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The  elephant God or Ganapati is the favourite god of Mumbai and Maharashtra. Hence 11 pilgrimage
of the eight principal Ganesh idols are a must for any devout believer .Each of the 'Swaymbhuor
self appeared idols have a distinctive feature.
Foremost among the shrines is Mayureshwar at Morgaon. 64 km from Pune. It was built in the 14th
century by Morya Gosavi. Legend has it that he found the Ganesh statue in a sacred tank. Closely
linked with Morgaon is the Chintamani Ganapati Temple at Theur, 25 kmfrom Pune. Morya Gosavi
attained Siddhi (knowledge) here and his son, Chintamani Dev built the temple to commemorate the
event.
At Ranjangaon, the deity is known as the Mahaganapati because the original statue had as many as
10 trunks and 20 arms. According to local folk, the towering idol was hidden to avoid destruction
at the hands of non-believers.
Sri Siddhi- Vinayak in Ahmednagar is also
closely associated with Morya Gosavi. The main temple
was constructed by Ahilyabai Holkar.
Built in 1833, the temple at Czar is fa- mous for its 'deepmala' (garland of lights). The deity
is worshipped as 'Vigneshwara' the remover of obstacles. It is 102 kID from Pune on the road to
Narayangaon. The golden dome of the temple was gifted by Chimaji Appa, Bajirap Peshwa's younger
brother.
On the banks of Kukdi river, the temple of Lenyadri can be reached only by climbng 283 steps. Goddess
Parvati spent her time in penence and prayer and gave birth to Ganapati here.
The temple of Pali 38km from Khopoli was named Ballaleshwar after the devotee Ballal to whom Ganapati
is said to have revealed himself at this sacred spot. The wooden temple was constructed in 1770
by Nana Phadvanis.
The Mahad Ganesh 20 km from Khandala is known as Sri Varad Vinayak - the bestower of blessings.
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