ASHT / 2 - Ashtavinayak - 2 nights - 3 days Itinerary (Ex-Mumbai) 

Summary / Highlights - Ashtavinayak is a set of 8 Ganesha temples in Maharashtra, visited together as part of a Pilgrimage route. The Ashtavinayak temple are spread out in three different directions from Pune. So from ex-Mumbai perspective you have to do them in blocks as under: 

• Day 1 - NH-17 / NH-04 - Mumbai - Pali (Off NH-17) - Mahad (near Khopoli) - Pune / Ranjangaon (O/N) - 250 kms. 

• Day 2 - Solapur Route (NH-09) - Pune - Theur - Moregaon - Siddhitek and Ranjangaon / Pune (O/N) - Total Kilometers - 250 - 300 kms 

• Day 3 - Nashik Route (NH-150)- Ozhar - Lenyadri and back to Mumbai via Dehu Road exit on Expressway - 380-400 kms. 

Recommended Itinerary - Departure by Afternoon (Itinerary - 2 nights - 3 Days) - (Can be modified as per guest preference)

Day 1  

• Take Mumbai - Goa road from Mumbai to Pali (110 kms - 2.5 hours). First Darshan will be of  Ballaleshwar at Pali, 

• From Pali Take Road to Khopoli (40 kms) and visit Varadvinayak at Mahad (10 kms South of Khopoli).

• From Mahad take Mumbai-Pune expressway from Khopoli Exit and then reach Pune. Overnight at Pune or Ranjangaon (for Ranjangaon take Chakan exit and from there take Chakan - Ranjangaon Toll Road).  

Day 2 

• Pune Traffic is a real headache and so depart early for Ranjangaon (50 kms - 1 hour). Its located right on the Ahmedanagar Highway.

• From Ranjangaon one idea is to go to Theur which is 40 kms of country Road or come back to Pune and from Loni turn for Solapur Road and Chintamani at Theur is about 5 kms from Main Road at 25 kms from Loni..

• From Theur to next stop would be Moreshwar at Moregaon which is about 70 kms from Theur at about 30 kms from Main Solapur Road.  

• From Moreshwar to Siddhivinayak at Siddhatek is about 90 kms and its 33 kms off the Main Solapur Road. Siddhatek used to have access problems before but now a bridge has come up on the river leading to it and therefore its better accessible.

• From Siddhatek come back to Pune and overnight at Pune or Ranjangaon .

Day 3 

• Pune / Ranjangaon take route via Chakan. From Chakan, Narayangaon is about 50 kms and from there Lenyadri and Ozhar are both about 15 kms. So First head for Vighneshwar at Ozhar. 

• From Ozhar to Girijatmaj at Lenyadri is about 15 kms. One has to climb 283 steps to reach this cave temple. 

• By the time one is done with this temple its most likely that its afternoon and so head back for Mumbai via Chakan Exit via Expressway or time permitting via Rajgurunagar and Bhimashankar (Shiva temple), Malshej- Murbad - Kalyan-thane Route. 

Note:

• This is a really hectic itinerary covering about 900-100 kms and therefore early departure is essential except Day 1.

• Road condition (As per August 2007 trip report) are by and large good to very good and only few patches are where one has to be careful.

• To avoid Pune Traffic It is best to stay at Ranjangaon where there is quality accommodation is available (Advisable to be pre-booked)..

• Transport Ex-Mumbai can be arranged with drivers who know the route pretty well. 

• For those arriving late afternoon it may be required to stay overnight in transit before starting this itinerary. We can recommend transit stay option based on time of arrival.