Shirdi Packages Offer Bhakti Unlimited

Sai Baba is considered by many as one of the greatest saints of India. When Sai Baba was 16 years old, he visited Shirdi and stayed there till he took ‘Samadhi’ (passed away) in 1918. He is revered by his followers who visit this holy pilgrimage again and again from all parts of the country and abroad to pay their respects to the saint.

The Place

Shirdi is a small town in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The temple complex covers an area of about 200 sq meters. Apart from the Shirdi temple, there are several other visit-worthy places too, such as Shanisinghnapur, Maruti Temple, Nashik, and others.

The temple itself is one of the richest in India. It receives approximately 4 billion rupees per year in the form of donations.

This temple, on average, sees a footfall of around 50000 visitors daily – a number that doubles during festival time. The temple trust has built around 2500 rooms to accommodate the influx. These rooms range from the purely budget to star categories.

How to reach

The popularity of the place has ensured that it is well-connected with all the major cities via several means of transport.

The nearest airport is Pune International Airport, which is situated around 185 kilometers from Shirdi. It has daily flights from all the metros, along with Goa, Kochi and Bengaluru. When it comes to railways, it is connected very well to places like Chennai, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Puri, Vizag, and many others. Many buses connect Shirdi to cities like Pune, Mumbai, and Nashik. Due to good motor-able roads, many travelers have started driving down to Shirdi as well.   

While Shirdi is visited the entire year over by followers, the peak time is October-November. 

For those who prefer to go back home with tangible memories, there are lots of shops that sell souvenirs and trinkets at nominal charges. In terms of food, there is no dearth of choice. Many restaurants dot the landscape of Shirdi, selling cuisines of various types – from Gujarat to South Indian. One would find that most restaurants sell only vegetarian fare. Also available is a wide array of delicious fruits, like pomegranate and guava.

The temple offers its devotees a delicious meal for just Rs. 10. This is cooked in the world’s largest solar cooker. You can buy mineral water and soft drinks easily. However, liquor is not sold anywhere in the town.

The followers of Sai Baba remain undeterred in heat or rain, and the temple is packed with people at the best and worst of times. Many travelers seek the services of travel agents that offer Shirdi packages inclusive of travel, accommodation and meals to ensure peace of mind and relaxed ‘darshan’. If you too are hearing the call of Sai Baba and want to visit Shirdi, just go online and look for the best Shirdi packages. You will find a veritable deluge of the same. Take your time and go through several before you decide on any one of them for your needs.

“Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost”

JRR Tolkien wrote this line in one of his poems included in The Lord of the Rings, and it applies beautifully to the many wanderlust affected people who want to take train trip vacations across the length and breadth of the Indian landscape. Given the enormity of the country which makes it so versatile in terms of cultures, histories and rituals, it is no wonder that these train trip vacations are a source of emotional nourishment, personal growth and knowledge absorption. Even when these processes are not identified per se by the individuals traveling the country, they are happening nonetheless!

Even though Tolkien had the best interests of wanderers at his heart when he wrote that poem, wandering a vast country like India is a Herculean task with real chances of getting lost in the deluge of information, which is why IRCTC Tourism has curated a bevy of train trip vacations that are affordable as well as intriguing, incorporating most of India’s finest tourism hotspots into the diverse itineraries. 

A Journey For All Travelers, Religious, Historical Or Cultural

People who harbor the desire to visit places that have great homages dedicated to the deities of Indian mythology can take their pick from the long list of Bharat Darshan trains: Do Dham Yatra, Nav Jyotirlinga Special, South India Special, Shirdi Special, Tirupati Darshan, Dwarka-Somnath, Gangasagar-Puri, Vaishno Devi Shrine and many others. Fulfilling the innate desire to visit the shrine or temple venerating a higher being has multiple positive effects on the psyche of religiously inclined individuals, making these Bharat Darshan trains a go-to option for families looking to experience such wholesome effects.

Another popular train trip vacation is the Trail of Ganges, which offers air conditioned journeys in three classes of accommodation (1AC, 2AC, 3AC) to and from the south Indian cities of Kochuveli, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Erode, Perambur and Vijayawada, covering the highly regarded sites of Devprayag, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Allahabad, Varanasi, Gaya, Kolkata and Gangasagar. The trove of religious and cultural experiences along with unique activities like the (optional) cable car to Mansa Devi at Haridwar makes the Trail of Ganges a great outing for the entire family! The confluence of the Ganga with the Yamuna at Allahabad is also a part of this soul-refreshing journey, followed by an observation of the pind daan ritual at Gaya. Further, the route reaches the capital of West Bengal, Kolkata, where participants of the tour can see the Belur Math and more important sites. The merging of the Ganga into the sea is appreciated best at the island of Gangasagar, which adds another facet to the tour by requiring a ferry ride from the southern edge of Bengal!

For ardent Buddhists and peace-seeking travelers alike, IRCTC Tourism has added the Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train to its train trip vacations. Taking travelers from Delhi on a pilgrimage that spans Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal (by road), this journey makes for a train trip vacation to be remembered for the ages! The places associated with the highlights of the Buddha’s life are Lumbini (birthplace), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (preaching) and Kushinagar (mahaparinirvana), and this train trip vacation includes the Taj Mahal in Agra on the way back! 

Wander to Your Heart’s Content

The need to explore new places is innate in all living beings, and humans more than all other species. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that our basic needs are taken care of, which is why we can allot more time to the pursuit of leisure activities and novel experiences. The modes of conveyance we use to get from place to place have also contributed greatly to our ability to roam, and it seems opportune to make the most of our good luck!

With the aim of making travel cheaper, easier and faster, IRCTC operates many trains that cover scenic routes and significant destinations. With the best train tour packages around, the options are so many that it takes a while just to decide which trip you want to go on!

Covering religious, cultural and natural beauties in the itineraries, there are multiple stops that take your breath away. From the southern part of India with its well-maintained temples and pristine cities to the north of the country that is covered by the holy Ganges and its associated system of rivers, no other way can beat the reliability of the train tours. The packages are decided upon by taking all factors of comfort and efficiency of passengers, and more services like hotel bookings, cab provision, security staffing and sightseeing travel are available depending upon the itinerary of the tour you select.

Coverage of the Length and Breadth of This Vast Country

Just as an example of the thought given to organizing the tours, Gangtok and Darjeeling tour packages take you from various boarding points in the south of the country – Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, among others – and show you the splendid eastern Himalayas at the eponymous cities. The tour includes many, many site visits including but not at all limited to such awesome sights as the famed sunrise over Tiger Hill and the Maitreyi Buddha at Ghoom Monastery, both in Darjeeling. The flora at the Gangtok Flower Show and the splendid panoramas from the Tashi View Point will leave your device memory running low no matter how hard you resist clicking pictures, so make sure you have enough backup space!

The Cool Kanchenjunga train tour package incorporates the best of the beauty that is on display in the highest reaches of the eastern Himalayas. Starting with the Tsomgo Lake, 12,300 feet above mean sea level. This lake’s reflections of the sunlight have been used to foretell prophecies by the Buddhist priests of the region, and once you see it for yourself you can tell why it might have such mesmerizing effects on people’s minds. Mysticism apart, the fun of riding a yak on the banks of Tsomgo, even if only for a short while, is unique and always a must-do for young and old alike! Wildlife enthusiasts stand a chance to see the red panda and Brahminy ducks if they are lucky to visit when the weather is right for the fauna to wander about.

These are just two of the train tour packages, check out the site to explore more!