About the destination
One more visit to the big state - Madhya Pradesh. This time, we were focused on places around Bhopal - historical ones and nature. The list of historical places included Bhopal, Sanchi, Vidhisha, Bhojpur, Bhimbetka, and the only hill station of the state - Pachmarhi. Additionally, we also covered Nagpur on the way back to Chennai. Read through to understand what is popular about Nagpur.
Trip Plan
Trip members: Karthik, Sathish Raja, Siva
Trip date: 14 Aug - 18 Aug 2019
Trip Plan : Chennai - Indore - Ujjain - Bhopal - Sanchi - Vidisha - Bhopal - Bhojpur - Ashapuri - Bhimbetka - Hoshangabad - Pachmarhi - Pipariya - Nagpur - Chennai
Given the fact that the only direct flight to Madhya Pradesh is to Indore from Chennai, we planned to go to Indore and reach Bhopal by train.
Day-1 Indore - Ujjain
We took the evening flight around 17:10 from Chennai to Indore. We reached Indore by 19:15 and took a taxi to Ujjain for Rs.1200 from Indore airport. We reached Ujjain by 8:45 and visited the Mahakal temple. Surprisingly, we had darshan directly with no much crowd and absolutely no waiting time. We came out by 21:15.
We thought of going back to Indore and board the train to Bhopal, though our booking was from Ujjain. But, could not spot a cab back. We then had some street food in Ujjain - Pani puri, hot milk, and dinner at Hotel Dumuru. The food at Hotel Dumuru was very homely - we had roti, dhal, aloo mutter sabji, and masala pappad.
We then reached the railway station by 10:30 itself. Our train to Bhopal from Ujjain was at 01:10. The train had many unreserved passengers in reserved coaches and it was a true nightmare on the train !
Day-2 Bhopal - Sanchi - Vidisha
We reached Bhopal around 5:30 AM and it was raining heavily. We got a room for refreshing for Rs.500 at Hotel Madan Maharaj for freshening up after some bargaining. The room was small and ok for refreshing; nothing more. We had some samosas as we started the day and boarded the cab. We booked a cab from savaari for the whole day to cover Sanchi, Vidisha, and Bhopal.
Sanchi
Sanchi is around 48 km from Bhopal. The entrance ticket is Rs.30, which had to bought little distance ahead of the actual site. Cameras are allowed free of charge. It was raining heavily and first, we visited 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.
The B.C era Sanchi stupas and gates were explained by the guide in English to some extent he could. The place depicts the history of King Ashoka and how is Buddhist connect happened. The museum in Sanchi explains how this rediscovery was done by the British; followed by restoration. The restoration was important to get the ruined Stupas and gates in place. The southern gate is the main gate of Sanchi stupa.
Next, we visited 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 30 minutes at the museum.
Surprisingly, no hotels were open around; and around 10 AM we located one place on the way to Vidisha. The aloo and pyaz parathas were fantastic - hot, thick, and big!
Vidisha
We then reached Vidisha. There are lesser places to see but no direction boards or proper roads. We first reached the place - Khambaba - Heliodorus Pillar. This is a stone pillar erected in Vidisha around 113 BC by Helidorous - Indo-Greek Ambassador; The inscriptions on the pillar point to his closeness to Vaishnavism and his conversion to Hinduism. Definitely a great aspect and evidence for Hinduism and the way culture and civilization lived here!
The security personnel over there pointed us to one more place - Bija Mandal to visit in Vidisha. The driver directed us to Udayagiri caves and Bija Mandal later, and we obliged.
Trip date: 14 Aug - 18 Aug 2019
Trip Plan : Chennai - Indore - Ujjain - Bhopal - Sanchi - Vidisha - Bhopal - Bhojpur - Ashapuri - Bhimbetka - Hoshangabad - Pachmarhi - Pipariya - Nagpur - Chennai
Given the fact that the only direct flight to Madhya Pradesh is to Indore from Chennai, we planned to go to Indore and reach Bhopal by train.
Day-1 Indore - Ujjain
We took the evening flight around 17:10 from Chennai to Indore. We reached Indore by 19:15 and took a taxi to Ujjain for Rs.1200 from Indore airport. We reached Ujjain by 8:45 and visited the Mahakal temple. Surprisingly, we had darshan directly with no much crowd and absolutely no waiting time. We came out by 21:15.
