wednesday was a good idea than my original plan of visiting Shirdi on a Thursday. Tomorrow we travel south towards Aurangabad.
Continued....