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Located in central India, Maharashtra is one of the most popular states and home to some of the best tourist places in India. It is the land of Ganesha, with the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated with much pomp and splendour. The Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai and the Dagdusheth Halwai Temple in Pune bear testimony to the religious sentiments amongst the locals. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora Caves bear the stamp of Buddhist and Jain influence and, to a great extent, Hindu influence too.
Being home to many tourist attractions, Maharashtra has numerous revered places that annually attract pilgrims.
Top holy places and tourist attractions in Maharashtra:
One of the sacred places in India, also known as Sainagar, is located in the Ahmednagar district on the Ahmednagar-Malegaon State Highway, about 122 km from Nasik. It is famous for being the home to Shirdi Sai Baba, a 19th-century spiritual guru revered by Hindus and Muslims equally. Sai Baba arrived at Shirdi in 1858 and achieved salvation in 1918. Besides the main temple, devotees can pay their respects at Dwarkamai, Samadhi Mandir, and Chavadi. Locally, pilgrims can travel in autos and free-shuttle buses arranged by the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust. The Trust also arranges for accommodation.
Air: It is the most comfortable mode of travelling to and from Shirdi. One of the significant tourist places in India, the Shirdi Airport opened in 2017. There are regular flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai to Shirdi.
Best hotels:
Luxury Hotels: Sun-N-Sand, St. Laurn – The Spiritual Resort.
Budget Hotels: Hotel Temple Tree, Hotel Sai Leela
Also, check out our article on popular pilgrimage sites in Tamilnadu here!
Ganpatipule, on the Konkan coast, is one of the nearest tourist places to Ratnagiri, Pawas, Malgund, and Velneshwar, famously known for the Ganesh Temple, surrounded by white sandy beaches. Primarily a beach town with stretches of virgin, pristine sandy coastline dotted with a 400-year-old temple dedicated to Ganesha. People made the idol from a monolith stone more than 1600 years old. An interesting aspect of the town is the hill-shaped Ganpati right at the confluence of the sea and the river.
Ganpatipule also offers an array of adventure activities for some real-life action stunts and escapades, a perfect spot to unwind, relax, and indulge in soul-searching.
Air: Ratnagiri Airport is the closest to Ganapatipule, above 50 km away. Taxis are available from the airport to nearby tourist places, like Ganapatipule Beach, Ganpatipule Temple, Magic Garden, Prachin Konkan, etc., offering easy local accessibility to pilgrims.
Best hotels: Blue Ocean Resort & Spa and Kaular Atithi’s Grand Kokan Resort.
This is an ancient temple in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. Built-in reverence of Lord Shiva, it is one of the holy 12 jyotirlingas worshipped by devout Hindus. The temple is located in Trimbak, the origination point of the Godavari River. Its premises comprise a sacred pond built by the Fadnavis of Indore State. About 40 km from Nasik, pilgrims can visit Shirdi Temple and the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, one after the other.
Air: Triambke is about 166 km from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport in Mumbai. Pilgrims can travel by bus, car, or train from the Airport.
Best hotels: Ginger Nashik, The Emerald Park, Hotel Rama Heritage
Moreover, you can also check out our article on popular pilgrimage sites in Kerala here!
The small village of Ratanwadi is home to this beautiful temple made from stone. Another dedication to Shiva with a lingam present in the centre of the temple. 1200-year-old, it was built by King Jhang from the Shilahara Dynasty in 900 AD. It is one of the twelve majestic temples constructed by the King in the typical Hemadpanthi architectural style. The temple sanctum bears sculpted gods and goddesses, all made from stone.
Air: The nearest airport to Amruteshwar Temple is the Nashik International Airport, about 85
km from the Airport.
