Day 2 – Vigneshwar – Girijatmaj – Mumbai
Where is it Located?
Narayangaon, Ozar Road, Taluka – Junnar, District Pune, Maharashtra, India. Ozar is situated on the banks of river Kukadi, close to the Yedagaon dam built on it
How to reach here?
- By road from Mumbai, Ozar is 185 kms via Talegaon – Chakan; and 160 km via Kalyan Murbad road.
- By road, From Pune, Ozar is 85 km via the Pune – Nasik Road, which passes through Chakan, Rajgurunagar, Manchar, then the town of Narayangaon and later Junnar. Ozhar is 8 km from both Naryangaon and Junnar.
- By road, from Manchar (we had stayed overnight here) Ozar is 22 km.
- By rail, the nearest railway station is Pune and Talegaon.
Best time to visit?
Any time throughout the year.
- During the monsoons (June – September) it is humid, temperature around 30 deg
- Hot during summers, temperature going upto 40 deg
- Winters are comparatively milder, temperature around 28 deg.
Timing
5 AM to 10 PM
Entry Fee
Entry FREE, Parking free.
Where to stay?
Similar to the other Ashtavinayak temples, here as well there is a Bhakt Niwas for convenience of pilgrims. This is the only stay option at Ozar. In fact the Guest house at Ozar is supposed to be the best amongst all the other Ashtavinayak temples. There are 4 guest houses here. Afternoon lunch is provided by the temple as prasad.
Our Experience
We rested well at night and woke up at 7 am to the beautiful views of Jeevan Hotel at Manchar. We went for a small walk in the vicinity of the hotel and later experienced the hospitality of Samdadiya brothers at their home over breakfast. It is truly said that friends can be separated by distance and time but not by hearts. We met them after almost 20 years and still experience the same warmth of friendship.
We leave at 11 am from Manchar to visit Ozar. Its a short 40 minute drive and beautiful. The map for the drive is shown below.
We park the car in the designated parking zone and walk towards the temple. I would say this is the busiest temple compared to the other 3 we visited yesterday. We can see a couple of weddings going on here probably, not too sure though whether the wedding is happening in the temple premises or the bride and groom have come here only for darshan.
This temple has a big complex, with several guest houses, a big market place, and a couple of designated parking areas. Its a 5 minute walk from the parking area we parked our car. We pass thought eateries and shops to reach to the main entrance of the temple.
Here as well there is a designated area to put our footwear safely.
The Vigneshwara Temple or Vighnahar Ganpati Temple is popular for its Sonayacha Kalash (Golden dome) and its Deepmala / Deepstambh (a stone pillar). We reach inside the temple sanctum at the time of the Madhyan Aarti (Mid day Aarti – 12 PM). And it is a unique experience to be a part of an aarti in one of the ashtavinayaka temples, you have to experience at least one aarti somewhere.
Out of the 5 temples we visited Ozar and Ranjangaon could be rated as busy, spacious and commercially active. We found a lot of food and shopping options here. The temple campus is huge at both these temples.
A beautiful start to day 2 of our pilgrimage, heart is filled with joy. However the best part of this entire tour is yet to come. As our human nature, keep the best for the last, God had planned the best for last leg of our trip. Check out Girijatmaj page next.
Day 1 – Varad Vinayak – Ballaleshwar – Mahaganapati
Day 2 – Vigneshwar – Girijatmaj