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Overview
Shirdi, home of the Sai Baba Mandir, is about 74 kilometres away from the Shani Shingnapur Temple. The Shani Shingnapur Temple is dedicated to Lord Shani, the deity for the planet of Saturn. It is a unique temple in that the sanctum is located amidst an open area. According to a local myth, Lord Shani's idol here emerged from the Panasnala River and the deity even appeared in the dream of the head shepherd, telling him that the idol shouldn't be covered under any roofing. This serves two purposes, first is because the whole skies is the roof of the Lord Shani and second is so that the deity can guard over the village without any interference. In contrast to the Sai Baba Mandir, the whole Shani Shingnapur Temple exudes a simple ambience though the spirituality is still there. In this guide, we would highlight the best ways of reaching the Shani Shingnapur Temple from Shirdi.
How to Reach Shani Shingnapur from Shirdi (Economical Options Only)
There are various ways of reaching the Shani Shingnapur Temple from Shirdi. You can opt to go via your own vehicle or via public transport but this guide would be more on the latter. Since the small village of Shani Shingnapur is directly connected by road to Shirdi, there won't be any issues at all. Depending on the means of transportation, travel duration is around two hours, more or less.
1. By MSRTC Bus - The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation operates some buses running from Shirdi to Shani Shingnapur. These buses are of various types, from day ordinary, to ordinary express and to night express. These buses don't originate from Shirdi though, they come from other originating cities such as Nasik, Yeola, Malegaon and Manmad. There are buses all throughout the day as well so you can plan your trip accordingly. They leave from the State Transport Bus Stop of Shirdi, just a few metres from the Sai Baba Mandir.
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MSRTC Bus Timings from Shirdi to Shani Shingnapur ↩
Bus Number | Bus Type | Origin City | Terminating City | Origin Station Departure Time |
Bus No. 1 | Night Express | Pandharpur | Nagpur | 6:00 |
Bus No. 2 | Ordinary Express | Pandharpur | Katol | 6:00 |
Bus No. 3 | Night Express | Pandharpur | Nagpur | 6:02 |
Bus No. 4 | Night Express | Pandharpur | Nagpur | 7:00 |
Bus No. 5 | Day Ordinary | Yeola | Shani Shingnapur | 7:00 |
Bus No. 6 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 7:00 |
Bus No. 7 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 8:00 |
Bus No. 8 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 8:05 |
Bus No. 9 | Day Ordinary | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 8:30 |
Bus No. 10 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 9:30 |
Bus No. 11 | Ordinary Express | Saoner | Pandharpur | 10:00 |
Bus No. 12 | Ordinary Express | Nandgaon | Bhagawangad Temple | 11:30 |
Bus No. 13 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Bhagawangad Temple | 13:00 |
Bus No. 14 | Day Ordinary | Nasik | Shani Shingnapur | 13:15 |
Bus No. 15 | Day Ordinary | Malegaon | Mohotadevi Ghat Mhata | 15:00 |
Bus No. 16 | Day Ordinary | Nasik | Shani Shingnapur | 15:00 |
Bus No. 17 | Ordinary Express | Triambak | Shani Shingnapur | 15:00 |
Bus No. 18 | Day Ordinary | Malegaon | Shani Shingnapur | 15:15 |
Bus No. 19 | Day Ordinary | Manmad | Shani Shingnapur | 15:30 |
Bus No. 20 | Day Ordinary | Lasalgaon | Shani Shingnapur | 16:00 |
Bus No. 21 | Day Ordinary | Malegaon | Shani Shingnapur | 16:15 |
Bus No. 22 | Day Ordinary | Nasik | Shani Shingnapur | 20:00 |
The table above highlights all of the buses reaching or passing through Shani Shingnapur which are all operated by MSRTC. The earliest bus departs from Shirdi at around 6:00 in the morning while the latest bus departs at around 20:00 in the evening. There are buses every hour or so departing from Shirdi so the frequency is quite good. Journey is around two hours, more or less. Fares weren't depicted in the MSRTC website but since this is a government venture, the rates would be very minimal. You can register at the MSRTC
website for further information about these buses.
2. By Train + By MSRTC Bus (Option A) - Your first option for train journey is to reach the Rahuri Railway Station from Shirdi. As you might have known, Shirdi already has its own railway station, the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station. Now the nearest railway station to Shani Shingnapur is the Rahuri Railway Station, just around 25 kilometres to its west. There is one direct daily train from Shirdi to Rahuri, which departs around the late afternoon from the former station and reaches the latter in around 1 hour and 30 minutes.
