Indore - Ujjain - Mandu - Maheshwar - Omkareshwar - Bhopal

Trip members: Karthik and Vijay
Trip date: 25 Jan 2017 to 29 Jan 2017
Trip Plan : Chennai - Indore - Ujjain - Mandu - Maheshwar - Omkareshwar - Bhopal - Sanchi - Bhopal - Chennai

Day-1

Landed in Indore through flight at the Ahilya Bai Holkar airport and we checked in at Hotel Prashant. The hotel is at Navlakha, one of the main places in Indore. The check-in was done and the room was good. The room is spacious and clean. However, there is only one access card for the rooms, and we need to call a room boy near the room when we have to enter. Quite unusual. The hotel has a restaurant in the adjacent building - hotel Annapoorna. We had lunch and dinner here and the food was excellent. Paneer dishes, Dhall, roti and parathas were very good. It is a pure vegetarian restaurant.

We started the trip around 2:30 PM. Half a day is enough to go around Indore. We took a cab from the hotel for Rs.900 in an Indigo cab. The first stop was Rajwada in the heart of city. Rajwada is the fort of Indore hosting the Holkar dynasty. The fort importantly has the Holkar museum displaying interesting facts about the Holkars and how it was ruled. Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar and interesting facts on how Holkars led Indore and surrounding areas is depicted here. The place can be maintained better. It took around half an hour for us. Entrance fees is Rs.10 per person and Rs.25 for camera.

We then stopped at Kanch Mandir, a Jain temple made of artistic glasses and designs. Camera is not allowed inside as it is a temple. It is very nice and sort of first of its kind. One would need around 15 minutes to see this. Do see this, quite different and nice.

Lalbagh palace was next inline. Rs.10 for entrance and the place is amazingly great. A true palace as it stands with rich and amazing interiors. Each hall is designed with Greek Gods and themes. Each of the sitting and dining halls has renaissance paintings on the ceilings and they are so amazing that you want to keep staring at it. Unfortunately, camera is not allowed inside and we can deposit at the entrance for no cost. If they could allow cameras, more people shall visit.  We are allowed to take photos from outside at a cost fo Rs.25. One can plan to spend around 1 hour here in the palace and gardens around.

The driver took us to a temple next - Vaishnodevi temple. They have tried to simulate cave like structure and one has to climb slopes and crawl make the place quite interesting. Elders may find it difficult, but children will enjoy it. A temple of a different kind.

Next, the driver took us to Annapoorni temple. This is a locally popular small temple. It also has sactum for four Vedas. We spent around 15 minutes here and travelled to #1 spot of Indore - Khajrana Ganesh Mandir. The Khajrana Ganesh temple is quite big and important temple in Indore. The temple is located around 7 kms from the centre of the city. There are lot of laddu shops near the temple, laddus are offered to God and taken back as Prasad here. A Mahakal sanctum in this temple is also quite good. Overall the temple is very serene is peaceful. One can plan to be here for 45 minutes. The place has drinking water and massive parking space.

We returned back to the hotel, had dinner at Hotel Annapoorna and hit the bed to get prepared for a exciting trip to Ujjain next day.

Day-2

Ujjain - one of the most revered places of Hinduism hosts one of the 12 Jyothirlingas and one of the Sakthi Peets. The Mahakaleswar temple offers free and fee dharshans. We started to Ujjain around 6:45 from Indore and reached Ujjain by 7:45. There were quite a number of cars in the parking area and the driver suggested to take Rs.151 paid dharshan. The day was Republic Day, a public holiday and more importantly Shivarathiri. We do not want to bet on his suggestion and we moved into the paid queue, directly towards the main sanctum. We had to wait for just 10 minutes for the Maha dharshan. Devotees are allowed to perform pujas and Abhisekems by oneself to the main deity. There are many more lingam sanctums all around in the temple premises and one can spend time as much as they need in the temple.

Entering Ujjain

Second temple to visit was, Shri Harisiddhi temple. This is one of the Shakthi peeds of Goddess Durga. The temple is quite simple and believed to be must visit after visiting the Mahakaleshwar temple. The temple is just behind the Mahakaleshwar temple and mostly not so crowded. It takes around 10 minutes to visit this temple.

Breakfast was calling and time to taste local food like Kachoris, Ragada Paatice, Dhokla, Jelabi, Poha. The driver took us to Hotel Satyug for a sumptous breakfast. The restaurant was ok and the dishes were also just ok. The next stop was Sandipani Ashram.