We thought of going back to Indore and board the train to Bhopal, though our booking was from Ujjain. But, could not spot a cab back. We then had some street food in Ujjain - Pani puri, hot milk, and dinner at Hotel Dumuru. The food at Hotel Dumuru was very homely - we had roti, dhal, aloo mutter sabji, and masala pappad.
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| 5 flavours of Pani puri |
We then reached the railway station by 10:30 itself. Our train to Bhopal from Ujjain was at 01:10. The train had many unreserved passengers in reserved coaches and it was a true nightmare on the train !
Day-2 Bhopal - Sanchi - Vidisha
We reached Bhopal around 5:30 AM and it was raining heavily. We got a room for refreshing for Rs.500 at Hotel Madan Maharaj for freshening up after some bargaining. The room was small and ok for refreshing; nothing more. We had some samosas as we started the day and boarded the cab. We booked a cab from savaari for the whole day to cover Sanchi, Vidisha, and Bhopal.
Sanchi
Sanchi is around 48 km from Bhopal. The entrance ticket is Rs.30, which had to bought little distance ahead of the actual site. Cameras are allowed free of charge. It was raining heavily and first, we visited 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.
The B.C era Sanchi stupas and gates were explained by the guide in English to some extent he could. The place depicts the history of King Ashoka and how is Buddhist connect happened. The museum in Sanchi explains how this rediscovery was done by the British; followed by restoration. The restoration was important to get the ruined Stupas and gates in place. The southern gate is the main gate of Sanchi stupa.
Next, we visited 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 30 minutes at the museum.
Surprisingly, no hotels were open around; and around 10 AM we located one place on the way to Vidisha. The aloo and pyaz parathas were fantastic - hot, thick, and big!
Vidisha
We then reached Vidisha. There are lesser places to see but no direction boards or proper roads. We first reached the place - Khambaba - Heliodorus Pillar. This is a stone pillar erected in Vidisha around 113 BC by Helidorous - Indo-Greek Ambassador; The inscriptions on the pillar point to his closeness to Vaishnavism and his conversion to Hinduism. Definitely a great aspect and evidence for Hinduism and the way culture and civilization lived here!
The security personnel over there pointed us to one more place - Bija Mandal to visit in Vidisha. The driver directed us to Udayagiri caves and Bija Mandal later, and we obliged.
Udayagiri Caves
Udayagiri caves had an entry ticket of Rs.40 per person, tickets to be purchased at Cave-1. The majority of the caves are Hindu based and are said to be one of the earliest caves in India - carved during the Gupta empire. Brahmi and Nagari scripts are predominantly noticeable across the caves. Cave-5 is one of the most significant caves out of the 20 caves in the area. Cave-5 depicts the 3rd avatar of Lord Vishnu - Varaha Avatar through a massive sculpture. The group of sculptures depicting the asuras, devas, the ocean, and the Goddess of Earth is absolutely stunning in this cave. One can reach Cave-5 directly by car/road - 200-300m from the ticket counter.
We did decide to walk across all possible paths in the drizzle. We were the only tourists and enjoyed walking around the caves, fascinated by the beautiful views around. Few caves had sculptures while few not none. Cave-13 had an Anathasayana sculpture of Lord Vishnu called Sheshashayi Vishnu. Few caves had sculptures of Lord Ganesha, Lord Vishnu, and Goddess Mahishashuramardhini. However, the emptiness of the place and the grand views did amaze us. We spent around 30 minutes climbing up and reaching Cave-1 on the other side.
We, then, reached Bija Mandal. It is located in the town of Vidisha. It was difficult to locate by the narrow streets of the locality. Google maps took us to the rear side and unable to locate; unless guided by locals. The place was just guarded by a dog. Bija Mandal hosts temples of the 11th and 12th centuries, while the mosque was build in the same place in the 17th century by Aurangazeb. The ruins host a beautiful architecture in the themes of Sun temples with Sanskrit inscriptions and sculptures of Lord Ganesh (8 arms), Goddess Mahishasuramardhini, and alike.
Most importantly, Bija Mandal also has a Baoli - underground steps leading to a well. The artistic pillars were a treat to watch. It was painful to see that the place can be better maintained with boards and information and definitely some directions to reach!
Started back to Bhopal, we saw the Tropic of Cancer crossing en route.
