Experience the best of Shirdi

Shirdi is a small town on the dry plateau of western Maharashtra, grown up around the memory of Sai Baba, who lived in the village for decades and died in 1918. He stayed in an old mosque he called Dwarkamai, and Hindus and Muslims alike revere him. The Samadhi Mandir, the temple built over his tomb, draws pilgrims from across India.

Dwarkamai itself, where a sacred fire is said to have burned continuously since his time, the Chavadi where he slept on alternate nights and the Lendi garden are the main places to see. Ram Navami, Guru Purnima and Vijayadashami, the day of his death, bring the largest crowds. Shani Shingnapur, a village famed for houses without doors, is some 70 kilometres away, Nashik lies to the north-west, and the Ellora cave temples are some way to the east.

Pilgrims leave with laddus and other sweets offered as prasad, and simple Maharashtrian vegetarian meals such as puri-bhaji, sabudana khichdi and pithla-bhakri are served in the dining halls and cafés. Thursdays, sacred to Sai Baba's devotees, are the busiest days, and the heat peaks in May before the monsoon breaks.