Sandipani ashram is one of the most popular spots in Ujjain. This is were Lord Krishna, Balarama and Sudhama had learnt archery, horse riding and received few more warfare training. The place is very serene and a must visit in Ujjain. The place has information on where the Guruji had performed Tapas and preaching across India in all directions. It takes around 20 minutes for going around the place. Make sure you sit there and meditate for sometime to experience the calmness and power of the place.

Standing Nandhi - only such in the world !

The next place of Mangalnath temple. This temple is said to be the birth place of Ragu and Kethu, and people perform lot of pujas here. The temple is quite small and Tropic of Cancer crosses at this location. One can spend around 15-20 minutes here and also enjoy the view of River Kshipara as the temple is just situated on the banks of the river.

The last place we visited in Ujjain is Kal Bhairav temple. The temple is quite popular temple in the town and lot of locals also visit this temple. Liquor is used to present to the main deity in this temple - heard first of its kind so in India. Looks like the Paatal Bhairav temple is behind this temple, and we did not visit this place.

We returned back to Indore by 1 PM - as we started the day early well ahead of crowds in Ujjain Mahakal temple, we were able to complete Ujjain in half a day. We had lunch at Annapoorna restaurant and decided to see a movie to kill time. Unfortunately, we had to see Raees !!

We came back to hotel and relaxed for some time before doing the most important thing in Indore - eat street @ Sarafa. We reached the bazar by auto around 8 pm and started with Dal Pakodi, Rabdi. Coconut pattice at Vijay chat house was amazing - fried coconut rounded with mashed potatoes and deep fried to yellow ultra crispy balls. The added chutnies were amazing too. We also had Rajbhog, Shrikhand, Dahi wada, Sabhudana Kichadi, Bhutte ki kes, Pani Puri, varieties of Beeda. They have hundreds of stalls in this place as it opens at 8 and goes until 11. Quite a safe place to go with family too and enjoy the flavours of Indore. A must to do in Indore !!

Day 3

The plan was to go to Mandu (Mandav) and Maheswar and stay overnight in Maheswar. We started around 9 AM after check out and reached Mandu by 10:30 AM. They collect Rs.30 as toll to enter. The route is rusty by road yet gives a great view of the valley. There are small ruins of shelters and walls all along the road. The first stop is Gada's shop. The place is quite ruined and had been the storage and business centre of Mandu, Gada was doing all his business from this place. The place has huge Darwaza,q could be around 50-60 feet. Drivers dont stop here, please ask them to stop by. Also, make sure you climb to the top and get the views of Jahaz mahal - the most important place of Mandu. We spent around 30 minutes here enjoying the view and spending time with small ruins all around, citing a stepped well as well. The small palace behind the ruins is called Andheri Baodi.

Next, we reached Jahaz mahal. This is surrounded by lakes on all four sides and constructed between them on a thin mould of soil, giving a view of a ship from the top. This mahal was built as summer place by the king and spent time for pleasure with his queen. The architecture is quite fascinating and interesting too. The views from the top and the way water was being routed to the pool on the top are amazing engineering centuries back. We spent around an hour here. One has to get ticket for Rs.15 for entering this complex. The Kapoor Talao - pond just opposite to the mahal was filled with water and gives an amazing view for photographs.

There are many more buildings hosted in this complex. They are Taveli mahal, Hindola Mahal, Jal Mahal, Royal palace and Hamam. The Taveli mahal is a three storey building hosting the king and queen in the top floor, ministers in the middle and storage, workmen in the bottom floor. This mahal is built facing one of the beautiful ponds in the complex. This mahal currently hosts a museum that displays old photographs and paintings and sculptures. The museum is little informative too.

Then, we visited Hindola mahal known as Swing palace, because of its slanty nature of walls. This is situated behind the Jahaz mahal. This also boosts high walls and arches.

Jal mahal can be seen on one of the ponds, unfortunately, there was no water in this pond when we went.

The royal palace is almost completely ruined and left with some stairs and arches. We did not hire a guide but were hearing from most of the guides around. Every guide was focused only on Jahaz mahal and not much information on other places in the complex.

We left the complex around 1:15 and reached the next set. This group hosts the Jami masjid, Hohshang Shah's tomb and Ashrafi mahal. Jami masjid is seen as one of the biggest mosques in India. The architecture is dated back to 14th century and is quite big. The artistic nature is not there to be seen however the gigantic arches are. Hoshang Shah's tomb is situated in the same complex, just behind Jami masjid. One has to get ticket for Rs.15 for entering this complex.

