Shirdi

About Shirdi

Shirdi is a pilgrimage town in Maharashtra that is famous for the Shirdi Saibaba temple. There are a large number of buses from Mumbai to Shirdi that many pilgrims take to reach the place comfortably and offer their prayers to Saibaba. This small town in Ahmednagar District has been home to the 19th-century saint for over 60 years. Now, the temple not only has one of the most worshipped deities but is also one of the richest temples in the world.

The temple has over 60k visitors per day and provides for over 36k people and their families. Shirdi temple also houses one of the largest kitchens working under solar power, which offers free food to over 40,000 people.

Things to See in Shirdi

Although Shirdi is famous for the Sai Baba temple, there are other places of interest in this area. Many of these places can be covered by taking a Mumbai to Shirdi bus.

• Sansthan Temple- This is where the deity presided over and where aarti and worship take place.
• Samadhi Mandir - It is the place where Sai Baba's body is resting. It is made using white marble stones.
• Gurusthan - It is the place nearby, under a neem tree, where the world first saw Shirdi Sai baba as a little boy.
• Dwarkamai - It is the holy place where Shirdi Sai Baba spent his final days. This place is considered as the heart of the deity.
• Lendi Baug - It is a man-made garden where Shirdi Sai baba used to water the plants and spend time.
• The Wada Museum - It houses several items used by the lord, such as his padukas, robe, smoking pipes, etc.

Best Time to Visit Shirdi

You can visit Shirdi at any time of the year, but the winter season from December-February is considered to be the best time for a comfortable visit as the weather is pleasant. If you’re visiting from Mumbai by bus during summer, you may feel a little heat due to sunny weather.

Thursday is considered as an auspicious day for a visit. You will see more crowds visiting Shirdi during this day of the week. The other popular days are the weekends, Dussehra, Ramnavami, and Gurupurnima.

How to reach Shirdi

Shirdi is well-connected via air, bus, and rail. The Shirdi airport connects the town to Mumbai domestic terminal. Trains leave for Shirdi from different Indian cities such as Mumbai and Puri. Apart from these, cab and bus services to Shirdi are operated by both private operators and Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

How to reach Shirdi from Mumbai

By train

From Mumbai, you can either take the train from Dadar or Chatrapati Shivaji Terminal.

By bus

The Mumbai to Shirdi distance is 242 km by bus. It takes approximately 8-9 hrs to travel this distance.

You can easily book a bus from Mumbai to Shirdi on the redBus mobile application or website. The minimum bus fare on redBus for this route is Rs. 300.

You will find multiple bus operators providing service along this route when you search for a bus on redBus. Both AC and Non-AC buses are available from various parts of Mumbai. For the convenience of passengers, bus operators have multiple pick-up points.

The buses are well maintained and sanitized for the passengers' safety. As a precaution, all the passengers and the staff have to wear masks at all times and keep hand sanitizers handy.

Top Bus routes to Shirdi

• Mumbai to Shirdi - There are over 49 buses that provide service for the Mumbai to Shirdi route.
• Pune to Shirdi - The distance between these cities is approximately 200 km. It takes around 5-6 hours of travel from one destination to the other.
• Surat to Shirdi: There is a distance of 323 km between these destinations and takes approximately 8-9 hours of travel. Many bus operators operate along this route.
• Indore to Shirdi: The approximate distance between these destinations is over 400 km and takes around 8-9 hours to cover.
• Dhule to Shirdi: It takes around 3-4 hrs to cover the average distance of 170 km between these destinations.

You can find details about all the routes to and from Shirdi online on the redBus app/website.

Bus Stops around Shirdi

Shirdi being a popular pilgrimage destination has several bus stops in and around the temple that serves as drop-off and pick-up points. The popular ones are -

• Bus stand
• Ahmednagar
• Bhabaleshwar
• Hotel Sai Amey
• Hotel Holiday Park
• Eagle Express Royal Travels

You can choose your preferred pick-up and drop-off points easily while booking an online bus ticket to Shirdi on redBus.

Average bus ticket price to Shirdi

The ticket prices for buses vary from location to location. The fares are dependent on various factors such as bus type, bus operator, amenities offered etc.

The minimum bus fare between Mumbai to Shirdi is around Rs.300 on redBus. Pune to Shirdi bus fares start at Rs. 300 and the Surat-Shirdi bus prices start at Rs.450. You can check the bus fare details easily on the redBus website/ mobile application.