Ashtavinayak Yatra

Lord Ganesha is the principal Hindu deity who protects His disciples. Lord Ganesha helps them regain prosperity, unity, learning, and achieve human qualities. Ashtavinayaka in Sanskrit denotes adoration of eight forms of Lord Ganesha. He is worshipped in eight different temples located in or around Pune in Maharashtra. Ashtravinayaka Yatra (like the famed Amarnath Yatra) is a pilgrimage. If you do this Yatra, then you will be paying your tributes to the Lord.

You will have to visit eight temples in total. They are the Mayureshwar Ganesha temple, Siddhivinayak Ganesha temple, the Ballaleshwar Ganesha temple, Varadavinayak Ganesha temple, Chintamani Ganesha temple, Girijatmak Ganesha temple, Vignahar Ganesha temple, and the Maha Ganapati Ganesha temple. Don’t worry. They are all quite close to each others. In fact, the temples are located within a range of 20 to 110 kilometers. You can cover them all in two to three days. You should start your pilgrimage from the Mayureshwar Ganesha temple and end it at the Maha Ganapati Ganesha temple. This is the recommended route.

It is believed that those who have completed the Yatra or the pilgrimage in full faith and devotion will be blessed by Lord Ganesha. They will then be successful in their endeavors. You should certainly visit these temples. You can do so on any weekend. If you add one more day, then you can do the trip on a more leisurely pace.

Distance by road from Nearest Metro City: The temples are spread out over the Pune, Ahamadnagar and Raigad districts.

How to reach: The eight temples are located close to Nasik and Pune. There are two temples between Mumbai and Pune. It is best to start the trip from Pune because it is essential to visit the Mayureshwar Ganesha temple first. Take a train or flight to Pune first. There are some conducted trips from Pune by chartered cars and vans that take pilgrims to all the temples. You can do it on your own car as well.

There are plenty of good accommodation options along the route. You could do the first four or five temples on day one and complete the Yatra on the next day.