The tomb has a big dome made of marble. The place is not maintained so well. It is said that Shahjahan and his architect had visited this tomb and then used the architecture to design Taj Mahal. It is also said that the architect used better collection of marbles and bigger dome while designing Taj Mahal. Currently, when we went, the renovation for the dome was going on.

Ashrafi mahal is just situated opposite to Jami Masjid. The place was built  as a celebration of victory and has 7 floors. Currently, it is completely dilapidated and what is left over could be just 5-10 percent of what it was. The remains were good enough to convey how good things were then.
The tomb is of Mahmud Khilji.

Lunch at Malwa resort. We had Rotis, Jeera rice and subjis. They were just ok for the cost. The place has lot of parking space, toilets and rooms to stay. Looks like this place offers better food compared to other places in Mandu - all drivers drive their tourists to his place only.

Post lunch, the most important places in the Mandu history were beckoning - The Roopmati pavilion and Baz Bahadur palace. We took a guide for Rs.200 at Roopmati pavilion; and this college guy was so helpful and explained us the history of Baz Bahadur and Roopmati involving the cities of Mandu, Dharampuri and River Narmada. The queen, Roopmati, used to drink or eat only after seeing river Narmada. This pavilion was built by Baz Bahadur's team in 72 hours for the queen to view Narmada river at Maheswar as a thin line of reflection during sunrise. We also learnt the intricate security aspects of building the place. The guide also told us they used RO setup for drinking water even for horses! We spent almost one hour in this place, mostly on learning the history and enjoying the great and grand views for the top.

It was around 3:30 PM. The only place left for us to see was Baz Bahadur palace. This palace has two mantaps at the top for Baz Bahadur and Roopmati to sing. It is said that Rani Roopmati used to visit river Narmada from the pavilion in the morning and then join the king for singing in the morning at Baz Bahadur palace. We spent around 30 minutes here treating our cameras with lots of pleasure.

We left Mandu by 4 PM and reached Maheshwar around 6:15 PM. The roads leading to Maheshwar from Mandu are completely single roads and are quite bad at times. We had booked our room at Kanchana Recreation. The room was quite small but very clean and welcomed with great hospitality. This is located around 1 km from Narmada ghat. The service people were very fine and polite. After relaxing a bit and having fine tea, we decided to go to Narmada Ghat. I also recollected that Narmada Arti shall happen sometime in the evening.

We asked our lazy driver to drive us to the ghat around 7 PM. There was another group of tourists lost and trying to find was to the ghats from parking area. Maheshwar is a small village and the roads are very narrow. It is difficult to navigate by oneself without asking for directions. There are no direction boards anywhere leading to the ghats, though many streets lead to. Very poor lighting is also one of the reasons for not able to find our way easily, however we reached there.

The Ahilya ghat was so serene and calm. We could feel the cold weather making things difficult yet enjoyable.

If they could have lighted the place better, it could have been  an amazing place. The river Narmada Arti happened around 8 pm and it went for 10-15 minutes. There was a very small crowd for this and we also joined the puja. We spent time until 8:30 PM and then moved out.

The driver led us for dinner to hotel Panchavati, quite near to were we stayed. We order as usual, rotis and dhall; driver suggested us to taste sev milk, it was good too. The food was definitely good though it took time to serve. The food was fresh and very nice. We did have breakfast on the following day as well.

Day-4

Started the day at 6:45 PM at the Narmada ghat for sunrise. We thought we will have a good sunrise view, but, were shocked to see an amazing sunrise! The Sun rose on the opposite side of banks from where we were standing and the whole walls of the palace was illuminated. The Narmada ghat is were Snehidhane song from Madhavan acted film Alaipayuthey was shot. The sunrise was so extravagant and registered as great memories. The camera was put to great use to register these memories as well on a screen. We spent more than one hour at the ghat enjoying the splendid sunrise.

We also visited Ahilyeswar temple located in the fort premises. There were almost none and the temple also had amazing views of the river. The temple hosts Lord Shiva as Ahilyeswar and Lord Rama. It is a small temple, taking only 5 minutes, however, lot of photo opportunities.

We went back to hotel Panchavati for breakfast - poha, poris and parathas. We also checked out from the hotel and went back to visit the fort.

Ahilya Bai fort, where she lived, is only a small house. She had lost her husband, son-in-law, daughter, son, grand son, all at young age and, because of her strong administrative skills wnd power held fort. She had been very generous in donating to many temples across India. Her palace is quite small and it takes only 10 minutes to see. She had led a very simple life. Photography is not allowed inside.

