Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi.
Shirdi is among most sacred pilgrim spots in India. This holy place has gained a massive popularity across the globe for its association with the charismatic saint Shri Saibaba. Every activity at Shirdi revolves around the vast temple complex dedicated to Sai Baba. Devotees start queuing up in the early hours of dawn to catch a glimpse and seek the blessings of the life-size statue of Sai Baba. It is one of the richest temple organisations. 
Interior of Sai Baba Temple.
ABOUT TEMPLE: The Shirdi Saibaba Temple, located at Shirdi, Maharashtra, India attracts millions of devotees of all religions, castes and creed who come to pay homage to Shri Sai Baba. The temple is a beautiful shrine that was built over the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba. There are other places that devotees can visit as well including Dwarikamai Mosque where the Baba meditated and slept on alternate nights. Near the mosque, in a corridor is the dhuni or eternal flame that burns day and night. Thursday is marked by special pujas and darshan of the Sai Baba statue.
Sai temple shirdi opens for devotees at 5.15 a.m. (0515 hrs) with Kakad Aarti and remains open till the end of Shejarti. 
Samadhi of Sai Baba.
AARTI TIMINGS:
Kakad Aarti:       5:15 am
Afternoon Aarti:  12:00 pm
Dhupa Aarti:        sunset 
Shejaarti:             10:00 pm
ABOUT SAIBABA: Sai Baba was a guru, yogi and fakir who is regarded by both Hindus and Muslims as a saint. Many Hindus also consider him a reincarnation of Lord Krishna. Sai Baba preached tolerance towards all religions and the message of universal brotherhood. Revered equally by both Hindus and Muslims, Sai Baba lived in a mosque and after he died was cremated in a temple. Sai Baba founded the philosophy of “Shraddha” meaning faith and “Saburi” meaning compassion and according to him both of these virtues were very important to reach the state of godliness. 
LOCATION: Shirdi is located in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra in Western India. Shirdi is located

around 266 kms from the state capital, Mumbai and 1166 kms from the country capital, Delhi. It is quite close to the holy city of Nashik with just 90kms away. Pune is about 206 kms far from Shirdi. Shirdi is easily accessible from all the major cities of Maharashtra by road, it is equally approachable from across the country through rail and air network.  

PLACES OF INTERESTS: Gurusthan, the Khandoba Mandir, Narsimha Mandir, Changdev Maharaj Samadhi and the Sakori Ashram.
Apart from the Sai Baba temple, another place near Shirdi which is very famous is the village of Shani Shingnapur which contains a temple dedicated to Lord Shani. The village is also famous for the fact that none of the houses, shops and even banks there have doors, there are door frames but no doors. The villagers never keep anything under lock and key as they believe that Lord Shani will punish anyone who tries to steal. 
Shani Dev Temple in Shingnapur.
ACCOMODATION: Shirdi has accommodation available to every income group, starting from budget to high-end. You could get hotels at a price of Rs 1000/day(Non-AC) and Rs 1500/day(AC). The check out time of hotels are 12:00 noon.  
HOW TO GET THERE: 
BY AIR: The nearest airport to Shirdi is Aurangabad( 144 kms from Shirdi ). Shirdi has not its own airport but it is being constructed at Kakdi (Kopargaon taluka), 14 km south-west of Shirdi. Route for shirdi airport is shirdi – Nandurkhi (4 km)- Korhale(8 km)- Kakadi(14 km).
Railway Station of Shirdi.
BY RAIL: The closest railway stations by which you can reach Shirdi are Manmad railway station which is 87 km and Ahmednagar railway station which is 83 km from the heart of Shirdi, alternatively from Kopargaon station which is 15 km from Shirdi, or Nashik city, which is 119 km from Shirdi.
Shirdi now has its own railway station called “Sainagar Shirdi”, which became operational in March 2009.
BY ROAD: Shirdi can be reached by bus from any of the cities in Maharashtra State (India). You can easily get taxi or bus to shirdi. Currently, four-laning of State highway Nagar-Manmad highway is in progress on BOT basis. Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has been assigned to execute the works of internal roads in Shirdi.

Written by

Manu Khandelwal

An engineer and a travel blogger. Loves trekking and doing bike road trips. Burger lover (want to try every burger in the world). Clinomaniac. Sports fanatic. Likes technology but not a technology addict.