The town of Shirdi lies under the municipal council jurisdiction which is well known by the name, Shirdi Nagar Panchayat, found in tehsil of Rahata of Ahmednagar District in Maharashtra. It can be accessed through the Ahmednagar - Manmad State Highway-10, around 83 km away from Ahmednagar whereas 15 km distant from Kopargaon. Situated 185 km in the eastern direction of Seashore line, this route has been considered quite a busy route.

Shirdi – Home of Sai Baba

Shirdi had been the home town of Sai Baba who was a great saint in 20th century. The saint spent over 50 years of his life in Shirdi. There is a pilgrimage site in Shirdi which draws a large number of devotees every year. People across the globe come here as pilgrims.

Sai Baba had stepped in this village at the age of 16 years only. He used to sit under a neem tree and remained engaged in self-mortification thoroughly. The saint had devoted his whole life to uplift the poor and deprived. People believe that saint was basically Lord Shiva’s embodiment.

The entire village as well as every nook and corner of it is somewhere or the other related to the saint. Sai Baba left for the heavenly abode in the year 1918 and people in huge numbers come to visit his Samadhi every day.

The spot where Sai Baba had come to Shirdi while he was a Bal Yogi is referred to as Gurusthan. One can spot a temple at this site as well as a small shrine here. The well known Shirdi town has fragrance all around in air proving the high devotional intensity of several devotees from across the globe. It is actually an epitome of spirituality on the world map.

There are large number of shops in this holy town where people can avail several things related to Sai Baba and his life. The holy town may be visited by anyone and everyone and has a developed connectivity of bus routes.

Attraction in Shirdi

The prominent attraction in Shirdi is the temple where Samadhi of Sai Baba is spotted and is also the home town of Baba known as Dwarakamayi, whereas the place where he used to sleep is referred to as Chavadi.

Sai Baba Temple – Situated at the center of the town, it consists of Samadhi or the burial site of Baba. There is no entrance fee here. There are special passes which may be availed at Rs.100 per devotee for having darshan from the Sansthan Trust of Sai Baba. There is a long queue for availing this pass and hence takes about an hour or more on weekends. The timings of the temple are from 0400 hrs to 2200 hrs. At the site of Samadhi, one is allowed to stay for merely a couple of minutes due to a large gathering waiting for having a glimpse of Samadhi.

Once the Samadhi Darshan is done, people visit the Gurusthan, this was the tree where Sai Baba used to meditate when he was spotted for the first time by Shirdi people. Besides, one can visit the Udhi counter for collecting the Udhi. The premises of temple also comprises of samadhis of few closest devotees of Sai Baba.

There is also a book store from where books related to Sai Baba can be availed such as Aarti books and Shri Sai Samartha Satcharitra etc. There is availability of clothes as well as Prasadam offered to Baba. There is no permission of taking cameras and mobile phones in the premises of the temple.

Dwarakamayi – Situated beside the complex of the temple, Dwarakamayi is a mosque where Sai Baba used to live for a long span of 60 years until his Samadhi was made in 1918. This structure got renovated and also has Dhuni, the fire that Baba used to burn. These flames are never made to die and it is the same Dhuni which Sai Baba used to lit 100 years back. Besides this, few more articles belonging to Baba like his fireplace, grinding stone, stone on which he sat are seen in  Dwarakamayi.

Chavadi – It is situated adjacent to Dwarakamayi. It said that  every alternate day, Sai Baba slept in the Chavadi, which are a few meters distant from Dwarakamayi. On Thursday nights, even today, the footprints of Baba are being taken in ceremonial procession.

Khandoba Raya temple – It is a temple where Mahalsapati had welcomed Sai Baba for the first time and where it was discovered that He was not an ordinary saint. It is spotted on the highway about seven minutes walk away from temple.

What to Eat and Drink in Shirdi

There are a large number of restaurants in Shirdi. One can avail cuisines of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Continental dishes as well as South Indian food. Usually food served is vegetarian and fresh fruits such as pomegranate and guava are also available.

Bottled waters, fresh coconut water and Cold drinks may also be availed in several local stores. But there is no availability of liquor in town.

One can feel Sai Baba's presence in Shirdi everywhere and therefore millions of devotees throng here for getting blessings of Sai Baba. From Panoramic Group Hotel, Sai Sahavas is merely a 5 minute walk from the Shri Sai Baba shrine. There are around 34 well-maintained AC rooms at the Panoramic Group Hotel Sai Sahavas and go to Shri Sai Baba's shrine replica on the 3rd floor and one would get the blessings of Shri Sai Baba. Taking into consideration, the sentiments of devotees, vegetarian food is served at Panoramic Group Hotel Sai Sahavas. There is Sai Siddhi multi-cuisine restaurant offering food with a variety of cuisines including  Chinese cuisine for catering to devotees from across the country. One may visit Sai Sahavas of Shirdi and be a part of Shri Sai Baba devotees.

Accommodations in Shirdi

Few of the good hotels for staying in Shirdi are -

• Sai Leela
• Sun n Sand
• Shraddha Inn
• Hotel Sai Sahavas opposite to Mahalaxmi Temple Lane, 91 2423 256366. It is a great hotel with all basic amenities available. There is a meditating room also found on the third floor.
• Dwarawati Bhaktha Nivas of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust close to Sai Sanasthan, 91-2423-258500. One can check in at 11:00AM and checkout at 11:00AM. Accommodations in Saibaba Sansthan may be booked online. Aarti or Darshan may also be booked in advance for Rs 300 and Rs 100 per head respectively. Rooms may be availed from Rs.125, 150,500 or 900 and are neat and tidy.
• Sujal Heritage situated opposite Sun n Sand is a nice budget hotel having AC and non AC rooms.
• Shri Sainivas Mega Dharmasala opposite to Shiva temple, close to Shirdi Sai temple, 02423256257. One may check in any time and checkout any time. This Hotel offers a maximum comfort to its visitors and offers a great trip to shrine Shirdi. INR 500 to INR 2500.

How to Reach

By Air

There is no airport in Shirdi. The closest airports are at Aurangabad, Pune, Nasik and Mumbai. From Pune Airport, it takes about 4-5 hrs if a car is rented.

By Train

Trains from different parts of country come in the Shirdi vicinity. One may take trains till.

• Shirdi Sai Nagar (2 Km from the Sai Samadhi temple) OR
• Kopargaon (15 Km from Shirdi) OR
• Manmad (65 Km from Shirdi) OR
• Nasik (80 Km from Shirdi) OR
• Mumbai (250 Km from Shirdi) OR
• Pune

Taxi from Station Till Shirdi

• From Kopargaon, one may hire a taxi till Shirdi at Rs. 200-300 fare or a shared van at Rs. 20-30 per head.
• From Manmad, one may hire a taxi till Shirdi at Rs. 600-800 on fare or a shared van at Rs. 50-80 per head.
• From Nasik, one may take a taxi to Shirdi at Rs. 800-1000 fare or MSRTC bus at Rs. 90-100.

By Road

There are several buses which connect Shirdi to prominent cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Nasik. There are adequate convenient packages of bus from Hyderabad. The road connectivity between Shirdi and Mumbai is good and has only few stretches. There are convenient buses also plying overnight at this route. It takes about 4 hours for Shirdi from Mumbai. It takes 5 hours for travelling Pune to Shirdi via bus. There is a 20 hours drive from Bangalore. There are several buses operating from Bangalore such as KSRTC but it is preferred to travel by sleeper coaches rather than pushback.