We also visited two other temples nearby - Lord Rajarajeswar temple and Lord Kasi Viswanath temple. Lord Rajarajeswar temple is just opposite to Ahilya Devi fort, 2 minutes by walk. The temple hosts 11 aganda deepams, lamps, which are burning for centuries togather. The temple hosts sanctums of Hanuman, Ganesha, Sarawati, Mahishasura Mardhini and Lakshmi.

Kasi Viswanath temple is diagnolly opposite to Rajarajeswar temple. This temple is said to be one of the oldest temples in the area and is almost on the ghat of Narmads river. This temple has great views of Narmada river. It has only one sanctum and takes hardly a minute to visit.

After bidding good bye to Maheswar, we started our jouney to another jyothirling - Omkareswar. Omkareswar is around 68 kms from Maheswar and the route is mostly single road. The roads are ok. We reached this place around 12:30. The driver engaged us with a purohit, which we could have avoided.

Omkareshwar is a twin temple - Omkareshwar and Mambaleshwar. The cab goes closer to Mambaleshwar temple and one can visit Mambaleshwar temple first. It is quite small temple and anyone can perform pujas by themselves. The purohit helped us perform abhisheks and pooja there for few minutes.

We then had the option of boat or walk through the bridge to reach Omkareshwar temple. Omkareshwar temple, the Jyothirling is present on the other side of the banks. It looks like they charge Rs.100 per head as per I browsed earlier. We preferred to walk as it was quite a great view from the top. One has to climb around 25 steps initially, apart from that rest of the walk to the temple is simple and beautiful. One side has the massive Indraprastha dam and other side the mighty Narmada river with these 2 temples on either side.

We reached the temple around 1 pm. The temple was closed and was due to open in 20 minutes. We enjoyed the whole place around and completed the photography session. Mobile, cameras are allowed inside in the temple. The temple was quite crowded as the temple was closed for an hour and the Purohit said he will take up through VIP entry for a cost, for which we obliged obviously. Once the initial crowd was over in the VIP entry in 5 minutes, we had our dharshan done really well. Post which the trap of special pooja happened. I knew about it and instantly decided to go ahead with pooja and the demand after the pooja was in 4 digits per person. However, I could negotiate it upto 75 percent and succeded in paying 25 percent of the demand. Well, the pooja and abhisekams performed were quite satisfactory given the location was very spiritual and filled with aura. Overall, we paid the purohit for VIP entrance and the special pooja. We said we will be our own to reach back and spent some time across the bridge and admiring all locations around. At the end of bridge, the purohit was still waiting and politely said he shall be there until we are boarded back in the car and did so, though we behaved as ourselves. Quite a good gesture rather than  running away for next collection !

Indore is around 80 kms from Omkareshwar and the journey was expected to be around 2 hours. Panchavati garden restaurant on the highway was where we had lunch and it was good again here too. Looks like Panchavati restaurants are all around in highways in Madhya Pradesh.

The road to Indore was interesting with ghat roads for some portion across forests, though they were dry. The single roads were challenging for drivers as most the traffic were of big trucks and containers destined to Rajasthan and other states in the North. We reached Indore railway station by 17:45 and our train was at 23:45! We spent time in the waiting hall as Indore was explored enough as tourist destination.

Dinner was at Hotel Gurukripa near to the railway station based on few recommendations. The small outlet was quite crowded but the rotis and gravies were served in plenty and was of very good quality. Next in line - Bhopal!

The overnight passenger train from Indore to Bhopal stops at 16 stations on the way and the weather was so cold. We did not have proper winter clothing and found it almost unable to sleep!

Day-5

Reached the Bhopal Junction around 6:15 AM, after slight delay. Our driver from Indore had arranged cab for us in Bhopal. The driver was ready and on-time waiting for us. We want to refresh and asked him to take us to a simple hotel for 1 hour just to refresh. He referred a hotel just opposite to the junction - Hotel Madan Maharaj. We took the room for Rs.400 for freshening up after some bargaining. The room was small and not so clean. However, more than enough for a quick activity. Hot water was supplied in buckets. We were ready in 45 minutes.

The obvious destination was Sanchi. Sanchi is around 48 kms from Bhopal. We got a very good driver - Anees, he was polite and informative. He also stopped by for a minute to show us the so-popular Bhopal factory.