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Train Timing From Shirdi to Rahuri ↩
Train Name & Number | Departure Time | Arrival Time | Journey Duration | Schedule |
Sainagar Shirdi Mumbai CST Fast Passenger Train No. 51034 | 16:10 | 17:43 | 1 Hour and 33 Minutes | Daily |
The table above showcases the schedule of the Sainagar Shirdi Mumbai CST Fast Passenger Train No. 51034. It departs from Shirdi at around 16:10 in the afternoon and arrives at around 17:43 in Rahuli. The train has daily schedules though it can be a bit troublesome if you arrive too late at Shirdi during peak weekends. Fare rates are very minimal at just Rs. 15 for General Seating, Rs. 100 for Sleeper Class and Rs. 490 for Third AC Class. You can book this train from the official
website of IRCTC or from any other train booking site.
From the Rahuri Railway Station, you can ride an auto rickshaw or taxi to reach the MSRTC Rahuri Bus Station. From there, you can find direct buses to Shani Shingnapur operated by the MSRTC. Some of these buses originate from Rahuri but others have different originating stations as well. But you can find buses every hour or so making your journey a bit easier.
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MSRTC Bus Timings from Rahuri to Shani Shingnapur ↩
Bus Number | Bus Type | Origin City | Terminating City | Origin Station Departure Time |
Bus No. 1 | Ordinary Express | Raver | Shani Shingnapur | 00:00 |
Bus No. 2 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 7:00 |
Bus No. 3 | Day Ordinary | Yeola | Shani Shingnapur | 7:00 |
Bus No. 4 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 7:00 |
Bus No. 5 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 7:30 |
Bus No. 6 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 7:35 |
Bus No. 7 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 8:00 |
Bus No. 8 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 8:05 |
Bus No. 9 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 8:30 |
Bus No. 10 | Day Ordinary | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 8:30 |
Bus No. 11 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Shani Shingnapur | 9:30 |
Bus No. 12 | Ordinary Express | Raver | Shani Shingnapur | 10:00 |
Bus No. 13 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 10:00 |
Bus No. 14 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 10:15 |
Bus No. 15 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 10:30 |
Bus No. 16 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 11:15 |
Bus No. 17 | Ordinary Express | Nandgaon | Bhagawangad Temple | 11:30 |
Bus No. 18 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 11:45 |
Bus No. 19 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 12:30 |
Bus No. 20 | Ordinary Express | Nasik CBS | Bhagawangad Temple | 13:00 |
Bus No. 21 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 13:00 |
Bus No. 22 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 13:15 |
Bus No. 23 | Day Ordinary | Nasik | Shani Shingnapur | 13:15 |
Bus No. 24 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 13:20 |
Bus No. 25 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 13:30 |
Bus No. 26 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 13:35 |
Bus No. 27 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 15:00 |
Bus No. 28 | Day Ordinary | Malegaon | Mohotadevi Ghat Mhata | 15:00 |
Bus No. 29 | Ordinary Express | Triambak | Shani Shingnapur | 15:00 |
Bus No. 30 | Day Ordinary | Nasik | Shani Shingnapur | 15:00 |
Bus No. 31 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 15:15 |
Bus No. 32 | Day Ordinary | Malegaon | Shani Shingnapur | 15:15 |
Bus No. 33 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 15:30 |
Bus No. 34 | Day Ordinary | Manmad | Shani Shingnapur | 15:30 |
Bus No. 35 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 15:45 |
Bus No. 36 | Day Ordinary | Lasalgaon | Shani Shingnapur | 16:00 |
Bus No. 37 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 16:00 |
Bus No. 38 | Day Ordinary | Malegaon | Shani Shingnapur | 16:15 |
Bus No. 39 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 16:30 |
Bus No. 40 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 17:30 |
Bus No. 41 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 18:30 |
Bus No. 42 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 19:00 |
Bus No. 43 | Day Ordinary | Nasik | Shani Shingnapur | 20:00 |
Bus No. 44 | Day Ordinary | Rahuri | Ghodegaon | 20:00 |
These are all the buses running from Rahuri to Shani Shingnapur. The earliest bus departs at 00:00 but if you would rather leave when there's daylight, then the earliest bus for you would be departing at around 7:00 in the morning. The latest bus departs at around 20:00 from Rahuri. Fare structures were also not highlighted in the MSRTC
website but you can reach it for further information or for ticket reservation.
