Saptashrungi Devi Temple, Vani

The gazetteer gives a detailed account of the pilgrim stairways. The upper flight of about 472 steps, from the plateau to the shrine, was built in 1710 by Umabai Dabhade, wife of the Maratha general Khanderao Dabhade. A lower flight of about 350 steps cut into the rock face was built between 1768 and 1769 by three brothers of Nashik, Konher, Rudraji and Krishnaji, whose work is recorded in five inscriptions along the ascent. The brothers also built a Devi temple and rest-house at the foot of the steps and a Ganapati temple and tank at the top.

According to the gazetteer, a portico was added to the goddess's shrine in the early 19th century and a plain structure was later added by the chief of Vinchur, and the revenues of a village were assigned to the temple by Peshwa Bajirao I. The Shree Saptashrung Nivasini Devi Trust now manages the temple; in 2019 The Tribune reported the trust's decision to stop general entry to the inner sanctum except during ritual worship.

Access has changed in recent years. Maharashtra Tourism notes that the steps were once the only way to the shrine and that a funicular trolley now carries visitors, including elderly and differently-abled pilgrims, up the hill.

Architecture and sacred features

The shrine is a cave at the base of a sheer scarp, and the goddess is carved in relief from the rock face. The gazetteer describes her as wearing a high crown, painted bright red except for her eyes, which are of white porcelain, and dressed in a different robe on each day of the week. Maharashtra Tourism likewise describes the image as about eight feet tall and covered in sindoor (vermilion).

The plateau below the shrine has many water sources described in the gazetteer, including Kali kund, Surya kund and Dattatreya kund, and the Shivalaya tirth, said to have been built by Umabai Dabhade, beside which stands a partly ruined Hemadpanti temple of Siddheshvar Mahadeva with a carved dome.