Bhimashankar from Pune Darshan Timings, Distance and How to Get There

Is the Temple Open? What Changed in 2026

If someone told you Bhimashankar was closed, they weren't wrong, just out of date. The district administration is rebuilding the sabhamandap and the stairway down to the temple ahead of the Nashik Kumbh in 2027, and the darshan arrangements have moved around with the work. In order:

Here's the gap: Shravan ended around 10 September and we have not found an official notice saying what the hours are now. The temple trust's own website still carries the "7 AM to 11 AM only" construction notice, and that page hasn't been updated since June. So don't plan around any single set of hours you read online, including ours.

Bhimashankar Darshan Timings (Normal Schedule)

This is the daily schedule the temple trust publishes. It's what the temple goes back to once the construction is done, and it's roughly what ran during Shravan 2026. There's no long midday closure. The worship slots are short, and darshan continues around them.

On Gudi Padwa, Vijayadashami, Diwali, Mahashivratri and Holi the trust adds a Maha Poshak at 3 PM, a Mahaarti at 7:30 PM and a palkhi procession.

You'll find other aarti times on travel sites, a 4:30 AM opening and a 3 PM madhyan aarti among them. The trust's table doesn't list either, so we've left them out.

Distance from Your Part of Pune

Search "Pune to Bhimashankar distance" and you'll find 100, 110, 125 and 130 km, all from sources that look official. They're all roughly right, because it depends where in Pune you start and which of the two roads you take. So we measured it. The figures below are road distances to the temple from OpenStreetMap routing, taken on 1 October 2026. "Via Wada" means through Rajgurunagar and Wada; "via Ghodegaon" means through Manchar and Ghodegaon.

The pattern is simple. Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhosari sit closest because they're already on the Nashik highway side of the city. Hadapsar, Magarpatta, Katraj and Kothrud add 8 to 11 km of city driving before you're even on the highway, and that's usually where the time goes, more than the distance. The Manchar road is consistently about 13 km longer from everywhere.

The Two Roads, and Which One to Take

Both roads start the same way. You head north on the Pune-Nashik highway through Chakan to Rajgurunagar (Khed), about 41 km from Shivajinagar. There they split.

Outside the rains, the Wada road is the obvious choice on distance. In the monsoon, the honest answer is whichever one is open that week. Both have been blocked by landslides in recent years, and a local news report in July 2026 said both access roads were affected again (we found only one source for that).

On time: allow about three hours each way from central Pune. The last stretch on either road is ghat driving with fog for much of the monsoon, so it's slow going. Leaving the city before 6 AM usually gets you there ahead of the morning queue.

By Bus, Train or Air

MSRTC buses are the main public option. Regular buses run from Shivajinagar (Wakdewadi) and from the Rajgurunagar (Khed) and Manchar depots. During Shravan the corporation adds a lot more:

• Shravan 2025: 80 buses, 30 regular plus 50 extra, from Shivajinagar, Khed and Manchar
• Shravan 2026: extra buses from Manchar, Rajgurunagar and Narayangaon, plus AC e-Shivai buses that ran from 4 AM to 4 PM between 13 August and 10 September

We couldn't find a published fare or a reliable regular timetable, so check at the depot or on the MSRTC app on the day.

Train and air: Bhimashankar has no railway station. Pune Junction is where most people come in. Karjat, about 65 km away on the Konkan side, only makes sense if you're starting the trek from Khandas. Pune airport at Lohegaon is about 109 km from the temple by the Wada road.

Crowd Days to Plan Around

Mondays are busier than other weekdays all year. Two periods are in a different league altogether.

If you have to go on one of these days, expect to park well short of the temple and take a shuttle. The administration capped private shuttles at the ST fare in 2026, so you shouldn't be paying more than that.

Best Time to Go, and the Weather

Bhimashankar sits at roughly 900 metres in one of the wettest parts of Maharashtra. The Zoological Survey of India puts annual rainfall in the sanctuary at 4,000 to 6,000 mm, several times what Pune city gets. Winter lows average around 7°C and summer highs reach about 36°C.