3. By Train + By MSRTC Bus (Option B) - Your next option is to reach the Ahmadnagar Railway Station from Shirdi. The advantage of this route is that there are more options for trains that run all throughout the day. In road distance though, the Shani Shingnapur is about 43 kilometres away from the Ahmadnagar Railway Station. Thus, your journey would be a bit longer for this route, but if you can't make it to the train mentioned in the second option, then this is your best option.
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Train Timings From Shirdi to Ahmadnagar ↩
Train Name & Number | Departure Time | Arrival Time | Journey Duration | Schedule |
Sainagar Shirdi Pandharpur Express Train No. 11001 | 5:00 | 6:48 | 1 Hour and 48 Minutes | Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays |
Sainagar Shirdi Chennai Central Weekly SF Express Train No. 22602 | 8:25 | 10:12 | 1 Hour and 47 Minutes | Fridays |
Sainagar Shirdi Mumbai CST Fast Passenger Train No. 51034 | 16:10 | 17:43 | 2 Hours and 15 Minutes | Daily |
Sainagar Shirdi Mysuru Weekly Express Train No. 16218 | 23:55 | 2:10 | 2 Hours and 15 Minutes | Tuesdays |
These are all the trains running from the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station to the Ahmadnagar Railway Station. The earliest train departs at 5:00 while the latest train departs at 23:55. Journey duration varies but it's between 1 hour and 47 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not all trains have daily schedules so make sure you plan accordingly. You can refer to the table below for the fare structures of the different trains.
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Fares for Trains From Shirdi to Ahmadnagar ↩
Train Name & Number | General Seating | Sleeper | Third AC | Second AC |
Sainagar Shirdi Pandharpur Express Train No. 11001 | Rs. 48 | - | - | - |
Sainagar Shirdi Chennai Central Weekly SF Express Train No. 22602 | Rs. 63 | Rs. 170 | Rs. 540 | Rs. 740 |
Sainagar Shirdi Mumbai CST Fast Passenger Train No. 51034 | Rs. 25 | Rs. 100 | Rs. 490 | - |
Sainagar Shirdi Mysuru Weekly Express Train No. 16218 | Rs. 48 | Rs. 140 | Rs. 490 | Rs. 695 |
From Ahmadnagar Railway Station, the MSRTC Main ST Stand is under two kilometres away. You can ride an auto rickshaw or taxi to reach the bus stand from where you can get the buses for Shani Shingnapur. Now the problem is that there are only two early morning buses that depart from this bus stand to Shani Shingnapur. So if you cannot fit them into your schedule, then just ride a cab from Ahmadnagar to Shani Shingnapur. Again, these buses are operated by the MSRTC.
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MSRTC Bus Timings from Ahmadnagar to Shani Shingnapur ↩
Bus Number | Bus Type | Originating City | Terminating City | Origin Station Departure Time |
Bus No. 1 | Ordinary Express | Pandharpur | Saoner | 8:00 |
Bus No. 2 | Day Ordinary | Pandharpur | Katol | 10:00 |
So the two buses depart from Ahmadnagar at around 8:00 and 10:00. If you want to make it any of these timings, you have to choose the Sainagar Shirdi Pandharpur Express Train No. 11001. You can go to the MSRTC
website for further information about these buses. It takes around an hour for these buses to reach Shani Shingnapur from Ahmadnagar.
4. By Shared Tempo - Your last option is to ride a shared tempo from Shirdi to Shani Shingnapur. There are many of these types of vehicles outside the Sai Baba Mandir. You can negotiate the price, if you're part of a group and you want to rent the entire vehicle. But you can also just wait for the vehicle to be filled by other passengers. You would only be paying Rs. 150 per head or even less. However, the ride can be very bumpy and is away from the main highway. You would be instead taken to the village route where you can enjoy the village and field views. The journey can take around two hours, more or less. For the timings of these shared tempos, they vary depending on the rush of pilgrims during that day. So during slow days, it would take a few hours for the ride to commence as the drivers would wait for passengers to make the journey more cost-effective for them.
Conclusion
This ends our guide on your economical travel options from Shirdi to Shani Shingnapur. If you want a direct journey, you can opt for the MSRTC buses that leave from the Shirdi State Transport Bus Stop and arrive directly at Shani Shingnapur. If you want train journey, you can opt to reach either the Rahuli Railway Station or the Ahmadnagar Railway Station. But be prepared as the journey won't be direct, you would need to combine the trip with bus journey. Your last practical option is by shared tempo, which is very affordable but a bit on the uncomfortable side.
I hope this helps you!