We stopped for lunch at Hotel Vatika Family restaurant - said to the best on the highway; was ok. The roti was good and paneer sabji was average.
We did decide to walk across all possible paths in the drizzle. We were the only tourists and enjoyed walking around the caves, fascinated by the beautiful views around. Few caves had sculptures while few not none. Cave-13 had an Anathasayana sculpture of Lord Vishnu called Sheshashayi Vishnu. Few caves had sculptures of Lord Ganesha, Lord Vishnu, and Goddess Mahishashuramardhini. However, the emptiness of the place and the grand views did amaze us. We spent around 30 minutes climbing up and reaching Cave-1 on the other side.
We, then, reached Bija Mandal. It is located in the town of Vidisha. It was difficult to locate by the narrow streets of the locality. Google maps took us to the rear side and unable to locate; unless guided by locals. The place was just guarded by a dog. Bija Mandal hosts temples of the 11th and 12th centuries, while the mosque was build in the same place in the 17th century by Aurangazeb. The ruins host a beautiful architecture in the themes of Sun temples with Sanskrit inscriptions and sculptures of Lord Ganesh (8 arms), Goddess Mahishasuramardhini, and alike.
Most importantly, Bija Mandal also has a Baoli - underground steps leading to a well. The artistic pillars were a treat to watch. It was painful to see that the place can be better maintained with boards and information and definitely some directions to reach!
Started back to Bhopal, we saw the Tropic of Cancer crossing en route.
We stopped for lunch at Hotel Vatika Family restaurant - said to the best on the highway; was ok. The roti was good and paneer sabji was average.
Bhopal - City tour
We reached Bhopal around 2:30 PM. We checked into Hotel Jyoti at Old Bhopal by the Hamidia road. The room was very clean, spacious, and worth the spend! We relaxed for some time, charged mobiles, and started to roam around Bhopal by 3:30 PM.
First, we reached Bada Thalabh (Big lake) by auto. Being a long weekend, it was absolutely crowded. We walked for about a km in the nice weather by the lake. There were a lot of street vendors selling local snacks and chats. We had some and roamed around for about an hour.
We then took an auto and reached one of the biggest Mosques in Asia. Taj-ul-Masajid - is the largest mosque in India and one of the largest in Asia. The mosque has towering minarets - 18 floors! The Archways are quite massive and stunning to see. The mosque is said the host a capacity of 1,75,000 people at a time!
We had some snacks, sweets, and dinner at Hotel Nerbada sweets near Taj-ul-Masajid. We reached back the hotel after a tiring day followed by a fantastic sleep.
Day-3 Bhojpur, Ashapuri, Hoshangabad, Pachmarhi
The day started by 6:30 AM. We booked a cab at the hotel for a drop trip to Pachmarhi en route seeing Bhojpur, Bhimbetka, and Hoshangabad. The early start only has been helping us in all our trips and nonetheless this time.
First, we reached Bada Thalabh (Big lake) by auto. Being a long weekend, it was absolutely crowded. We walked for about a km in the nice weather by the lake. There were a lot of street vendors selling local snacks and chats. We had some and roamed around for about an hour.
We then took an auto and reached one of the biggest Mosques in Asia. Taj-ul-Masajid - is the largest mosque in India and one of the largest in Asia. The mosque has towering minarets - 18 floors! The Archways are quite massive and stunning to see. The mosque is said the host a capacity of 1,75,000 people at a time!
We had some snacks, sweets, and dinner at Hotel Nerbada sweets near Taj-ul-Masajid. We reached back the hotel after a tiring day followed by a fantastic sleep.
Day-3 Bhojpur, Ashapuri, Hoshangabad, Pachmarhi
The day started by 6:30 AM. We booked a cab at the hotel for a drop trip to Pachmarhi en route seeing Bhojpur, Bhimbetka, and Hoshangabad. The early start only has been helping us in all our trips and nonetheless this time.
Bhojpur
We reached Bhojpur around 7:30 AM and we were the only one in the temple on top of a hillock - Bhojeswar Temple! The temple hosts one of the tallest Shiva Linga in the world - 40 feet. The temple, however, is incomplete, but still useful for pilgrims and tourists. The temple is said to be built by the 11th century by King Bhoja. The location hosts the architectural plan and design of the temple around the hillock.
