Gajanan Maharaj Temple, Kanhor

This small temple to Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj stands on a hillock among fields at Kanhor, just outside Badlapur village in Thane district. The saint spent most of his life at Shegaon, where his samadhi lies, and devotees have raised temples to him across Maharashtra.

This one began with a dream. Shripadrao Kulkarni, a devotee, felt told by the saint to build a temple and searched for a site with his friend Bapat. The land they first found could not be bought, so Vitthal Raut of Badlapur offered his own at no cost. An audumbar tree grew beside the planned spot, and the Prakat Din festival has been celebrated under it since 1981, the year the temple was completed, on Dasara. A hill behind it has a shrine of Khandoba. The temple is about 7 km from Badlapur station, 15 minutes by bus or auto rickshaw.