Travelling to Hazoor Sahib

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This article is a collection of advice given for travelling to Hazoor Sahib. Takhat Sachkhand Sri Hazoor Sahib (19.1528°n 77.3189°e) is the principal Sikh shrine and Takhat at Nanded in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

It marks the site where Guru Gobind Singh had his camp in 1708, after the departure of the emperor Bahadur Shah and where, in October 2008, the 300th anniversary celebration of the Guruship of Guru Granth Sahib took place. It is one of five Takhats of the Sikhs and the place where the tenth Guru departed in physical form from this Earth.

Please note that some of the schedules of time and days may have changed. Kindly check with the air and train operators before travelling.

Trains

  • For details about trains in India obtain more details from: IndianRail or Cleartrip. Cleartrip is preferred for customers based outside India as it does not need a local Indian mobile for registration while IndianRail required verification via a local mobile phone.
  • Cleartrip, Unit No 001, Ground Floor, DTC Bldg, Sitaram Mills Compound, N.M. Joshi Marg, Delisle Road, Lower Parel (E) Mumbai - 400011 Tel: +91 22 41300300 (standard STD / local charges apply) or 1860 233 9000 (Local Call from anywhere in India)

Airlines in India

As from 2010, direct flights were available from Delhi (and also from Mumbai) to Nanded, Guru Gobind Singh airport. Flights are run by Kingfisher and Go air.

From 2011, it appears that only Go Air has a flight from Delhi to Nanded - book here; the flight takes 3 hours to get from Delhi to Nanded via Nagpur. Go Air provided a link from Delhi and Mumbai to Nanded on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Kingfisher has flights from Mumbai to Nanded on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Other carriers may fly from Delhi to Mumbai and then onto Nanded. Please check the links below for the exact arrangements:

Takhat Sri Hazoor Sahib

  • Contact: Main Office: Nanded - 431601 Maharashtra India.
  • Phone No:+91 2462-243559 / 234813 / 241266 Fax: +91 2462 234812
  • Helpdesk: Contact Person: Mr. Than Singh Phone No: +91 2462-244166 / 234813 / 243559 Email: [email protected]

Below is detailed advice given by visitors who have travelled to Hazoor Sahib and surrounding Gurdwaras:

Delhi to Nanded

By Train from Delhi to Nanded

Travelling from Delhi there is only one train going towards Nanded, viz. Sachkhand Express. Details can be found out through

Train No Departure Time Arrival Time Journey Time Days
12716 Delhi 13:20 Nanded 16:00 (27 Hrs) All Seven Days
12486 Delhi 23:50 Nanded 23:45 (24 Hrs) Only on Friday
12715 Nanded 09:30 Delhi 12:15 (27 Hrs) All Seven Days
12485 Nanded 23:30 Delhi 01:15 (24 Hrs) Only on Sunday


Note: Both Sachkhand trains 12716 & 12715 meet at New Delhi Railway station on the same time on the adjoining platforms. Before boarding the train please check your name along with train number printed on the reservation sheet pasted outside the coach. This is important since by mistake one can board the Sachkand Express going towards Amritsar.

Most of the time, getting reservation in these train is just impossible, since there is only one regular train on this route. Reservation has to be done at least one to two months in advance.

You can also travel from Delhi to Mumbai by Rajdhani and other trains and can take another train from Mumbai for Nanded. Delhi to MUmbai Rajdhani takes 22 hours and from Mumbai , it is around 10 hours train journey to Nanded.

If seats are not available in Sachkhand Express you can travel to Hyderabad by AP (Andhra Pradesh) Express. Nanded is 227 Kms from Hyderabad by road. By road it is a 5 to 6 hour journey by road. There is no rail link between Nanded and Hyderabad.

Train No Departure Time Arrival Time Journey Time Days
2724 Delhi 17:45 Hyderabad 19:40 (26 Hrs) All days
2723 Hyderabad 06:40 Delhi 08:30 (26 Hrs) All days

Fare for Adult ticket 2 tier AC – Rs. 1991.00


By Air from Delhi and Mumbai to Nanded

From 2010, direct Flights are available from Delhi and Mumbai for Nanded, Guru Gobind Singh airport.

Delhi to Nanded Flight operate on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by Go Air.

Mumbai to Nanded Flight operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Kingfisher.


Alternately if tickets are not available in any of the trains then travel to Hyderabad by Air.

