Day 1 · Down through Junnar, then west to Raigad — Ozar, Lenyadri, Mahad & Pali
~316 kmInteractive map — drag and zoom; tap a marker for the temple.
1Nashik → 124 km · ~150 min driveVighnahar, OzarFrom Nashik the circuit is entered from the north — run down NH60 through Sangamner and Narayangaon to Ozar, about 124 km. Vighnahar at Ozar is the nearest of the eight to Nashik and a natural first darshan; Girijatmaj at Lenyadri, its cave shrine, is a short hop further into the Junnar hills.
212 km · ~25 min driveGirijatmaj, LenyadriGirijatmaj at Lenyadri is a cave shrine cut into the hillside — the only climb on the circuit, about 280 stone steps up. Go early, before the heat; a palanquin (doli) service helps those who need it.
3140 km · ~210 min driveVaradvinayak, Mahad
440 km · ~60 min driveBallaleshwar, Pali
After roughly 315 km — the Junnar cave shrines and the long sweep west to the Raigad pair — halt in the Lonavala–Khopoli hill belt, about 40 km from Pali. It puts you within a fresh morning's reach of the eastern shrines and offers cool-weather lodging, including state (MTDC) resorts nearby.
Day 2 · The eastern shrines & the long road home — Theur, Ranjangaon, Morgaon & Siddhatek
~260 kmInteractive map — drag and zoom; tap a marker for the temple.
585 km · ~120 min driveChintamani, Theur
642 km · ~75 min driveMahaganapati, Ranjangaon
768 km · ~105 min driveMayureshwar, Morgaon
865 km · ~100 min driveSiddhivinayak, Siddhatek
Siddhatek back to Nashik is about 230 km — the price of a circuit that sits well south of home. Be honest about this two-day plan: Nashik lies far enough north that even split cleverly it means two very long days, the second ending with that 230 km haul home. Most Nashik pilgrims are far better served by the three-day plan below, or by basing a night or two in Pune.
Day 1 · South into Junnar — Ozar & Lenyadri
~136 kmInteractive map — drag and zoom; tap a marker for the temple.
- 1Nashik → 124 km · ~150 min driveVighnahar, Ozar
From Nashik the circuit is entered from the north — run down NH60 through Sangamner and Narayangaon to Ozar, about 124 km. Vighnahar at Ozar is the nearest of the eight to Nashik and a natural first darshan; Girijatmaj at Lenyadri, its cave shrine, is a short hop further into the Junnar hills.
- 212 km · ~25 min driveGirijatmaj, Lenyadri
Girijatmaj at Lenyadri is a cave shrine cut into the hillside — the only climb on the circuit, about 280 stone steps up. Go early, before the heat; a palanquin (doli) service helps those who need it.
After the two Junnar shrines, run the roughly 95 km south to Pune for the night — the natural base for the eastern day to come, with the widest lodging and food and every eastern shrine within easy reach.
Day 2 · The eastern shrines — Morgaon, Siddhatek, Theur & Ranjangaon
~254 kmInteractive map — drag and zoom; tap a marker for the temple.
- 365 km · ~100 min driveMayureshwar, Morgaon
Morgaon's Mayureshwar is the adya (foremost) of the eight, by tradition the seat where the yatra opens; this eastern day begins with his darshan, as the state-run tour does. A Nashik route reaches Morgaon mid-circuit, so hold it in mind as the ceremonial heart to close with on the way home.
- 465 km · ~100 min driveSiddhivinayak, Siddhatek
- 582 km · ~120 min driveChintamani, Theur
- 642 km · ~75 min driveMahaganapati, Ranjangaon
From Ranjangaon it is only about 50 km back to Pune for a second night — the eastern day's natural base, and an easy start west to the Raigad pair in the morning before the drive north home.
Day 3 · West to the Raigad shrines, then north home — Pali & Mahad
~150 kmInteractive map — drag and zoom; tap a marker for the temple.
- 7110 km · ~150 min driveBallaleshwar, Pali
- 840 km · ~60 min driveVaradvinayak, Mahad
Varadvinayak at Mahad sits just off the Mumbai–Pune Expressway near Khopoli — the westernmost point of your circuit and the cue to turn north. From here the road home to Nashik runs about 215 km up through the Kasara ghat.
Mahad to Nashik is about 215 km via the expressway and the Kasara ghat, closing the three-day plan. Reach Pali at opening time and the long drive north still lands you home the same evening; see the closing note on Morgaon below.
By custom the yatra is complete only with a closing darshan of Mayureshwar at Morgaon, where it began. A Nashik circuit ends in the west at the Raigad shrines, far from Morgaon, so pilgrims usually let their Morgaon darshan on the eastern day stand as the ceremonial close; those set on the full tradition can fold a second Morgaon visit — about 55 km south-east of Pune — into the eastern day before the western leg.
