HYDERABAD TO MAHUR to visit EkVeera Devi / Renuka Devi Temple

    

       1)  HYDERABAD – NANDED & Nanded to Mahur by Road 120 Kms.

       2)  HYDERABAD – KINWAT & Kinwat to Mahur by Road 50 Kms.

 3)  HYDERABAD – ADILABAD & Adilabad to Mahur by Road 120 Kms

I choose the 2^nd option Hyderabad to Kinwat by Krishna Express Departs at 21.05 and Arrives at 04.35am. (Normally this Train arrives around 30 minutes late at Kinwat  and this is 68 kms before Adilabad by Train route. Railway Station to Bus Stand is 1 Km and there are shared Autos available outside station who charge Rs. 10 per seat to drop at Bus Stand.  Initially I planned to stay at Kinwat but it was a small town with 2-3 lodges and no one opened the door at 5.30am inspite of knocking the doors so walked to Bus Stand.  I was told there are more hotels in Mahur being a temple town.  (I did observe later there was  Anmol Lodge  outside the Kinwat Station Phone 02469-222844 after you exit just walk few steps straight and you will find on right side)

There is a Kinwat to Nagpur Bus at 6am which goes thru Mahur and I boarded it and the Fare was Rs. 47. The journey is around 1 hr 15 minutes.  (Don’t expect any Toilets at Kinwat Railway Station & Bus Stand, though Railway Station is neat and clean inside but Bus Stands at Kinwat & Mahur  are in bad shape and poor maintenance and spending time  would be a problem for people coming from Cities.)

There are small time lodges right opposite the Bus Stand and I stayed there for Rs. 200 (basic room with attached bathroom).  The decent hotel I came across which was walkable from Bus stand was Hotel Devi Pride www.mahurhoteldevipride.com once you come out from Bus Stand take Right Side and walk few steps you will find Hotel Devi Pride on Left Side and few steps more you can come across other Hotels & Guest Houses and also observed a board with Maharashtra Tourism Yatri Nivas and it should be a bit less than 1km from Bus Stand.  Mahur is on elevated place and very cool and chilled in Winter, I could see absolute fog in the mornings so woollen clothes are a must in winter.

 There is Renuka Devi on hilltop of Mahur for which the town is famous and most of them consider that as main God and Shaktipeeth.  There is Ekaveera Devi Temple 8 kms on Mahur – Nanded highway road, you need to take a 300 meters turn from the main highway road and this temple is in between fields and a river called Wain Ganga and they say there is a Sangam of another River nearby.   Locals do not visit and its said only people from Andhra visit this place.  When i said EkaVeera Devi the auto guy asked r u from Andhra, when i stepped down from Auto someone from the temple premises asked me r u from Andhra.   Based on the surrounding observations I could see some name board signs on Telugu and it appears someone from Andhra either had donated or taken personal interest in getting it done.  I observed a very neat and clean park like location and with some sign board Moksha Dham later came to know it’s the Graveyard and some community hall newly constructed overall based on the observation what I could find that this location has more priority towards  Graveyard & its related activities in the community hall and the lowest importance to the temple, there was no pooja/panda also though I could see written on wall that Aarati Rs. 51 but no one came to ask on that. 

Now one important point to be noted though the EkVeera Devi Shakthi Peeth is supposed to be Mahur / Nanded District surprisingly this particular temple though 8kms away from Mahur actually is known as Hivara Village under Yavatmal District and not Nanded District (though Mahur is in Nanded District).   Surprisingly the Image of the God at EkVeera Devi & Renuka Devi are almost same (only the large face without body).   The road half way from Mahur is so bad that travelling in the Auto for 10 minutes gave me itching all over my body.  I paid Rs. 250 from Mahur to this temple and back without any sharing and travelled alone.  

Now coming back to Mahur the main piligrim places remains Renuka Devi on hill top and there are other two places Anusuya Devi & Datta Shikar on the same hill top.  The auto guy asked me Rs. 300 to cover all three places and I declined and preffered cheaper mode of transport.  There is a State Transport Bus operated to the Hilltop and its called Shikar and the last bus is at 12 Noon.  I took the Bus at 12 Noon and the fare was Rs. 12 and first  was after 3 kms on hilltop Renuka Devi temple I got down here and you need to climb around 200 steps further.  The bus further proceeds till the last stop Shikar which is also called Sri Datta Shikar and mid way there is Anasuya Devi temple.  As I was tired I took a shared auto and returned back after 45 minutes.  Persons who are interested in visiting all the three places may start by 9am to cover all three places.  As per the information provided its said Renuka Devi temple is open all thru the day and not closed in afternoon.  *Tip.  Carry a Water Bottle with you as I observed all taps Drinking & Normal were dry all thru the 200 steps and Elders may feel thirsty during the walk.

As I had a train to catch from Kinwat at 21.30 hrs and iam bit scared about Maharashtra transportation options I checked out the hotel at 4pm and I was told there was a Bus from Mahur to Kinwat at 16.30 hrs, I could see many college going students waiting for the same bus and it arrived a bit late and started by 5pm and reached Kinwat at 18.15 hrs.  I did observe very selective shared Jeeps to Kinwat but if you need to catch the night train this would be the safest bet as this bus starts from Mahur itself you will get a chance to sit and travel.

After reaching Kinwat took a shared Auto to Railway Station and as I need to kill 3hrs time I checked for some good food options  he said if I need Non Veg I can visit Adil Bar & Restaurant and I told him it’s a common talk that Food at Bar & Restaurant cannot be good and normally are bit lower quality, then he recommended Adil Iqbal Dhaba opposite to it.  He asked me to take a Auto for Rs. 10 but I preferred to do my evening walk and it was around 7 to 10 minutes walk.  The Dhaba was basic with cubicles & curtains which can seat 4 persons.  Ordered 1 Ginger Chicken Curry, 3 Tandoori Roti & 1 Pepsi the bill was Rs. 165 and I was so happy for the price.  There is a Waiting Room in the Railway Station but it was locked I guess they are not operating it.  During my 90 minutes waiting at the Station I observed a group of family contacting the station master asking him for Toilet location for ladies as already mentioned above could not find any public toilet and all men were peeing just outside the station and it was stinking inside the station environment is good.

Note:  Adilabad – Mahur –Adilabad has better road transport options with APSRTC operating buses every 2 hrs and it’s a 3 hrs journey.  I did see Mahur to Adilabad ordinary bus every 2 hrs normally departing around 12 Noon 2pm 4pm though not sure whats the first and last timings.