Ashtavinayak pilgrimage on bike
637 km, 8 places, 2 days, and 1 Yamaha FZs.
Drove on highways, raw roads, and roads full of potholes, through the most scenic ghats in Sahyadri, Malshej, and Tamhini. I was driving in rain, and fog, with sheer visibility of few meters, dark roads, but sometimes the Surya Dev flickered the rays of light.
It had been three years now that I had been dreaming/planning to do this. I started pinning and planning the route for a trip in April 2022.
Ashtavinayak; Ashta means Eight, and Vinayak is one of the names of Shri Ganpati. These temples are considered the eight most holy places in Maharashtra. They are all situated around Pune, and each temple has a unique architecture and idol.
- Shree Chintamani, Theur
- Shree Mayureshwar, Morgaon
- Shree Siddhivinayak, Siddhatek
- Shree Mahaganapati, Ranjangaon
- Shree Vighnahar Ganapati, Ozar
- Shree Girijatmaj, Lenyadri
- Shree Varadvinayak, Mahad
- Shree Ballaleshwar, Pali
Finally, there was a long weekend (13th, 14th, and 15th of August) due to a holiday on Indian Independence day. I was confused about whether to visit Varanasi or go on the Ashtavinayak bike trip. But, money matters š , and I hopped on a bike to fulfill the long pending desire.
I started preparing for the trip by collecting the necessary items like rain covers, ropes to tie the luggage, a good helmet, and riding gloves, and preparing mentally to saddle approx. 300 km per day.
I asked a few friends if they would like to join, but none cared, wished me luck, and asked to bring back Prasad š.
Approximate distances
Saturday 13th August 2022
Theur
Started from home around 7:30 AM towards Theur and Reached around 9:00 AM. I bought Prasad and Flower from the Ajji near temple, and she looked after my bike and luggage. This is what I basically did at every place. Temple was not crowded at that time of day, so it was easy to get in. I took the Bappaās blessing and spent some time in the serenity of the temple.
Morgaon
Reached Morgaon around 11.00 AM. It was pretty crowded, took me around one and half hours to take the blessings. People were enjoying by singing Ganapati aarti, songs. Kids enjoyed strolling in the queues. Temple has pretty good wood carvings.
Siddhitek
Reached around 2.00 PM. No queue walked in and out of the temple in no time. Like most other Ashtavinayak temples this one is also carved in stone. Temple is situated near the banks of the Bhima river. The view from the bridge was astounding as the river was coursing in full swing.
Ranjangaon
Reached around 4.30 PM. It rained for some time during the ride. While riding toward Ranjangaon, I was blown by the lush greenery. Since this is on the Pune-Nagar highway, youād find this place mostly crowded. It took me around one and half hours in the darshan queue. I chatted with a few around me, and they were also on the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage.
I planned to stay in Narayangaon for the night. It is approx. 60 km from Ranjangaon and 15 km from Ozar(next temple on my route). I left for Narayangao around 7:00 PM. Roads are not that good, most were work in progress. It took around two hours to reach Narayangaon.
Sunday 14th August 2022
Left around 6:30 AM towards Ozar, roads were pretty good.
Ozar
Reached around 7:00 AM; temples were pretty crowded in the early morning. It is situated on the banks of the Kukadi river, and the views around the temple were pretty amazing. It took around an hour to get in and out of the temple.
Lenyadri
The roads from Lenyandri to Ozar is quiet scenic. Lenyandri means mountain caves, and Shree Ganapati is situated at some height here. One has to climbĀ 283 stepsĀ carved out of stone. The shrine here is a rock-cut cave at the entrance of which are eight pillars with carvings of elephants and lions. Views from the top are really amazing. Youāll come across a lot of monkeys here. They just sit around and take the eating items from the people and stuff them inside their jaws.
Mahad
From Lendyandri, I left towards Mahad. It was a long ride but, the best part was the route, it goes through the mighty Malshej ghats. One can easily take down the eyes from the roads to look around the majestic greenery and the waterfall. It can make anyone spellbound. Some roads were good, and some were bad. For 20-30 km I had to drive in very foggy weather, with visibility close to 5 meters. One would just drive with instinct and lights.
I reached Mahad around 4.00 PM, and it was crowded, it took around two hours to take the blessings.
Pali
From there, I left for Pali. It took me around one and half hours through the traffic and bad roads. Reached around 6:30 PM. Temple was not crowed. I was out by 7:00 PM and started preparing for the ride back home.
I was driving back through the mighty Tamhini ghats in the night, it was raining lightly, sometimes heavily. Fog would reduce the visibility to a few meters. I was following a few cars, whose lights would warn me of turns and incoming vehicles. When they get fast I was on my own, driving like maniac in the dark nights, slowly, looking for the corners. But, it was a worthy experience.
I was back home by 11:00 PM and that was the end of my ride.