Traditional (shastrokta) darshan order+
This is the shastrokta (scripturally prescribed) sequence — it opens at Mayureshwar in Morgaon and, once all eight have been seen, closes there again. It is a darshan order, not a driving route: most pilgrims and tour operators regroup the temples by geography to cut the driving, and tradition accepts that freely. What matters is that all eight receive darshan.
- Mayureshwar, Morgaon
- Siddhivinayak, Siddhatek
- Ballaleshwar, Pali
- Varadvinayak, Mahad
- Chintamani, Theur
- Girijatmaj, Lenyadri
- Vighnahar, Ozar
- Mahaganapati, Ranjangaon
Getting there
The eight temples are connected by road — train and air get you to your base city, then the circuit is by road.
Nashik Road station sits on the busy Mumbai–Bhusaval–Delhi and Mumbai–Kolkata trunk lines, so nearly 300 trains call here daily and the fastest reach Mumbai in about three hours. The station is about 8–9 km from the city and the ghats of the Godavari, with Trimbakeshwar a further 30 km by road.
Nashik's own airport at Ozar (ISK), about 20 km north-east of the city and operated by HAL, has a limited but growing schedule — non-stop flights reach Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and a few other cities. For wider choice most air travellers still land at Mumbai (BOM), roughly 165 km away, and continue by road or rail.
The most reliable approach for distant pilgrims is to fly into Mumbai (BOM) and then drive north-east on the Mumbai–Agra highway (NH160/NH3) — about 165 km, four hours — or take a fast train to Nashik Road; both deliver you to the Godavari and to Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga.
Official tour options
- MSRTC Ashtavinayak Darshan — the state road-transport corporation's multi-day Ashtavinayak bus package; from Nashik, pilgrims usually join it via Pune.MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation)
- Maharashtra Tourism — the official state guide to all eight Ashtavinayak temples, with travel information for each.Maharashtra Tourism (Directorate of Tourism, Govt. of Maharashtra)
Season & festivals
Best window: August to February. NH60 down through Sangamner and the Junnar hills is greenest just after the monsoon, then settles into cool, dry winter — kindest to long darshan queues and the Lenyadri climb. In the deep monsoon the ghat sections of NH60 and the descents to Pali and Mahad can be slow, and the Godavari region around Nashik sees heavy rain.
Around Ganesh Chaturthi (late August–September) the eight temples are at their most festive — and NH60 between Nashik and Junnar, a busy pilgrim corridor, fills up along with the temple towns. Expect very long darshan lines and full lodging; add generous buffer time, or choose weekdays outside the festival for an unhurried circuit.
Yatri checklist
- Start day one early — the 124 km down NH60 to Ozar is your longest single approach, and an early start puts you at Vighnahar by mid-morning ahead of the queues.
- Fill fuel in Nashik and again in Pune; the NH60 stretch through Sangamner and the roads to Pali and Siddhatek are rural, with few reliable stops.
- Wear footwear that slips off easily — it comes off at every temple — and remember Girijatmaj at Lenyadri means about 280 steps on foot.
- Keep a government photo ID and small cash for parking, prasad and the Lenyadri palanquin (doli) if you need it.
- Confirm each temple's darshan and aarti timings before you set out, and keep buffer for the long drive back north to Nashik at the end.
Planning FAQs
Can I do the Ashtavinayak yatra from Nashik in two days?+
It is possible but demanding. Nashik sits well north of the circuit, so a two-day plan means two very long days — the Junnar cave shrines and the western Raigad pair on the first, the four eastern temples and a roughly 230 km drive home on the second. Unless you are set on two days, the three-day plan is far kinder, and many Nashik pilgrims base a night or two in Pune to break the distance.
How do I reach the first Ashtavinayak temple from Nashik?+
You enter the circuit from the north. Vighnahar at Ozar is the nearest of the eight — about 124 km south down NH60 through Sangamner and Narayangaon, roughly two and a half hours — with Girijatmaj at Lenyadri, the cave shrine, a short hop further into the Junnar hills. From there the route works south to Pune and the eastern temples.
Should I base myself in Pune when doing the yatra from Nashik?+
For all but the first Junnar morning, yes. After Ozar and Lenyadri, Pune is the natural overnight hub — closest to the four eastern shrines and with the widest lodging and food. Only the final Raigad pair, Pali and Mahad, pulls you west of Pune before the long drive home to Nashik.
Is Trimbakeshwar or anything near Nashik worth adding to the yatra?+
Very much so. Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga, one of the twelve, stands about 30 km from Nashik, and the Godavari ghats at Nashik itself are a fitting place to begin or end a pilgrimage. Many pilgrims give Trimbakeshwar and the ghats a morning before turning south down NH60 for the Ashtavinayak circuit.