Saptashrungi & Trimbakeshwar in One Day — Itinerary (2026)

Yes, Saptashrungi and Trimbakeshwar fit in one day from Nashik if you leave by 6:00 am. The loop is about 190 km: roughly five and a half hours in the car, and the rest at a Shaktipeeth and a Jyotirlinga. You are back in Nashik by about 6:30 pm.

🕕 The day, hour by hour

This plan assumes an ordinary weekday. On a Sunday, a Purnima or a festival day, add an hour at each temple and leave Nashik by 5:30 am.

The one slot you cannot squeeze is the long middle drive. Saptashrungi to Trimbakeshwar is about 90 km and close to three hours with lunch, because the road comes back through Nashik.

🚡 Two hours on Saptashrungi Gad

The car climbs a ghat of about 10 km from Nanduri and parks in the top village. From there the shrine is either about 500 stone steps or a three-minute ride in the funicular trolley.

• Trolley: two cars of 60 seats each, running roughly the temple's own hours. A return ticket is reported at around ₹90–110 for an adult.

• Steps: 45 to 60 minutes up for most people, and free.

• Darshan: the temple opens about 6:00 am. Reaching by 8:00 am puts you after the Panchamrit Mahapuja and well before the noon aarti.

Many families ride up and walk down. Our ropeway and VIP darshan post explains the concession tickets, and the temple timings post lists every aarti.

🍽️ Where to eat on the way

Do not plan a heavy breakfast before the ghat. The hairpins after Nanduri are easier on an empty stomach, especially for children and elders.

1. On the hill, about 10 am: small bhojanalays near the trolley station serve poha, misal and tea. The trust's prasadalaya is reported to serve a simple meal around midday.

2. Vani or Dindori, about 11 am: roadside dhabas on the way down, useful if the hill was crowded.

3. Nashik's edge, about 12:15 pm: the best lunch stop. You pass the city anyway, and food at Trimbakeshwar after 2 pm is limited to snacks near the temple lane.

Carry two litres of water for the car. There is very little between Vani and the hill, and nothing dependable on the ghat itself.

🔱 The afternoon at Trimbakeshwar

Trimbakeshwar is about 28 km from Nashik, a drive of 45 to 50 minutes. The car parks short of the temple lane, and the last stretch is a walk of five to ten minutes.

Go to Kushavarta Kund first. It is a few minutes' walk from the temple, and Yatris traditionally wash their hands and feet or take a dip here before darshan. Our Kushavarta Kund guide covers the snan in detail.

The temple is open from about 5:30 am to 9:00 pm. On a weekday the free queue between 11 am and 2 pm runs about 45 to 90 minutes, and it grows after 5 pm. Joining by 2:30 pm keeps you ahead of the evening crowd.

📅 Which day to pick

Each temple has its own crowded days, so the calm days are the ones neither deity claims.

• Wednesday or Thursday: the quietest at both temples. The timetable above works as written.

• Tuesday or Friday: the Devi's days. Expect a longer line at Saptashrungi; leave Nashik at 5:30 am.

• Monday: Shiva's day. Trimbakeshwar is busier but you see the palkhi.

• Purnima and Sundays: heavy at both. Add two hours to the day.

• Shardiya Navratri, 11 to 20 October 2026: Saptashrungi's biggest crowd of the year. Doing both temples in one day is not realistic in this window.

For Navratri, read our Saptashrungi Navratri 2026 guide and give the Devi a full day of her own.

🧳 Who this day suits, and what to carry

• With elders: take the trolley both ways and skip the dip at Kushavarta. The walking is then under a kilometre in all.

• With small children: keep a change of clothes and something for motion sickness on the ghat.

• On a tight schedule: drop the sit-down breakfast and eat in the car. You gain 30 minutes for Trimbakeshwar.

• Want Panchavati too: it adds only a few kilometres but about two hours. Leave by 5:30 am.

Carry a light shawl for the hill, which is windy and cool in the morning. Keep small notes for the trolley counter, footwear stands and offerings, as mobile network on the hill can be patchy.

Avoid starting after 8:00 am. A late start pushes Saptashrungi into the noon aarti and Trimbakeshwar into the evening queue, and the ghat is no road to hurry on.

🏨 Where to stay the night before

A 6:00 am start means sleeping in Nashik, not arriving that morning. Stay near CBS, Mumbai Naka or Panchavati, so the car reaches the Dindori road in ten to fifteen minutes.

If your train reaches Nashik Road late in the evening, book for two nights. You return around 6:30 pm, too late for most evening trains with any comfort. Our where to stay in Nashik post compares the areas.

Start early, let the Devi have the morning and Mahadev the afternoon, and the day stays calm from start to finish. Jai Saptashrungi Mata, Har Har Mahadev.