Ashtavinayak – literally means 8 Ganesha in Sanskrit. It is another very popular/well-known gateway (for youngsters)/religious place in the state of Maharashtra. The trip refers to visiting 8 distinct idols of Ganesha, which are situated around Pune.

Lord Ganesha is worshiped for unity, prosperity, and learning and removes any obstacle.

The pilgrimage is important because all the murtis were completely formed by nature and were not created by humans.

We visited this place immediately after our marriage as there was an obligation that had to be fulfilled. Earlier, I was really upset as I generally do not like visiting temples.

But I have to say it was a wonderful trip. We really felt good and refreshed after completing the Ashtavinayak trip.

The journey to reach each Ganesha murti was awesome. Some were situated in the village, another on the hill…

We covered 5 Astavinayak on the first day – Moreshwar (Moregaon), Siddhivinayak (Siddhetek), Ballashwar (Pali/Marod), Vardvinayak (Mahad), and Chintamani (Theur).  We had an overnight stay in the hotel on the highway, which was halfway to Lenyadri. The next morning, we started early and visited the remaining 3 – Girjatmaj (Lenyadri), Vighnahar (Ozar), and last but not least, Mahaganpati (Ranjhangaon).

My personal favorite among all was Lenyadri, as the journey to reach this Ganpati was amazing. The temple is carved out of a single stone hill, which has more than  300 steps. And above all, the view from here is astonishing.

My Observation – Most of the beautiful places in Maharashtra are surrounded by temples. And the journey to reach these temples is what is exciting. Either you will travel to the beach or the hills. And the places can be visited by everybody from infants to senior citizens. Older people see these places as pilgrimages to god, while the younger generation sees these places as picnic spots/weekend gateways from Mumbai. Both the perspective are equally true, hence, all generations can travel together and can have fun.

*pic taken from internet