Shirdi travel guide - accommodation, food, Sai darshan, local tour, places
After lockdown in April 2021, the Shirdi Sai Baba Samadhi temple is opening from 7 October 2021 (the start of Shardiya Navratri). All Sai devotees are very eager and happy to see their beloved Sai after a long period. This article is all about the Shirdi tour guide where you will find all the details that are required to plan your trip to the Shirdi for Sai Darshan. Here I will elaborate the points on how to reach, the best time to visit/weather, accommodation, food, places to visit in Shirdi, nearby cities for tourists, etc.
How to reach Shirdi?
Shirdi is easily accessible by road, train, and flight.
By Road
If you are coming to Shirdi from the nearby cities and want to travel by car then you can easily do it. Shirdi is well connected by road and many tourists reach here by car from near and far cities as well.
Also, there are so many Maharashtra State Transport buses running for Shirdi from different nearer major cities. You can check out the timings from the official website of the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan trust.
By Train
Sainagar railway station in Shirdi is the nearest railway station to the Sai baba Samadhi temple. If your train is passing through this station then you can drop here and then can take an autorickshaw or cab to reach the temple. Otherwise, there are other nearest railways stations such as Kopargaon, Manmad-Junction, and Nagarsul where sai devotees can get off to reach Shirdi. Kopargaon is at 22 kms, Manmad-Junction is at 60 kms, and Nagarsul is at 50 kms from Shirdi.
By air
At a distance of 14 km from Sai baba samadhi temple, Shirdi International airport gives you the option of air travel.
At a distance of 14 km from Sai baba samadhi temple, Shirdi International airport gives you the option of air travel. You can check out the departure and arrival timing of the various flights applicable for Shirdi through the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan trust website.
Accommodation in Shirdi
Since it is one of the tourist places so there is enough accommodation. Shri Sai Baba Sansthan trust provides three bhaktaniwas for Sai devotees accommodation, they are Sai ashram, Sai Baba bhaktaniwassthan, and Dwaravati. These provide accommodation at a very cheap price. They all are well maintained and clean where one can stay easily.
Also, read Shirdi Sai Baba Bhaktaniwas online booking.
Also, there are several hotels near the temple at a reasonable price. I suggest booking accommodation online prior to your visit. If you want to stay in one of the bhaktaniwas by Sansthan then you must book your room 1 month prior to your visit because all these rooms get booked very soon.
All bhaktaniwas has a free transport facility for Sai devotees to travel between temple, Sai prasadalaya, or bhaktaniwas.
Best time to visit Shirdi
There are 3 important festivals (Ramnavami, Guru Purnima, and Vijayadashami) that are celebrated in the Shirdi Samadhi temple and this is the time when the Shirdi is heavily crowded. So you can plan your trip accordingly as per your convenience.
Well, Sai devotees flock here throughout the year and you can visit this place anytime but I suggest avoid visiting this place in summer due to not so pleasant environment with hot sun.
If you want to visit Shirdi along with other nearby places, then rainy or cold weather will be good for you. located at a distance of 2 hours from Shirdi, Nashik city has a very pleasant, beautiful, and enchanting environment in both the rainy and winter seasons. There are several well-known temples and places in Nashik that you must include in your trip.
I Recommend reading the article on Places to visit near Shirdi within 100 km where you will find the various places which you can cover while your trip to the Shirdi.
Sai Prasadalaya
Sai Prasadalaya is the place where free food is arranged by Shri Sai Baba Trust Sansthan, here Sai devotees can eat Sai prasad for free or at least cost. Sai prasad is the food that is offered to the Sai Baba.
If you have stayed in any Bhakt Niwas, then there is also the Prasad offered to Sai Baba. Due to covid, now the prasad may not be found in the bhaktaniwas but can be found in Sai Prasadalaya. Sai Sansthan provides food for free or at a minimum price at all three times of the day.
If you are staying in any of the Sai Bhaktaniwas then you must confirm the timing of the food offered by Sansthan.
Sai Darshan
For Sai Darshan you have to get your sai darshan pass online or offline. You can book darshan passes online through the Sai baba Sansthan website, otherwise, you can get it there itself in Shirdi near Sai baba temple or bhaktaniwas.
I suggest you should book it online to avoid additional hustle after reaching the temple. Free and VIP passes both are available you can opt for them as per your choice. VIP passes get you through darshan easily and you don't have to wait for a longer period.
You have to keep your shoe, electronics items, luggage, etc at the shoe stand, mobile counter, and baggage counter respectively. Lockers are available everywhere so you will find it easily around the temple.
At first Sai devotees used to carry garlands, flowers, prasad, and coconut to offer in the temple, but due to Corona, now all this is not allowed.
If it is heavily crowded then you may have to wail in the queue for a longer period (2-3 hours) and if it is not so crowded then you will finish the Sai darshan in an hour. This is the case of free passes and if you have VIP passes then it will far lesser time.
Best time to visit Sai temple for darshan
The morning time temple is crowded so avoid this period. If entered the temple at the time of Sai aarti then also you may have to wait for long because during aarti the queue is paused and does not move. Once the aarti and respective rituals are finished then the line moves further.
Noon period from 3 pm - 5 pm and night time from 8pm -10pm is the best period when you can do Sai darshan in lesser time with free passes.
Do not forget to collect your Sai Udi packet and laddu's packet (1 per person) after exiting from the temple. Due to corona now laddu's packets are not distributed.
Places to visit near Sai Baba Samadhi temple in Shirdi
After Sai darshan, you should check out the Sai Museum (here all things related to Sai showcased for sai devotees), Dwarakamai (where Sai stayed lifetime when he came Shirdi), Chawadi (where sai used to visit and sleep alternate days), Maruti mandir and other small temples inside the temple premises.
You should also visit Khandoba temple situated at walking distance from the temple.
Other than these temples, you can also drop to the Saiteerth (A spiritual theme park dedicated to Sai Baba) and Wet n Joy water park located at a 2 km distance from the Samadhi temple.
I Recommend reading the article on Places to visit in Shirdi which describes and elaborates every place mentioned above.
Other than these, if I missed something or you want to know something else then please comment below and I will try to mention those also.
Wish you a happy and blissful journey to the Shirdi. Om Sai Ram, Jai Sai Ram.
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