Shridi Sai Baba by train from Bangalore

Shridi Sai Baba by train from Bangalore

Plan your trip at least a month in advance if you are planning to take the train. There is only one train from Bangalore - Train No 2627 Karnataka express to New Delhi.

Since this train is going to Delhi most of the times it is fully booked in advance. You can try Tatkal, which is what we did, just that you need to pay around Rs 500 extra for a ticket.

The train leaves Bangalore at 7:30 pm. It is a good idea to carry your dinner with you; we did carry lemon rice, curd rice and some fruits.

It had been a while since I traveled in a train for more than 8 hours, so early morning was a great rush for me.

Got up used the rest room and was ready for a hot tea. The train has a pantry and you get tea bag teas.

Morning breakfast was bread omelet. If you want fresh and hot, go to the pantry and ask him to make a fresh one for you.

You reach Sholapur in the morning. Sholapur is a city with an array of small and medium scale industries. It has been is a leading center for cotton mills and power looms.

You will reach KOPARGAON by around 2 pm. Get down at KOPARGAON its just 10 km away from Shridi. We took a big size auto, please check for fares before you get in. we paid Rs 175.

I had done a booking with a home stay at silver oak apartments. It was Rs 1500 for a single bedroom apartment with extra beds. Maximum people allowed were 5. At that price it was a decent place, but you can look for better 3-4 star hotels and a room will cost you around Rs 2000-5000 double occupancy. Some good hotels include woodlands; sun n sand, kala sai etc. check the web for details.

After freshen up we made a visit to the temple at around 6 in the evening. It took us a cool 4 hours to get darshan. So be prepared for a long wait. But it will be worth it I promise.

Once outside there are many smaller temples like the place were he used sit.

There are horse carts that operate as taxis; we took the horse ride back to the hotel which is highly recommended. Do try the Vada Pav with green chilies. It’s a must try.

Next day our train was at 5 Pm, got delayed by 1 hour. We took the mobile number of the same auto guy and asked him to come to drop us at KOPARGAON. So that was a smart decision. The train ride back was an eye opener; this whole belt is an agriculture belt and pretty dry. I could see wheat, sugarcane, onions, as the main crops. You could see farmers working in the hot sun, and pretty dry lands. It looked like a struggle for them and was pretty sad.

We were home the next day at around 2 PM, tiered but refreshed!സ

സ്നാപ്ശോറ്റ്-

Started from Bangalore – Friday evening

Reached Shridi at 2 pm on Saturday

Darshan same day

Next day Sunday train at 5 pm

Reached Bangalore on Monday after noon 2 pm