Pandharpur Wari Trek
Pune, Satara and Solapur, Maharashtra
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- Max altitude
- 843 m
- Days
- 18 days
- Distance
- 243 km
- Difficulty
- Moderate
There is no climbing apart from the long road ascent of Dive Ghat, but the Wari is about 240 km on tarmac over 14 walking days of 6-30 km, in the monsoon, with very large crowds, early 6 am starts and no choice of pace: you walk with the palkhi on its fixed schedule.
Photos
On the trail
The route
Day by day
Day 1
Alandi (prasthan from Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj's Sanjeevan Samadhi mandir, afternoon) → Alandi (first night in Alandi)
572 m → 572 m
Day 2
Alandi → Pune (Bhavani Peth)
572 m → 562 m
Day 3
Pune (Bhavani Peth; halt day) → Pune (Bhavani Peth)
562 m → 562 m
Day 4 · highest point
Pune (via Hadapsar and Dive Ghat) → Saswad
562 m → 843 m → 776 m
Day 5
Saswad (halt day) → Saswad
776 m → 776 m
Day 6
Saswad → Jejuri
776 m → 727 m
Day 7
Jejuri → Valhe
727 m → 633 m
Day 8
Valhe (Nira snan at the Nira river) → Lonand
633 m → 595 m
Day 9
Lonand → Taradgaon
595 m → 577 m
Day 10
Taradgaon → Phaltan
577 m → 579 m
Day 11
Phaltan → Barad
579 m → 575 m
Day 12
Barad → Natepute
575 m → 543 m
Day 13
Natepute → Malshiras
543 m → 558 m
Day 14
Malshiras (ringan near Khudus Phata) → Velapur
558 m → 509 m
Day 15
Velapur (ringan near Thakur Buva samadhi) → Bhandishegaon
509 m → 480 m
Day 16
Bhandishegaon → Wakhari
480 m → 457 m
Day 17
Wakhari → Pandharpur
457 m → 461 m
Day 18
Pandharpur (Ashadhi Ekadashi: snan in the Chandrabhaga, darshan of Bhagwan Vitthal) → Pandharpur
461 m → 461 m
Ups and downs
Altitude profile
Where it is
Map
Trailhead and high point only — not a recorded track. Use it with a proper map.
Weather
Next 5 days on the trail
Live forecast for the trailhead and the high point. Mountain weather changes fast — check again on the morning you start.
Trailhead · Alandi
at 572 mLoading forecast…
High point · Top of Dive Ghat, between Pune and Saswad
at 843 mLoading forecast…
Each day: high / low °C · rain mm and chance · snow cm · wind km/h
Weather data: Open-Meteo.comModel forecast, not an official warning. For alerts follow IMD and the local administration.
Plan the trip
How to reach
- Trailhead
- Alandi (nearest town: Alandi (Pune))
- Nearest railway
- Pune Junction (start); Pandharpur railway station (end)
- Nearest airport
- Pune International Airport (Lohegaon), about 15 km from Alandi
- By road
- Pune city to Alandi (about 25 km by road); Pandharpur back to Pune (about 210 km by MSRTC bus or taxi)
- Drive
- About 1 h from Pune
Plan the trip
Permits and fees
We could not confirm the current permit rules and fees from an official source. Check with the local forest department or tourism office before you go.
Plan the trip
Cost
Self-guided
₹3,000–10,000
With an operator
₹5,000–20,000
Per person, ex-Pune; all figures are estimates. The Wari is not sold by trek operators: warkaris walk in a dindi (a registered group), and the dindi arranges tents, meals and a luggage truck, often for a contribution; families and villages along the route also feed and house warkaris. ISKCON's dindi offers prasad three times a day and accommodation for a small fee but publishes no price. Self-guided covers food, a raincoat and footwear, a bed or tent space, and the bus back from Pandharpur; the guided figure is our estimate for a dindi place with tent, meals and luggage transport.
Gear
Top picks for this trek
The gear that matters most on this route, chosen from its altitude, season and risks.
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Packing checklist
Matched to this trek: altitude, season, days and the risks on the route.
Packed 0 of 27
Monsoon months (Jun–Jul): pack everything in plastic or a dry bag and wear shoes with good grip.
Tick each item as it goes in the bag.
Know before you go
Good to know
- Mobile network
- Good mobile coverage along almost the whole route (it follows the Pune-Pandharpur Palkhi Marg through towns), but networks jam near the palkhi and at Pandharpur on Ekadashi.
- Last ATM
- ATMs in every halt town (Pune, Saswad, Jejuri, Lonand, Phaltan, Natepute, Malshiras, Pandharpur); queues are long, so carry cash.
- Nearest hospital
- Large hospitals in Pune; sub-district hospitals at Saswad, Phaltan, Malshiras and Pandharpur. The district administrations run medical camps and ambulances with the palkhi every year.
- Water
- Water tankers and taps arranged by the administration and villages at every halt, plus shops in each town. Drink only filtered or bottled water; stomach infections are common in the crowd.
