Loading…
Bhimashankar's aartis follow a schedule most guides still print from before the 2026 closure: kakad aarti at 4:30 am, madhyan aarti around 3 pm when darshan stops, and shej aarti about 9:30 pm. The temple reopened on 15 June 2026 after five months of rebuilding. Here is the schedule, what pauses, and the registration rule that matters most.
These are the pre-closure timings that the trust and most Yatri sites publish, and that the temple has been working back towards since June 2026. Confirm on the day for anything you cannot afford to miss.
The day has a clear shape: a quiet early morning, a busy late morning, a mid-afternoon closure, and an evening that fills up from 5 pm. Plan your arrival against that shape rather than against a single aarti time.
| Event | Reported time | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Kakad aarti | 4:30 am | Doors open; the quietest aarti |
| Nijarup darshan | ~5:00 am | The linga seen without shringar |
| Morning abhishek and darshan | 5:30–11:00 am | Moving queue; abhishek inside till 2 pm |
| Naivedya pooja | 12:00 noon | Brief; darshan continues |
| Madhyan aarti | ~3:00 pm | Sanctum closed ~45 min |
| Shringar darshan | 4:00–9:00 pm | Evening queue |
| Shringar aarti | ~7:30 pm | Lamps in the sabha mandap |
| Shej aarti, doors close | ~9:30 pm |
Some sources place the madhyan aarti at noon rather than 3 pm. The temple's own schedule, as reflected by most recent sources, has the closure in mid-afternoon, so avoid arriving between 2:30 and 4 pm either way.
Only for the madhyan aarti. For about 45 minutes in mid-afternoon the sanctum closes, the line halts, and the doors reopen around 4 pm for shringar darshan. Nobody is removed from the queue, but nobody moves either.
Kakad aarti at 4:30 am happens as the doors open, so the first Yatris of the day watch it from the mandap. Shej aarti at about 9:30 pm is the closing ritual, watched by whoever is still inside.
During Shravan the morning maha-aarti and abhishek run alongside a moving queue rather than stopping it. That is deliberate: on a Shravan Monday the line cannot be halted without backing up for kilometres, so the trust keeps it moving through everything except the madhyan aarti.
No. There is no aarti ticket, no aarti-specific queue, and, since the reopening, no VIP darshan either. Every aarti is watched from the sabha mandap by whoever is inside at that moment.
What you can book is a named seva. Rudrabhishek and similar poojas are arranged at the temple counter or online, with third-party sites quoting a few hundred to a couple of thousand rupees. Book directly with the temple where you can, because the third-party prices carry a margin.
Abhishek inside the sanctum is allowed until 2 pm on normal days and until 6 pm on Mondays, Pradosh, Shravan and Mahashivratri.
Kakad aarti: be on the steps by 4:15 am. No pass, no queue to speak of.
Shringar aarti at 7:30 pm: join the evening line by 6:30 pm.
Shej aarti: be inside by 9 pm; the doors close as it ends.
On an ordinary weekday the line after kakad aarti moves in well under an hour. Weekends and Mondays stretch it to two or three hours, and Shravan Mondays in 2026 drew footfall of up to two lakh with hours-long waits and extended 5 am to 9:30 pm hours. The queue and crowd guide has the day-by-day pattern.
Remember the walk: from the parking it is roughly 500 to 700 m and 200 to 230 steps down to the temple, and the same steps up afterwards. On peak days cars are held 2 to 6 km away with a shuttle.
From Pune the road runs through Chakan, Rajgurunagar and Manchar to Ghodegaon, then climbs the last 30 to 40 km of ghat into the sanctuary. Count on 3 to 3.5 hours at night, and leave by 1 am to be on the steps for kakad aarti.
From Mumbai it is 210 to 225 km and 4.5 to 6 hours, either via Pune or via Karjat and the Malshej side. Both routes end on the same ghat, so the Mumbai Yatri should leave by 10:30 pm.
MSRTC buses from Pune Shivajinagar start around 5 am and run roughly hourly until mid-afternoon, so the first one arrives after kakad aarti. There is no bus that works for the morning aarti; only a night taxi or a night in the village does.
Once you park, the temple is still 500 to 700 m away and 200 to 230 steps down, lined with shops. Wear shoes you can slip off at the cloakroom, and carry nothing you cannot leave there.
With elders: shringar aarti at 7:30 pm after a daytime drive, sleeping in the village. Steps are the issue, not the aarti; a doli costs a few hundred rupees and is arranged on the spot. See our elders and kids guide.
On a budget: MSRTC from Pune Shivajinagar, first bus around 5 am, about ₹185, arriving too late for kakad aarti but in time for the quiet morning queue.
On a tight schedule: reach by 6 am on a weekday, darshan by 7, back on the road by 8.
Avoid: arriving at 2:30 pm. You wait through the madhyan closure and then join the evening rush.
Trusted by thousands of Yatris across India.
Sleep in Bhimashankar village if kakad aarti is the point. There is no trust bhaktniwas, so the choice is the MTDC resort or private lodges in the ₹1,200 to ₹2,500 range, most within a short walk of the steps. Our stay guide for an early darshan lists them by distance.
From Pune the alternative is a 1 am taxi, which many Yatris prefer to a cold night in the sanctuary.
Kakad aarti in the forest at 4:30 am is worth every kilometre of ghat road. Har Har Mahadev.
Trusted by thousands of Yatris across India.
Nearest Airport & Railway Station to Bhimashankar (2026)
Bhimashankar ·
Nag Panchami at Bhimashankar — Date & Naga Puja Guide (2027)
Bhimashankar ·
Bhimashankar Shravan Monday — Crowd, Timings & Arrival Guide (2027)
Bhimashankar ·
Bhimashankar to Ozar & Lenyadri — One-Day Circuit (2026)
Bhimashankar ·
Bhimashankar Dress Code & What You Can't Carry (2026)
Bhimashankar ·
Nashik to Bhimashankar — Route, Time & Ghat Tips (2026)
Bhimashankar ·
YATRA GUIDES
Walking distances, darshan timings, where to stay, and how to reach — every yatra question, answered.