At the Temple

Bhimashankar is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and sits in Bhimashankar village in Khed taluka, Pune district. The Pune district administration describes the temple as 13th-century work, with the sabhamandap and shikhara added by Nana Phadnavis in the 18th century. Maharashtra Tourism calls it Nagara style with Hemadpanti influence. The Bhima river rises here, and so do the Ghod and the Goneri.

The temple sits below the bus stand, at the bottom of a long flight of steps, and that stairway is part of what's being rebuilt. If anyone in your group struggles with steps, mention it when you call the temple office; the climb back up is the harder half.

A dress code notice from the Maharashtra Temple Federation covers 71 temples in Pune district, Bhimashankar included. We couldn't find the exact rules published, so dress as you would for any major temple: shoulders and knees covered.

Around the Temple: Points, Sanctuary and Treks

The temple trust lists these nearby points. Distances are the trust's own and approximate.

The wildlife sanctuary

The temple sits inside the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, declared on 16 September 1985 and covering 130.78 sq km across Pune, Raigad and Thane districts. It was set up mainly to protect the Indian giant squirrel, the shekru, which is Maharashtra's state animal. The forest walks around the temple are where you have the best chance of seeing one.

The treks from Khandas

The classic way up is on foot from Khandas village on the Karjat side. Maharashtra Tourism describes two routes. Shidi Ghat is steep, with ladder-like steps and exposed sections. Ganesh Ghat is a more gradual climb. Neither is something to attempt without someone who knows the path.

In the monsoon the forest department closes them. In 2024 the order shut the Khandas route, Shidi Ghat and several waterfalls (Kondhwal, Chondi, Nhani, Subhedar) to visitors until 30 September, with action under the Wildlife Protection Act for anyone who ignored it. We couldn't find the 2025 or 2026 orders, so assume the same applies unless you hear otherwise from the forest office.

Staying Overnight

Most Pune visitors do it in a day. If you want to stay for an early darshan or a forest walk, MTDC runs a property at Bhimashankar, and the temple trust takes bhakta niwas bookings online through its portal at shreebhimashankar.in. Book ahead for any Shravan weekend.

Doing It by Cab from Pune

Most of the groups we drive to Bhimashankar do a same-day round trip. Leave home by 5 or 6 AM, darshan in the morning, a walk to Mumbai Point or Gupt Bhimashankar if there's time, lunch, and back in Pune by late afternoon. The driver waits at the temple while you're inside.

Our fares start at ₹2,000 one way for a sedan. A same-day round trip starts at ₹3,500 for a sedan and ₹4,800 for an SUV, with fuel, driver allowance and GST included; tolls and parking are billed extra. For a family group of seven or more, a tempo traveller keeps everyone together, and an Innova is the comfortable pick for the ghat. You can check any trip on the fare calculator before you call.

Plenty of families pair Bhimashankar with Ganpati darshan. Ozar and Lenyadri sit on the Narayangaon side of the same highway, so our Ashtavinayak guide and the Ashtavinayak circuit are worth a look if you have two days.

Frequently Asked Questions

हिंदी और मराठी में जवाब

Short answers to the questions people ask most in Hindi and Marathi.

Where These Facts Come From

Every date, time and figure above comes from one of these, checked on 1 October 2026. Distances are our own measurement on OpenStreetMap.

• Temple schedule and nearby points: Shri Kshetra Bhimashankar Devasthan
• 2026 closure, reopening and darshan changes: Pune district collector's announcements as reported by Lokshahi (Dec 2025), Punekar News (Feb and June 2026), The Bridge Chronicle and Free Press Journal (June 2026)
• Shravan 2026 hours and crowd arrangements: Pune Pulse, 11 August 2026; ETV Bharat Marathi, 17 August 2026
• MSRTC Shravan buses: Free Press Journal (July 2025); News18 Marathi (August 2026)
• Sanctuary, altitude, rivers and rainfall: Zoological Survey of India, Conservation Area Series 42 (2009)
• Architecture and history: Pune district administration; Maharashtra Tourism
• Landslides: PTI via ThePrint (July 2022); The Bridge Chronicle (July 2024)
• Trek closures: The Bridge Chronicle and Mumbai Live (2024)
• Mahashivratri and Shravan 2027 dates: Drik Panchang (Pune)

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