Travel Tip. Hire a cab from the airport that takes you directly to Ratanwadi. Since it is a small village, there are very limited accommodation options. The nearest best place to stay in Nashik.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral was built in 1905 to replace an old Cathedral located in nearby Bhuleshwar. It serves as the headquarters of the Bombay Archdiocese and the religious office of the Archbishop of Bombay. Besides being a prominent sacred spot, it attracts art and architecture lovers due to its intricate artwork, frescoes on the ceilings, colossal bell, and a pipe organ gifted by Pope Paul VI during his visit in 1964. It is opposite the YMCA in Colaba in South Mumbai.
Air: Mumbai is well-connected by air within the domestic and international circuit. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport is an international airport with regular cabs, public and private bus services, metro services, and other local transport modes that help pilgrims travel locally and within the state.
Luxury Hotel. The Leela Mumbai, Waterstones Hotel, The Orchid
This is one of the most sacred sites in Maharashtra, located in Worli along the coast. It is the resting site of Saint Haji Ali, visited by thousands of worshippers to seek the saint’s blessings. It is a mosque-cum-tomb built-in 1431 by Sufi saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. The site is in the middle of the ocean, and pilgrims need to cover about 500-yards on foot before catching a glimpse of the saint’s tomb. The place is accessible, however, only when there is low tide. When waiting for the tide to subside, you can visit nearby tourist places. Even though women are not allied inside the inner Sanctorum of the mosque, they can visit the outer areas.
Air: Haji Ali is about 13 km from the Mumbai International Airport. Pilgrims can book cab services like OLA and Uber or travel by public or private buses to cover the distance.
Best hotels:
Luxury Hotels. Hotel Marine Plaza, The Lalit Mumbai, Hyatt Regency
One of the key tourist attractions near Nasik is the Pandavleni and the Pandu Caves. The site dates back to the 2nd century BC and is one of the many Buddhist cave structures in the state built to offer accommodation and rest to travelling Buddhist and Jain monks during prehistoric times. The cave walls and ceilings bear the typical Hinayana style of architecture. The Pandavleni Caves are a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists, not more than 8 km from the city centre of Nasik.
Air: The closest airport is the Nasik Airport. Pilgrims can book cabs or buses to reach the holy site.
Best hotels:
Luxury Hotels. Grand Rio, Express Inn The Business Hotel
Budget Hotels. Hotel Rama Heritage, Hotel Panchavati Yatri.
The holy city of Nanded on the banks of River Godavari is home to the famous Huzur Sahib Sachkhand Gurudwara. It is one of the five Sikh Takhts in India, as this is the place where the last Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was buried. Hence, this is a site of high religious sentiments for followers of the Sikh community. It is also a frequently visited place by Hindus, as some of the best tourist places in India for devotees are located nearby, like Parli Baidyanath, Aundha Nagnath, and Shakti Peetha Temples.
Air: Aurangabad Airport is the nearest at a distance of 253 km from the town. Cabs and other modes of road transportation are available for travellers and pilgrims.
Best hotels:
Budget Hotels. Hotel City Pride, Hotel Anuradha Palace, Ashirwad Lodging
Maharashtra is home to many top tourist places in India. The beautiful landscape has multiple holy sites like Shirdi, Nanded, Haji Ali, Pandavleni Caves, etc. There are numerous other pilgrimage sites in this land of Marathas. Want to know more about such sites? Check out www.cleartrip.com to research in-depth about more such religious places.
There are about eight Cave Temple sites in the state.
You can use the ‘tourist spot near me’ feature to find places near the Amruteshwar Temple. Some are Sandhan Valley, Ratangad Fort, Bhandardara Dam, and Mount Kalsubai.
No, you are not allowed to take photographs inside the Cathedral.
Entry to the temple is allowed only with a Darshan pass. You need to have your Aadhar Card for the same.
The place is also home to the largest solar cooker globally, called Shirdi Bhojnalaya, which feeds thousands of devotees every day.
It is best to use a credible hotel search engine or booking site like www.cleartrip.com to book hotels at pilgrimage sites in Maharashtra.
