Kanifnath temple near Saswad

A short drive (30 kms) away from the city brings you to a temple on top of a small hillock. A short drive, a good ghat section and something unique in this temple make this a very good option for 2-3 hr break from the city.

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Shri Kanifnath Maharaj was one of nine teachers in the Navnath Sampradaya, a Hindu Parampara who believe that Rishi Dattatreya, an incarnation of the Holy trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to be its first teacher (Source: Bhatakanti). This temple is dedicated to him.

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

How to go to Kanifnath Temple from Pune (magarpatta city): There are two ways to go from Magarpatta. Either go to Saswad and then to Kanifnath (slightly longer) or go through Kondhwa Road (beautiful ghat section in the middle). The map shows the second option which i think is the easier and the more scenic option. Go towards Big Bazaar. Take the left after the one next to Big Bazaar. This is the Prince of Wales Drive. In the next major junction, turn left to go on Kondhwa road. After this keep going straight for few kms. You would come to a junction where the left goes towards Saswad, the right goes to the highway and the straight goes into the hills. Keep going straight. If you are unsure, ask for Bopdev ghat, dont ask for Saswad. People will direct you to the Saswad road if you ask for Saswad though the Bopdev ghat road also goes to Saswad. After the ghat, you will see a big board for Kanifnath on the left and then it is a straight road to the top of the hill. One of the landmarks could be the plane-shaped water tank we saw on the way!


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Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Once on the top, you get a beautiful view of Pune city. You have to climb around 20-30 steps to reach the temple from the parking or take your vehicle on the road (bad road) to the right of the parking to reach the back of the temple.

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

The unique thing about this temple is that the main shrine is in a closed room and only men are allowed to enter it. It is not just walking through a door! There is a small opening, probably a little more than a foot in either direction through which you (only men and topless too!)have to crawl into and also come back the same way as you are not supposed to point your foot towards the shrine. No photos were allowed so i dont have any, but it was interesting watching people of all sizes and shapes get into the shrine. Plan your trip such that you reach the temple around sunset as the evening light is just great on the temple as there are no other hills around. We did the usual stuff, lot of photographs , chai-bhel at the shops outside and we were back to Pune within a few hours. Hari and Akshara also had a separate photograph session on their own. Check out those photos here.

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

Kanifnath Temple near Saswad

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37 Responses

  1. Jayant Kulkarni says:

    i am very happy to see this site for Kanifnath Maharaj… every thursday i will come here by last 20years… i wish every one wants visit here atlist one time…

  2. Dilip Pangarkar says:

    I have visited Kanifnath Deity number of times during various monsoons and every time found new refreshing and enchanting experience due to green nature and tranquility around the deity.

  3. M says:

    Every SUNDAY, there is ST bus @ 9:45 AM/10 AM from Swargate bus depot to Kanifnath temple. It reaches @ 11:45 AM at the temple, 12 PM starts the aarati and mahaprasad, then the bus travels back around 12:30PM from the temple. Note it goes back to Saswad only this time. One way fare is below 50 Rs.
    Better to go by own vehicle if you want to spend more time there. Though road is not much in good condition and the Kanifnath Ghat should be travelled a bit cautiously.

  4. dhananjay says:

    khupch chan aahe

  5. shankar muttalmani says:

    a beautifull place i had been here earlier and place to visit again

  6. sushil says:

    how can we go by bus from vyara to kanifnath temple dev madhi ?

  7. Tushar Patil says:

    Hi Friends & Gentleman

    If you want to move at Lord Kanifnath temple , will show some details :

    From Mumbai :
    Mumbai to Pune : by bus at Swar-get bus stand

    From Swar-get bus stand to Kanifnath temple : direct bus

    Regards
    Tushar
    MB :

  8. jolly says:

    thanks alot for sharing.

  9. Tejas says:

    Thanks! Will update you once we’ve been der…
    Must say a beautiful site… inspiring and helpful too…

  10. Rajaram S says:

    take a bus to Sasvad. From there, an auto should take you to kanifnath.

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