Nathdwara Annakut from Ahmedabad — Date, Darshans & Route (2026)

Annakut at Nathdwara falls on Monday 9 November 2026, the day after Diwali, and it is the one night Shrinathji's Haveli draws about a lakh Yatris. From Ahmedabad it is roughly 305 km and five hours by road via Udaipur. Here are the Annakut schedule, the eight daily darshans, road and train, and where to sleep.

🗓️ Annakut 2026: what happens on 8, 9 and 10 November

Diwali evening, Sunday 8 November, opens the festival. The Haveli's cows are decorated and led in procession, and Navnitpriyaji is carried to Govardhan Pooja Chowk for about 90 minutes of ritual.

Monday 9 November is Annakut, the 353rd year of the tradition. The regular darshans continue through the day, with the Annakut darshan held until evening. After dark the Chhappan Bhog is laid: in 2025 more than a hundred dishes and a hill of cooked rice.

Around 10:45 pm the Bhil and Meena families begin the Annakut loot, filling cloth bags from the heap. The sequence runs until about 1 am.

Wednesday 11 November is Bhai Dooj. The temple board publishes the Diwali-week darshan timetable a few days before; check it, because the Mangla and Shayan times shift.

🕉️ The eight darshans and current times

Shrinathji is a child form of Krishna, served through the day as a child would be: woken, dressed, fed, rested and put to sleep. Each service is a darshan of a few minutes. The board's October 2026 timetable reads:

• Mangla 6:15–6:45 am, the waking darshan, earlier in winter.

• Shringar 7:30–8:00 am, dressed and adorned.

• Gwal 9:15–9:30 am, before the cows go out.

• Rajbhog 11:15–11:55 am, the main meal and the longest darshan.

• Utthapan 3:45–4:00 pm, waking from the afternoon rest.

• Bhog 4:45–5:00 pm.

• Sandhya Aarti 5:15–5:55 pm.

• Shayan, the sleeping darshan, around 7 pm; it is held in the Diwali season but suspended for six months from Chaitra.

Rajbhog is the one to plan around if you can make only one. Nothing is open between darshans, so the gap after Rajbhog is when Yatris eat and rest. Darshan is free and there is no ticket.

🏛️ Inside the Haveli: gates and etiquette

The Haveli is a mansion, not a spired temple. Yatris enter through the courtyards of Anar Chowk and Ratan Chowk, past the silver doors of Hathi Pole; Suraj Pole is kept for women. At Diwali the Hatdi, a mirror-work shop with Navnitpriyaji seated under twelve arches, is set up in Ratan Chowk.

There is no queue railing. Yatris stand in the chowk, the doors open, and everyone presses forward for a few minutes. Keep elders at the side walls.

🛣️ How to reach: road, train and bus

By road it is about 305 km, usually 5 to 5.5 hours. Take NH48 north through Himmatnagar and Shamlaji into Rajasthan, past Dungarpur to Udaipur, then the Nathdwara road north for the last 48 km. Car tolls run around ₹295 one way: Dahegam ₹90, Shamlaji ₹110 and Dungarpur ₹95.

By train the daily 20988 Asarva–Udaipur City Superfast leaves Asarva at 6:50 am and reaches Udaipur at 12:20 pm. Its return, 20987, leaves Udaipur at 4:05 pm for Asarva at 9:30 pm. From Udaipur it is 48 km by taxi or bus; Mavli Junction is closer but sees fewer trains.

• Nathdwara station itself is being converted to broad gauge; a dependable passenger service was not confirmed as of October 2026.

• GSRTC buses run Ahmedabad–Nathdwara in about 6 hours; RSRTC super-luxury seats cost around ₹300.

Only the road gets you in for Mangla. The train arrives for Utthapan and the evening darshans, enough for a one-night Annakut trip.

🧭 Which plan should you choose?

• With elderly parents: go the week after Annakut, 12 to 20 November. Same darshans, a tenth of the crowd, and Dev Diwali on 24 November as a quieter festival.

• On a budget: the 6:50 am train, a bus from Udaipur, and a temple board cottage bed from about ₹250–400.

• For Annakut night itself: drive up on 8 November, see the cow procession, stay two nights, watch the loot from Nakkarkhana Chowk, and leave after Mangla on the 10th.

• A Vaishnav circuit: add Eklingji, 27 km towards Udaipur, open 4:30–7 am, 10:30 am–1:30 pm and 5–7:30 pm. Kankroli's Dwarkadhish is about 17 km the other way.

• Avoid: arriving on 9 November after noon without a room, or expecting to walk into the Haveli with a phone.

Yatris who know Dwarka will find the rhythm familiar; our Dwarkadhish timings post shows the parallel.

🛏️ Where to stay for Annakut and the eight darshans

The Shrinathji Temple Board runs the cheapest beds in town and takes bookings only online, up to seven days before arrival. New Cottage has non-AC beds from about ₹400 and AC halls to about ₹2,400; Chitalwala Vishranti Gruh has 38 rooms at roughly ₹250–800. For Annakut week, book the day the seven-day window opens.

Private hotels line the Udaipur road and the lanes around Risala Chowk. Reaching Ahmedabad the night before? The where to stay before your yatra post covers the Asarva side, the exit for Himmatnagar.

Fix the 9th, book the board cottage the day the window opens, and Annakut night is yours from the first lamp to the last grain. Jai Shree Krishna.