We stopped in a road side Dhabha for breakfast. We had freshly prepared but quite average aloo parathas and continued. Next, we stopped at the Tropic of cancer line crossing on the way to Sanchi - 19 kms before. No great information published here but it it good to know that Tropic of Cancer crossing points are also there in Kutch, Sanchi, Bengal and Mizoram.

We reached Sanchi around 9:20 and hired a guide for Rs.500. It was quite costly when compared to other locations but it was almost inevitable as they said it is government rate for the UNESCO site. We needed a guide because we do not want to miss out anything important. The entrance ticket is Rs.30, which had to bought little distance ahead of the actual site. Cameras are allowed free of charge.

The B.C era Sanchi stupas and gates were explained by the guide in English to some extend he could. The guide spent time for more than one hour and explained us about King Ashoka and how is Buddhist connect happened. He also covered on how this rediscovery was done by British and restoration was done to get the ruined Stupas and gates in place. The southern gate is the main gate of Sanchi stupa.

It takes around 2 hours for us to leisurely learn, observe and click photos at will and it is worth the time. There are restrooms, a small shop selling so called souvenirs, tea and some snacks.

We spent some time at the Mahabodhi society of Srilanka as well near the parking area. They have some books and souvenirs as well. They also display the relics found in the Sanchi Stupas once a year. Next planned to visit the ASI museum as we heard the broken pieces of Sanchi pillar that hosts the Indian government symbol from Saranath is kept.

The ASI museum is located as we enter the Sanchi monument premises. The ASI museum holds lots of sculptures mostly dilapidated or quite bad in shape. They have put on details what the pieces are with great care and this is very informative. They also had various excavation photos. We spent close to one hour at the museum. The premises also has Sir John Marshall museum hosting the book written by him on Sanchi.

The driver drove us to Bhopal and promised a good lunch at hotel Manohar, closer to the railway station. The restaurant looks to be quite popular locally and we had meals. The meal was sumptous and quite good. I topped it up with hot Malpua and it too was definitely good. I also did my purchases of namkeen and sweets to take back from Hotel Manohar.

Post lunch, we left it our driver to show us the city of Bhopal. We stopped by Jama Masjid (Taj-ul-Masajid), the largest Masjid (mosque) in India. We took couple of photos from outside and moved on. The three white domes were very good and attractive.

The driver drove us through the Upper lake of Bhopal. We were quite amazed to see such a big lake in the heart of the city. The whole roads around the lake is maintained so clean and gives great views for the visitors. There is boating facility as well in this lake. The took some photos near the Raja Bhoj statue.

Next stop was Bharath Bhavan, driver thought of giving some option for us to kill time. After paying Rs.10 per person and no useful thing instead apart from a good view of lake and some art exhibition. Yes, we are no fan of art! Basically, this place is where events related to art, music and drama are conducted.

The driver then took us to the Indira Gandhi Manav Sangralaya - a massive place to feel back the culture and societies of many states in India and the tribal culture. They charge Rs.30 per person and one needs vehicle to go around.  The place is a great promoter and preservation for culture and civilization. Primarily, the place has lots of collectibles and restructs from states like Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Assam and Orissa. One needs around 1-2 hours to go through and enjoy the exhibhits.

There is an indoor museum primarily on tribal lifes across Indian states and union territories. This has around 12 sections and takes easily 2-3 hours. The collectables are quite amazing to see and the effort spent to retain these elements is quite astonishing to see. Overall, one has to spend half to one day here to appreciate the exhibits. This is a great place for new generations to visit and understand the cultural evolution.

We started back by 17:30 as the place started closing. The driver drove us through small lake of Bhopal and it was sunset. As we were in the car, the sunset was a great good bye to the offbeat trip and we parted ways to our home through train and flight.

More info:

One can plan to visit Bhimketa near Bhopal; this is also UNESCO site having pre-historic paintings in caves. One can complete Ujjain and local site seeing of Indore in a single day.

Tourist operators claim Mandu to be seen in half a day, but, with a guide and history lovers, can plan 1 full day at Mandu. It is excellent to witness sunrise in Maheshwar - please plan for it.

• Indore – Ujjain – 57 kms
• Indore – Mandu – 93 kms
• Indore – Maheshwar – 96 kms
• Mandu – Maheshwar – 39 kms
• Maheshwar – Omkareshwar – 66 kms
• Indore – Omkareshwar – 80 kms
• Indore – Bhopal – 195 kms
• Bhopal – Sanchi Stupa – 49 kms
• Sanchi – Bhimbetka – 111 kms
• Bhopal Airport - Bhimbetka – 65 kms