Sambhajinagar to Bhadra Maruti Temple — Route & Timings (2026)

Bhadra Maruti Temple in Khuldabad, famous for its reclining Hanuman idol, sits roughly 26 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on the same road that leads to Ellora Caves and Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga.

A comfortable car ride covers it in about 35–45 minutes, and the temple's split morning-evening hours make it easy to fit into a half-day plan.

Here is the exact distance, road, timings, and how to combine it with the rest of the Ellora circuit.

🛣️ Distance, Road and Drive Time from Sambhajinagar

Khuldabad, home to the Bhadra Maruti Temple, lies about 26 km northwest of central Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, on the same road that continues to Ellora Caves (roughly 3 km further) and on to Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga.

In ordinary daytime traffic, a taxi or self-driven car covers this in about 35–45 minutes; the road is a well-surfaced two-lane stretch for most of the way, narrowing only inside Khuldabad town near the bazaar.

Landing at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Airport (Chikalthana) instead? Add roughly 10 km and 10–15 minutes to reach the city before you pick up this road, so budget close to an hour end to end.

Local MSRTC buses from the Central Bus Stand also run this route and stop in Khuldabad, though they take longer and involve a short walk to the temple.

For airport-side planning toward the same cluster of temples, see our Sambhajinagar Airport to Grishneshwar guide.

🕉️ Temple Timings and What Darshan Involves

Bhadra Maruti Temple opens twice a day: 5:00 AM to 12:00 noon, and again 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. There's no entry ticket.

The sanctum holds a rare reclining image of Hanuman — one of only a handful of temples in India where the idol is shown in this sleeping posture — and local tradition ties the shrine's founding to the 17th century, during Aurangzeb's years in the Deccan.

Remove your footwear before the inner sanctum, and keep shoulders and knees covered.

Photography is generally fine in the courtyard, but put the phone away right at the idol — this is a small, quiet shrine, not a tourist stop.

Saturdays carry an extra ritual and a heavier crowd of regular Hanuman devotees; for a calmer darshan, aim for a weekday morning before 8 AM.

The yearly peak is Chaitra season — Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti.

🚗 Bus, Taxi or Self-Drive — Which Should You Choose?

There are three practical ways to cover the 26 km from Sambhajinagar to Khuldabad.

• Travelling with elders or small children: take a taxi door-to-door — the bus adds a 10–15 minute walk from the Khuldabad stop plus steps at the temple entrance.

• On a tight budget: the MSRTC bus is the cheapest way to reach Khuldabad, and works well if you're anyway seeing Ellora Caves on the same route by bus.

• On a tight schedule (half-day only): skip the bus. Between waiting for departures and the walk at the other end, a taxi gets you to Bhadra Maruti, Grishneshwar and back inside three to four hours instead.

• What to avoid: don't plan an Ellora Caves stop on a Tuesday — the caves stay shut, and you'll have made half the drive for nothing.

🛕 Combining Bhadra Maruti with Grishneshwar and Ellora

Most people visiting Khuldabad are really doing three stops in one outing: Bhadra Maruti Temple, Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, and Ellora Caves, all within about 5 km of each other along the same road.

Start with Bhadra Maruti early, since it opens at 5 AM; continue a couple of kilometres to Grishneshwar for morning darshan — our Grishneshwar darshan timings guide has the full aarti schedule — then finish at Ellora Caves once the gates open at 6 AM. This order clears the first two stops before the mid-morning heat and Ellora's tour-bus crowd build up.

Building a longer, multi-temple trip instead? Our three-Jyotirlinga circuit plan covers a fuller multi-day version. Just remember Ellora is shut on Tuesdays, so this combination only works Wednesday through Monday.

🏛️ Landmarks in Khuldabad for Your Driver

Khuldabad is a small walled town, historically known as Rauza, the “Valley of Saints,” and most drivers rely on two Mughal-era landmarks rather than a street address.

• The Bhadra Maruti Temple stands close to the town's main dargah cluster; ask for the road past Aurangzeb's tomb — an unmarked grave inside the Dargah of Sheikh Zainuddin — and the temple lane is a short turn from there.

• Bani Begum's garden-tomb, with its walled enclosure, is another fixed point on the same stretch.

Inside the old town gates the lanes narrow considerably, so a driver who already knows Khuldabad saves you the slow crawl of asking around.

🛏️ Where to Stay for This Trip

Khuldabad itself has very limited lodging, so almost everyone doing this trip bases out of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and drives out for the morning.

The city has options across every budget near the airport and railway station, and staying there keeps Ajanta Caves — a separate full-day trip in the other direction — within easy reach too.

If you're combining Bhadra Maruti with an early Grishneshwar darshan, a stay on the western side of the city, closer to the Ellora road, shaves a few minutes off your start.

Whether you're stopping here on the way to Ellora or making Bhadra Maruti the whole point of the morning, the reclining Hanuman of Khuldabad rewards an unhurried visit far more than a rushed one. Jai Hanuman.