Plan your trip · Shirdi
What's on in Shirdi
Shirdi's calendar is set by Sai Baba's life. Three festivals each run over three days and draw lakhs of pilgrims, and a smaller procession happens every Thursday of the year.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Shirdi right now, so here is the year instead — the fixtures that come round annually, and what each one means for a visit.
The year in Shirdi
Shirdi packs most of its outdoor calendar into the cooler months; the pre-monsoon peak is hot enough that daytime processions are genuinely hard going. Broadly, Oct – Feb is when visiting is most comfortable here, and that is when the calendar is busiest — which also means accommodation is most expensive and books furthest ahead.
Most of these follow lunar calendars and move by weeks from year to year, so treat the windows below as the season rather than the date, and confirm the year’s dates before you book around one.
Signature to Shirdi
Ram Navami, Guru Purnima and Vijayadashami
🗓️ March–April, July, OctoberThree peaks in the Sai Baba calendar, each drawing very large numbers to a town built entirely around the shrine.
Planning: Darshan queues run many hours on those days; any ordinary weekday is far calmer.
Across Maharashtra
Ganesh Chaturthi
🗓️ August–SeptemberMaharashtra's biggest festival: clay Ganesh idols in homes and neighbourhood pandals for up to ten days, then carried in processions to the nearest river, lake or sea.
Planning: Immersion days close roads and fill the ghats and beaches; the largest crowds by far are in Mumbai and Pune.
Nationwide
Diwali
🗓️ October–NovemberThe biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.
Holi
🗓️ MarchColoured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.
Navratri and Dussehra
🗓️ September–OctoberNine nights of fasting, music and dance, ending with Dussehra. What it looks like changes completely by region — garba in Gujarat, pandals in Bengal, processions in the south.
Eid al-Fitr
🗓️ shifts ~11 days earlier each yearThe end of Ramadan. The old quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bhopal are at their best in the evenings through the preceding month, when food streets run past midnight.
Makar Sankranti and Pongal
🗓️ mid-JanuaryThe harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
The Thursday palkhi
Every Thursday night a palanquin carries Sai Baba's image from the Samadhi Mandir past Dwarkamai to the Chavadi and back. It follows the walk Baba made to sleep at the Chavadi on alternate nights. Drums, torches and bhajans go with it. The lane between Dwarkamai and the Chavadi is where most people watch. Thursdays are busy all day for the same reason.
Ram Navami (March or April)
The first of the three big festivals. It runs over three days around the festival of Ram's birth, with extra aartis, a palkhi, readings and large free meals. Many groups walk to Shirdi from Mumbai and other cities with their own palkhis for it.
Guru Purnima (June or July)
The full moon of the month of Ashadha, when devotees honour their guru. For Sai devotees this is Baba himself. It is also a three-day festival, and it falls in the monsoon, so pack an umbrella with your patience.
Punyatithi on Vijayadashami (September or October)
Sai Baba died on Vijayadashami in 1918, and the anniversary of his death, the Punyatithi, is the most important date in Shirdi. The trust lists the 2026 festival as 19 to 21 October, with the main day on the 20th. On the main night of each big festival the Samadhi Mandir usually stays open for darshan through the night instead of closing after the Shej Aarti. Check the trust's festival page before you travel.
Other dates
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day bring some of the biggest crowds of the year. Diwali, Gudi Padwa and Ganesh Chaturthi are marked with lights and decorations, but they matter less here than the Sai festivals.
Shani Amavasya at Shingnapur
On the new-moon days, especially a new moon that falls on a Saturday, Shani Shingnapur draws hundreds of thousands of people and holds a fair. Avoid those days for the day trip unless that is why you are going.
Planning around a festival
Festival dates follow the Hindu lunar calendar and move each year. Book rooms and darshan passes weeks ahead, expect traffic on the roads into town, and keep valuables in your room.
Questions
Shirdi — FAQ
When is Sai Baba Punyatithi?
On Vijayadashami (Dussehra), usually in October, as a three-day festival with the main day in the middle. The dates change every year; the temple trust publishes them on sai.org.in, so confirm there before booking travel.
Does the Shirdi temple stay open all night at festivals?
On the main night of the big festivals the Samadhi Mandir usually stays open for darshan through the night, and the Shej Aarti is skipped. Check the trust's schedule for the year.
What time does the Thursday palkhi start in Shirdi?
It takes place late on Thursday evening, around the time of the night aarti, and runs on into the night. Timings can shift, so ask at the trust's enquiry counter that day and arrive early to find a spot along the lane.