Flight Departure Time Arrival Time Days
IC940 Delhi 06:50 Hyderabad 08:50 All days
IC839 Delhi 17:45 Hyderabad 19:45 All days
IC941 Hyderabad 07:45 Delhi 09:45 All days
IC840 Hyderabad 19:00 Delhi 21:00 All days

Fare for adult – 215 USD Economy & 315 USD Executive. Return fare – 405 USD (Only Economy class)

Apart from Indian Airlines, Jet Airways also operates between Delhi & Hyderabad daily. Jet Airways provides better service.

Fare for adult – 193 USD Economy & 294 USD Executive.

If booked in advance it is 50% of the above fare.

From Hyderabad again you will have to hire a private Taxi from 4 days for travel to Nanded and visit of all historical Gurudwaras. In case if you have to stay in Hyderabad then there are Hotels in Secunderabad. Hyderabad and Secunderabad are twin cities separated by Hussain Sagar lake.

Staying and Food is not a problem here. Most Hotels in South India provide a good service to the customer. Have mostly South Indian food viz. Dosa, Idli, Curd Rice, etc. to be on the safer side. People in Hyderabad at an average are honest and helpful.

Hotel in Hyderabad

Hotel Karan, S.D.Road, Secunderabad – 600003 Tel – 91-040-27840191 / 27849029. e-mail : [email protected] , [email protected]

Room Tariff – Rs. 900.00.

3 Kms from Hyderabad Airport and 2 Kms from Secunderabad Railway station.

Travel Agents in Hyderabad

The above link refers to travel agents in same area where Hotel Karan is located i.e. S D Road.

On reaching Nanded staying arrangement is at Gurudwara Takht Sri Hazoor Sahib. A separate staying arrangement for NRI is under construction, which may not be completed till summer 2004. Some special VIP rooms are being made as an alternative. No charge is taken from the Sangat for staying except for Rs. 50.00 refundable deposit.

In case if place is not available at Hazoor Sahib you can proceed to Gurudwara Langar Sahib less then a Km away. Staying arrangement is available there also.

Since you will be visiting Nanded in the summer, it is terribly hot 42 degrees Celcuis approx. No AC is provided by any of the Gurudwaras presently during stay. Alternately to can go to Hotel Anuradha Palace which is located round about 2 Kms from Gurdwara Sri Hazoor Sahib.

Regarding food for lunch and dinner there is no alternative to langer. Both Gurdwara Langer Sahib and Takht Sri Hazoor Sahib provide good langer all days through the year.

For breakfast you can have Parathas in the morning from one of the Daabhas outside the Gurdwara entrance. Tea is also served in the Gurdwara near the main entrance. Nanded being a small town doesn’t have any big restaurants, but there are many fruit juice shops.

Now for visit to local historical Gurdwaras Takhat Sri Hazoor Sahib has it own bus service on chargeable basis. Rs. 50.00 is charged per person and booking of seats is done in the Gurdwara premises between 7:30 to 8:00 AM in the morning at the Bhai Joga Singh Saraya. One full day is needed. Do not use your private vehicle for visit of local historical Gurdwaras.

You can visit Gurdwara Nanak Jeera at Bidar, Karnataka approx. 100 Kms from Nanded. You can use your private vehicle for this purpose. Again one full day is needed.

Indore to Nanded

Google Map Image: Indore to Nanded - click on the map to enlarge

By Road from Indore to Nanded

If you are traveling by road from Indore to Nanded then the best route is as follows:

Indore to Khandwa (130Kms) - You wouldn't enter the Khandwa city but go via bypass to next city

Khandwa to Burhanpur (50Kms)

Burhanpur to National Highway 6 (NH6) (50Kms)

NH6 to Malkapur (20Kms) - Once on NH6 you would move towards Malkapur

Malkapur to Nandura (18Kms)

Nandura to Khamgaon (30Kms)

Khamgaon to Balapur (30Kms) (You would leave NH6 once you cross Balapur. You would turn right once Balapur bypass road is over)

Balapur to Patur (30Kms)

Patur to Washim (50Kms)

Washim to Hingoli (48Kms)

Hingoli to Nanded (85Kms)

Total distance from Indore to Nanded is around 562 Kms. It takes around 12Hrs to cover this distance. The map is also shown above:



Hyderabad to Nanded

By Road from Hyderabad to Nanded

Last Sunday I visited Hazoor Sahib and Gurudwara Nanak Chira by Car from Hyderabad. route is given below:

Delhi to Hyderabad departure saturday morning flight, arrived in Hyderabad 0815 a.m. Hired taxi to Hazoor Sahib @ 6 Rs per K.M.(NON AC) Total K.M. Hyderabad to Nanded 290 covered in exact 5hrs,(Highway road is very good) taxes paid enroute 600/- reached in Nanded at 2.p.m stayed over night and next day went to Bidar by Taxi Total k.m 170 covered in 4 Hrs as road is very bad Nanded to Bidar. Bidar to Hyderabad 130 K.M covered in 3 Hrs again highway is very good...total journey by road is 600 K.M..took Sunday evening flight and came back to Delhi.

