Rightly at the top of “places to visit in Shirdi,” this temple of Sai Baba - who is considered as one of the greatest saints ever known to mankind, meets approximately 25000 to 30000 devotees from across India on any regular day. During festivals and other special occasions, the temple gets flooded with a count of not less than a lakh. Here, prayer songs are sung all day long, right from 4 am to 11 pm. The two main pujas - The Abhishek Pooja and Satyanarayan Pooja are conducted in three and five batches of 7 am, 9 am and 11 am and 7 am, 9 am, 11 am, 1pm, and 3 pm respectively
Gurusthan meaning “seat of a teacher” is the place where Sai Baba was first seen to the world as a 16 years old boy. He sat under a Neem tree here, where today, a shrine is built. From the roof of this temple, the branches of the neem tree make their way out. A huge portrait of Sai Baba is placed, along with a “Shiva ling” and “Nandi bull”. There is also a marble statue of Sai Baba with pictures of 12 jyotirlingas in the same shrine. Devotees of Sai Baba believe that lighting incense sticks at Gurusthan can heal all their ailments
Dwarkamai is a place where Sai Baba lived until the very end of his life. Before Sai Baba’s arrival in Shirdi, this place used to be a mosque in poor conditions. Later, Sai turned it into Dwarkamai where he started healing, curing ill people. He solved all their problems and helped them with solutions to their worries. Here at Dwarkamai, there are two levels. Level one has two rooms with Sai’s portrait and a huge rock on which he used to sit. While level two has a square shaped stool made of stone, which Sai is believed to have used for bathing. The highlight of Dwarkamai is an oil painting of Sai Baba in which he is sitting on a wooden carved shrine.
One of the oldest temples in Shirdi, Hanuman Mandir also known as Maruti Mandir is an unusual one. It faces the south and has two idols of Hanuman side by side with a few dumbbells played in a corner; as Hanuman is considered to be the strongest of them all. This mandir is where sadhus used to live and where Baba used to visit occasionally in the initial days of his arrival in Shirdi. Here, at this temple, two Hindu festivals of Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti are celebrated in grand grandeur
Dedicated to Lord Khandoba, this temple is one of the 13 very highly regarded temples of Khandoba. The main one located in Jejury, close to Pune; while this one in Shirdi has two shrines inside the premises. One consists of Sai Baba’s idol with his padukas arranged together and the other one has Lord Khandoba’s horse - Shyamsundar’s idol placed in it. It is said that Khandoba was Lord Shiva’s avatar. Moreover, the temple also has icons of Banai and Mhalsai. It is located at a walking distance of 5 minutes from Sai Baba temple and can be considered as one of the historically important places to visit in Shirdi
A thorough follower of Sai Baba would surely have heard about Laxmibai and her importance for Sai Baba. Ever since Sai had come to Shirdi, he used to ask for food in the neighborhood. It was Laxmibai - Baba’s only female devotee who served him food every single day and for whom Sai always felt grateful. Here, at the house of Laxmibai Shinde, devotees can take a glance at the displayed collection of nine silver coins which Sai had presented to Laxmibai at the time of his death. The house is situated in the nearby vicinity of the main Sai temple and Dwarkamai and is easy to reach
Located close to Dwarkamai mosque, Baba Chavadi is a Hindu temple where Sai used to spend alternate nights during the last 10 years of life. Here, you can observe the space in which Sai used to meditate and gain spiritual focus and also see the wooden bed on which Sai, is said to have taken his last bath. The room has two partitions - for ladies and gents. Moreover, what makes this place worth visiting is the weekly procession that takes place as respect and tribute to Sai Baba, which is held every Thursday evening. If you want to attend one, make sure you reach a little before time in order to get decent visibility.
A charming little museum, Dixit Wada Museum is home to some of the rarest black and white images of Sai Baba and villagers. These images are very interesting for devotees and tourists who want to understand the lifestyle of Sai Baba’s days. The museum also displays a few items of clothing of Baba, along with a Kafni and leather Padukas meaning chappals that belonged to him and his smoking pipes. Except for these, one can see the cooking utensils, water tumblers, gramophone records and a number of other items that were used by Sai Baba
This Baug - meaning a garden is where Sai Baba used to come to water plants every day and rest under a neem tree. Devotees believe that Sai Baba had dug a pit of 2 feet depth and had placed an earthen lamp in the pit. Today, a marble enclosure with a lamp inside remains lit at all times, in memory of many episodes of Sai and his followers. At the entrance of this park are Samadhis of Baba’s devotees - Abdul Baba, Tatya Kote Patil, Bhau Maharaj Kumbhar and Nanavalli. On a visit here, tourists can also visit Gurusthan which is one of the many other places to visit in Shirdi and is closely located.