Highlights
- Walking with the paduka of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj in his palkhi from his Sanjeevan Samadhi at Alandi to Bhagwan Vitthal at Pandharpur, singing 'Dnyanba Tukaram' with lakhs of warkaris
- The climb over Dive Ghat from Pune to Saswad, the longest day, with the whole procession strung out up the ghat
- The Nira snan, when Mauli's paduka are bathed in the Nira river before the palkhi enters Satara district at Lonand
- The ringans in Solapur district (near Khudus Phata and near Thakur Buva samadhi at Velapur), when Mauli's horse runs the circle of warkaris
- Arriving at Pandharpur and taking darshan of Bhagwan Vitthal and Mata Rukmini on Ashadhi Ekadashi after a snan in the Chandrabhaga (Bhima)
Risks
- This is a fixed-date yatra, not a trek you can do any week: the palkhi leaves Alandi on a date set by the Hindu calendar (8 July in 2026, reaching Pandharpur on 24 July for Ashadhi Ekadashi on 25 July; in 2025 the Wari ran from mid-June to early July). Walking the same roads at another time is possible but it is not the Wari. Check the palkhi sohala schedule each year before you plan.
- It falls in the monsoon. In July 2026 the Indrayani flooded at Alandi and the trustees asked devotees not to come to Alandi for the prasthan but to join at a later halt; carry rain gear and follow sansthan advisories.
- Crowds of lakhs of people: stampede-like pressure at the ringans, at the Nira snan and in Pandharpur on Ekadashi. Keep children close, agree a meeting point and keep your dindi's number.
- Long days on hot or wet tarmac (up to about 30 km, Pune to Saswad over Dive Ghat): blisters, heat exhaustion and stomach infections are the common problems. Walking alongside highway traffic is a hazard where the procession thins out.
- Daily stage distances in this guide are estimates from road distances between the halt towns; the palkhi's own route between halts can differ slightly.
Know before you go
Questions
When is the Pandharpur Wari held?
Once a year, timed to reach Pandharpur for Ashadhi (Shayani) Ekadashi in the month of Ashadh, usually in June or July. In 2026 Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj's palkhi left Alandi on 8 July, halted two days each at Pune and Saswad, and reached Pandharpur on 24 July for Ekadashi on 25 July.
How long is the walk from Alandi to Pandharpur?
About 240-250 km on roads. Wikipedia gives around 250 km; this guide's stage estimates add to about 243 km over 14 walking days, plus halt days at Pune and Saswad and Ekadashi at Pandharpur. Most accounts call it a 17- to 21-day yatra, depending on the year's calendar and whether you start from Dehu with Sant Tukaram Maharaj's palkhi.
Can I join the Wari for only a few days?
Yes. Many people walk only one or a few stages (for example Pune to Saswad), and dindis such as the Ai Dindi let devotees join on any day between Pune and Pandharpur. In 2026, because of floods, the Alandi trustees themselves asked devotees to join at a later halt instead of coming to Alandi.
Where do warkaris eat and sleep on the Wari?
Each dindi travels with its own arrangements: an advance party sets up tents or finds halls at the next halt and cooks meals. Families and villages along the route also offer food and shelter to warkaris. The palkhi leaves each halt at about 6 am after puja of Mauli's paduka.
What is the difference between the Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram palkhis?
Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj's palkhi starts from Alandi and goes via Saswad, Jejuri, Lonand and Phaltan; Sant Tukaram Maharaj's palkhi starts a day earlier from Dehu and goes via Hadapsar, Baramati, Indapur and Akluj. Both meet at Wakhari and enter Pandharpur together before Ashadhi Ekadashi.
In an emergency
Save these numbers before you lose signal. Tap to call.
- 112All emergenciesIndia’s single emergency number — works in every state
- 108Ambulance
- 1077District disaster control room
You are in
District: Pune, Satara and SolapurMaharashtra
- Nearest hospital
- Large hospitals in Pune; sub-district hospitals at Saswad, Phaltan, Malshiras and Pandharpur. The district administrations run medical camps and ambulances with the palkhi every year.
- Last ATM
- ATMs in every halt town (Pune, Saswad, Jejuri, Lonand, Phaltan, Natepute, Malshiras, Pandharpur); queues are long, so carry cash.
- Phone network
- Good mobile coverage along almost the whole route (it follows the Pune-Pandharpur Palkhi Marg through towns), but networks jam near the palkhi and at Pandharpur on Ekadashi.
Before you set off
- Tell someone your route and when you will be back.
- Carry a charged phone and a power bank.
- Download an offline map of the route.
- Turn back if the weather turns bad — the mountain will wait.
Questions about Pandharpur Wari
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Where this comes from
Sources
Last reviewed:
- Pandharpur Vari — Wikipedia
- Pune Palkhi 2026: Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi to Depart from Alandi on July 8 — Punekar News
- Ashadhi Wari 2026: Sant Dnyaneshwar Palkhi Begins Tomorrow; Check Route & Dates — Tirtha Yatra
- Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi 2026 Schedule — HinduPad
- Pune Rains: Warkaris Urged to Skip Travel to Alandi for 'Palkhi' Ceremony — Outlook India
- Dindi: a walking festival for Lord Panduranga — Padayatra.com (ISKCON)
Photos: Shubhi Shrivastava from Pune, India, CC BY 2.0; Maheshlonkar, CC BY-SA 4.0; Maheshlonkar, CC BY-SA 4.0; Pethkar.ashish, CC BY-SA 4.0