This information for all the members who would like to travel by air and would like to come back with in 2 days....

For any further information please do call me on 09899263513 (Delhi)

From Hyderabad go to the main bus station and you can catch the bus to Bidar (Nanak Jhira Sahib) or you can get a cab to ride you there. At Bidar, rickshaws take you to the Gurudwara Sahib. Regular buses going from Bidar to Nanded (Hazoor Sahib) run through the Nanak Jhira Sahib Gurudwara Sahib campus. You should not have any trouble at all. Best wishes.

Trains from Hyderabad to Nanded

There are 3 direct trains that run between Hyderabad and Nanded. The following are the details

Train No. - 563 (Hyderabad - Parbhani Passenger) Departure - 22:30 (From Hyderabad Deccan) Arrival - 7:00 (Nanded) Class - NON AC First Class Sleeper

Train No. - 7039 (Secunderabad - Nanded Express) Departure - 7:20 (From Secunderabad) Arrival - 13:35 (Nanded) Class - AC Chair Car

Train No. - 7058 (Devagiri Express) Departure - 13:45 (From Secunderabad) Arrival - 19:15 (Nanded) Class - AC First, AC Second, AC Third


From Mumbai to Nanded

By Air

From 2010, direct flights were available from Mumbai (and also from Delhi) to Nanded, Guru Gobind Singh airport. Flights are run by Kingfisher and Go air.


By Train

There is another way to reach Nanded, if you are travelling from Mumbai. You have two trains which have air conditioned accommodation. The day train have chair car and the night train have air conditioned sleepers. Both of them leave from Chattarpati Shivajee Terminus (old VT Terminus)and they can be booked on internet. We have driven from Mumbai on two occasions and it takes about 1o to 11 hours. One takes road to Pune, then to Secunderabad(take off some 150 km before) and then to Nanded via Latur. It is a good drive.

In case one does not like to stay in the Gurdudwara accommodation (there is a lot of it but may not always suit, if you are not used to staying in such accommodation), there are a couple of hotels on the railway road and they meet minimum tourist standard and conmfort level and one can walk from one of them to Takht Hazur sahib or take auto-rickshaws, which are available in plenty. There is paid Gurudwara Bus available to take you around to various Gurudwaras in the vicnity including Nanak Jheera.

Nanded itself has various Gurudwara in walking distance from the Takht including Hira Ghat and the place where Tenth Guru met Baba Banda Singh Bahadur on the bank of Godavari. The river is rather disappointing as it is very small stream over the rocky terrain and has been dammed some distance upstream of Nanded town.

Weather is always hot(except in December/ January) with temperature shooting up as the day rises and one does feel the heat under the sole of the feet as one goes around on the marble floor of the Takht.

It is sure a great Sikhi experience to spend some time at the Takhat but do not be taken back by some practices which are not followed in most of other major gurudwaras in India such as a large potrait of the Tenth Guru , presence of Dasam Granth opposite to the SGGS in parkash, use of bells, chandan lep, presence of the musicians near the steps of the guridwara in the evening, distributionof 'sukha' as parasad near the shrines dedicated to some of the panj piaras ans Mai Bhago just close to the Takhat but at a level lower.

Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa Wahe Guru Jee Ki Fateh, Kuldip Singh, Mumbai, India

From Delhi to Aurangbad to Nanded

Your point of going to Hazoor Sahib via Aurangabad is quiet valid. As compared to Hyderabad I believe going to Aurangabad from Delhi by Air would be a better option. Fortunately there is a flight operating daily by Indian Airlines with a single stoppage in between. No private Airlines have a direct flight between Delhi and Aurangabad.

Flight From Departure To Arrival Days
IC887 Delhi 13:00 Hrs Aurangabad 16:25 All Days
IC888 Aurangabad 17:30 Hrs Delhi 20:55 All Days

Fare - 185 USD.

From Aurangabad to Nanded there is a connecting train.

Alternately a Cab can be hired from Aurangabad Airport directly.


There is one train to Nanded but coming back from Nanded there are 2 trains which co-ordinate with the flight timings from Aurangabad to Delhi.

