Many people in Mumbai go for ashtavinayak yatra on their own vehicle so here I present 3 different options to do Ashtavinayak yatra first option is 3 days with ashtavinayak + few more places, second one is completing within 2 full days & third one is for those who want to do it in record time... In this post I will write about option 1.
Lets see how can we combine Ashtavinayak + few places on its way in 3 days..
Day1: Start early morning & head staright to Khopoli via Panvel on old Mumbai Pune high way. There are two temples near Khopoli Viz Pali & Mahad visit Pali first which is very close to Khopoli. You can take another route NH17 after panvel & take left for Pali, 10 Kms before Kolad. Ganpati of Pali is called Ballaleshwar. Visit this temple & then head start for mahad.
Mahad is 30 Kms from Pali. Being close to Khopoli these two temples are crowded on weekends. So if you are travelling on weekend, my advice would be start as early as possible to cover these two temples.. & don't forget to enjoy malai peda & malai mava at Pali & variety of papads & pickles.
If you really want to enjoy the journey, reach Pali latest by 8:30 Mumbai Pali is 2:30 - 3 hour journey. & reach mahad latest by 10:30. So you can avoid rush. Ganpati of mahad is called Varadvinayak.
You can have breakfast at Mahad & proceed further towards Pune. Join express highway at Khopoli & reach Pune. After reaching Pune head straight to Solapur Highway. You are entering Pune from North west & you have to go to South east so cross the city & reach Solapur highway. You can visit Dagdu sheth Halwai ganpati in Pune. I will suggest take lunch in Pune . If you can travel some extra miles, you can visit Dehu which is near Pune, but if you want to visit Dehu, leave express way at Pimpari - chinchwad, visit Dehu & then go to Pune city & then to Solapur road.
On Solapur highway there are total 3 temples. First on the way is Theur. After joining Solapur highway you will reach Theur within an hour. There is a left turn on this highway where you can see direction board for Theur. Don't miss Sugercane juice, & figs outside Theur temple. You can also visit Vrundavan, small Samadhi of Ramabai, wife of great Madhavrao Peshwa, its at walking distance. Madhavrao Peshwa died
in this temple. Ganpati of theur is called Chintamani.
After visiting Theur, come back to Solapur highway & head towards Solapur once again. After crossing another 40 Kms, You will reach village called Chaufula. From Chaufula take right turn. From here you have to travel another 25 kms to reach Morgaon. If you travel as per schedule you should reach here by 7:30 pm.
Visit Moregaon temple, enjoy dinner & stay here.. Many people in moregaon provide accommodation in their home itself. Its good idea to stay here.. Just enjoy maharashtrian food & end your day here. Morgaon ganpati is called Mayureshwar.
Day 2: Enjoy breakfast of Kande Pohe at morgaon & start your travel. Travel 19 kms ahead of morgaon to visit Jejuri. Jejuri is famous for Khadndoba temple. The temple is on small fort called Malhargad. But you have to climb 250 steps to visit this temple & the temple is usually crowded. Avoid white clothes, as they will surely become yellow due to turmeric people use there. Check your timing, You should complete Jejuri darshan latest by 11:00 am.
After visiting Jejuri, come back till Chaufula for heading to the next temple Siddhatek. Keep moving towards Solapur. After driving for another 45 minutes you will reach Patas, from here take left for Daund. Cross the town of Daund & you have to travel 18 more kms to reach Siddhatek. Few years back there was no bridge over the river at siddhatek, so tourists had to take ferry, but now bridge is operational & your vehicle will go right in front of entrance of the temple. Visit the temple & have delicious zunaka bhakar after the darshan. Zunaka bhakar of siddhatek is very famous. You can take a dip in the river near the temple & then enjoy the meal, the river is safe for swimming, of course if you know swimming. But check time again You should leave Siddhatek at 3:00 pm max. The ganpati we visited is called Siddheshwar.
After visiting Siddhatek, come back till daund & instead of going back to Patas take road for Kashti & belwandi. From belwandi take left for Shirur. This is straight road till Shirur.( If you enjoy country ride You can take MIDC pipeline road from kashti instead of going to Belwandi. ) From Shirur, take left for reaching our next temple Ranjangaon. Ranjangaon temple is on this highway itself & you can see the huge hoarding of Mahaganpati. Check the time if you are well ahead of time i.e. its before 5 pm. You can visit vadhu budruk, here is the Samadhi of Chhatrapati Sambhaji maharaj. Now you have three options, either stay in lodge at Shikrapur or travel to chakan or travel to Pune. If you are not comfortable with small lodges / economy accommodations, I would suggest, stay at Pune. If you are fine with small accommodations you can stay at Shikrapur or Chakan . You will reach chakan in an hour from Shikrapur. Now at end the end of day 2 you have visited 6 temples & two more are remaining.
Day 3: Start early & head to Narayangaon via Chakan. From narayangaon take left after crossing Narayangaon & on crossing few Kms, you will reach Ozar. Visit Ozar temple & don't forget to buy kandi pedha from here. After Ozar, travel to last temple Lenyadri which is just 9 kms from Ozar. At Lenyadri You need to climb 200 steps to visit the temple, but these days Palkhi service is available. Before leaving don't forget to Buy fresh grapes from farms on the way to Lenyadri.
Here, your ashtavinayak darshan is complete. But If you have started in time, you must have some hours left. Don't worry you can utilize them very well. Travel to Junner which is 6 kms from here & visit another very divine place, birthplace of Shivaji maharaj, beautiful fort of Shivneri. If you have time, visit the fort & you can start your return journey.
Travel from Junner to NH222 which you will join near Otur, you need to travel through Ganesh Ghat. From here travel through beautiful Malshej ghat till Murbad & then to Kalyan, & then to Mumbai via Mumbai - Nashik highway. Remember Lenyadri to Mumbai is long stretch of around 4 hours so start early. Malshej is beautiful in the day, you can enjoy the amazing beauty of nature so travel in a day (In the night its little unsafe as its narrow & deserted).
So plan you tour now & contact me @ kaustubhkhare@gmail.com or 9820031162 if you have any difficulty in planning or need any help. Please write me any improvement suggestions for my further posts. Even if you want to plan your trip on bike its good expedition for beginners.
Best months to travel are November to March avoid April may as its too hot... you can travel in rainy season as this complete region is low rain belt.