Train From Departure To Arrival Fare
7687 Aurangabad 18:10 Nanded 22:00 Rs. 296.00
2715 Nanded 08:30 Aurangabad 13:30 Rs. 614.00
7618 Nanded 10:15 Aurangabad 14:30 Rs. 296.00

If you are travelling from Bombay then there are 2 trains operating quiet comfortable.

Train From Departure To Arrival
1003 Bombay 21:05 Nanded 08:40
1004 Nanded 19:05 Bombay 08:10
7617 Bombay 06:10 Nanded 18:05
7618 Nanded 10:15 Bombay 22:10

Regards,Anmol Singh


General Advice

Update: 3 July 2010

We visited hazur sahib (Nanded) recently, 3 July 2010; nowadays flights from Mumbai to Nanded and also Delhi to Nanded are available.

Flying time from Mumbai to Nanded is about an hour and fare starts from 2500 Indian rupees.
Flying time from Delhi to Nanded is about two and half hours and fare starts from 4000 Indian rupees.
Flights are run by Kingfisher and Go air.

One more thing which impressed us is that Nanded airport's name is Guru Gobind Singh airport. We suggest if any passenger has limited time can use these options and save plenty of time which is always a issue when you are travelling from abroad. NB....airlines flying times and airfares are approximate. (added on 03-07-2010 by jaswinder riat)

Original: 17 March 2004

  • 1. I have taken the Sachkhand Express from Amritsar to Nanded. It was an almost 36 hour trip but a very pleasant one. I was able to finish reading some books that I never had the time to finish before and also met some interesting people who were also going for the full journey. On the 2nd day morning, we had breakfast langar that some devotee had brought for all the passengers in the Nanded bound compartments. And at midday, the Gurdwara in Manmad sent in the Lunch Langar for all the passengers.
  • 2. I also took the night train from Nanded to Bombay. And I went sleeping all night.
  • 3. Regarding the trains, the highest sleeper class in both these trains is Second Class A/C Sleeper. It was quite comfortable. Sheets and a blanket are provided without any extra charge. But you may want to tip the attendant to get freshly laundered material which is still in the plastic bags from the laundry.
  • 4. During one of my trips, the rail link between Manmad and Nanded had been stopped to convert the previous narrow gauge into a broad (standard) gauge tracks. On that occasion, I took a flight from Bombay to Aurangabad and rented a car (with the driver) for the trip to Nanded. It took us about 6 hours to drive. There were no rest areas along the way. We just walked our way into one Government Guest House to freshen up. A tip to the attendant got us full attention, including the offer of some tea etc, which we declined. On the return trip from Nanded to Aurangabad on that occasion, I took a night bus. The bus stopped every so often to allow passengers to go for 'jungle pani' along the highway !! Given that now there is a standard gauge train to/from Nanded, this experience is probably a thing of the past.
  • 5. In Nanded, the most recently built Sarai I believe is the Guru Angad Sarai. It is the lastest and most modern Gurdwara accomodation in Nanded with western style amenities and bigger and brighter rooms etc.
  • 6. Wherever you stay, just ensure that you have an attached bath and toilet that you are comfortable with. Some people have difficulty in the old Indian style toilets. Just be careful if you have knee or other kind of bending restrictions for such arrangements.
  • 7. I have taken the Gurdwara bus day trip and found that the last site that the bus visits (a small Gurdwara relating to Maharaja Ranjit Singh's visit) is too far to go for the traveller who has a limited time to spend in Nanded. A walking and/or private taxi tour may not be a bad idea. Of course, if you have the full day to spare then by all means take the bus. At each stop, the bus gives you plenty of time to take langar and refresh yourself etc. But not any additional time if you feel you want to sit and meditate in some place or things like that. But that is a limitation of all bus trips, anywhere.
  • 8. By Waheguru Ji's Grace, my last 2 trips happened to be on Gurpurab days. Once it was on a Baisakhi day and the other time on the Birthday Gurpurab of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. On both these days, there were all day Diwans and related activities like Nagar Kirtan etc. and also rayain sabai keertan. The mood was very festive. On a normal week day there is not much going on during the day if you miss the early morning Diwan. It is not like Darbar Sahib where all day and most of the night is devoted to Gur Shabd.
  • 9. A general comment about drinking water. Most people on the move in India seem to drink from bottled water. But please CHECK the bottle cap EACH TIME you purchase a water bottle to ensure that the cap is in-tact. I was too trusting in one of the holy cities and I was given a broken cap bottle - TWICE by the same shop. If the cap is not sealed when you buy the bottle, you might as well drink from the nearest well !!

All the best, and hope you have a pleasant trip and a devotional visit. Jasjit

Historic Gurdwaras around Nanded

Click to enlarge

External links