Ashapuri
Ashapuri
We located a place called Ashapuri in google maps supported by direction boards on the road. Ashapuri had a museum that was closed, but, we located a group of 26 temples which was not completed and left in a dilapidated state. The main temple is known as the Bhutanatha temple. We understood that the site is under ASI control and yet to be worked upon from a local boy standing there. If this place is revived and made a tourist spot, definitely, a hit! The place when it was as it was, should have been a well-populated place.
We reached Obaidullaganj and stopped for breakfast - super hot, piping, sizzling aloo bondas, samosas, and gulab jamuns! Wow ! they were definitely fantastic!
Bhimbetka
We reached Obaidullaganj and stopped for breakfast - super hot, piping, sizzling aloo bondas, samosas, and gulab jamuns! Wow ! they were definitely fantastic!
Bhimbetka
We reached Bhimbetka around 9:45 AM. Bhimbetka is a group of painted rock shelters - depicting linear organized paintings of riding, hunting, dancing, war, social gatherings, and much more. Most of the paintings are in red or white while other colors are also used. The development of civilization and the depiction of the culture is so evident and to be proud of. This is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. There are 15 rock shelters - the paths to all the caves are well marked and helpful to find paintings. The most popular caves are 1, 3, 4, and 15. It is said there are more than 700 rock shelters across the region.
Cave 4 is called Zoo shelter and it is absolutely stunning. This shelter depicts paintings of 252 animals covering 16 different species across 453 figures; including water life, birds, deer, elephants, horses, cattle, bison, and much more.
Cave 15 is a mushroom-like shelter; showing a big boar-like animal chasing a man and a crab-like structure as well. Definitely stunning paintings. This shelter is also called Boar rock.
We spent 1 hour here and there was absolutely no crowd as it was raining. We then visited Sri Vaishnodevi Mandir at the top of the hillock before getting down.
Hoshangabad
Cave 4 is called Zoo shelter and it is absolutely stunning. This shelter depicts paintings of 252 animals covering 16 different species across 453 figures; including water life, birds, deer, elephants, horses, cattle, bison, and much more.
Cave 15 is a mushroom-like shelter; showing a big boar-like animal chasing a man and a crab-like structure as well. Definitely stunning paintings. This shelter is also called Boar rock.
We spent 1 hour here and there was absolutely no crowd as it was raining. We then visited Sri Vaishnodevi Mandir at the top of the hillock before getting down.
Hoshangabad
The plan was to visit the ghat of river Narmada and Hoshang Shah fort. River Narmada was running to the brink as an effect of the monsoon. We visited the Narmada river ghat - well-laid steps and clean. We dipped in and wet our legs in the river and moved on.
We had difficulty locating the Hoshang Shah fort; it was located behind the premises of a school. The fort was quite small, by the banks of the Narmada river. There are stairs to climb up to the terrace level of the fort. A grand view of river Narmada is guaranteed. We spent 10-15 mins here to admire the river, capture nice photographs, and moved on.
The driver dropped us at Hotel GRV for lunch - we had rotis, dhal, sabji, jeera rice, and dahi. All were fantastic and absolutely soothing to the stomach! Was safe for the stomach as well as the wallet! We then set directions to Pachmarhi.
We had difficulty locating the Hoshang Shah fort; it was located behind the premises of a school. The fort was quite small, by the banks of the Narmada river. There are stairs to climb up to the terrace level of the fort. A grand view of river Narmada is guaranteed. We spent 10-15 mins here to admire the river, capture nice photographs, and moved on.
The driver dropped us at Hotel GRV for lunch - we had rotis, dhal, sabji, jeera rice, and dahi. All were fantastic and absolutely soothing to the stomach! Was safe for the stomach as well as the wallet! We then set directions to Pachmarhi.
Pachmarhi
Pachmarhi is the only hill station in Madhya Pradesh on the Satpura hill range. It is 120 km from Hoshangabad - almost 3 hours to reach through the curvy single roads. We had booked rooms at the Hotel - The Misty Meadows. Almost, all the hotels in Pachmarhi are located within 1 km from the bus stand and nothing more. The Misty meadows rooms were very spacious, clean, and no issues. There is a restaurant inhouse. We had dinner in the restaurant later and it was ok.
Pachmarhi local sightseeing
Pachmarhi can be visited in local gypsy for most of the places. There are 3 different zones and 2 require forest entry - Rs.600 to be paid inclusive for both forest entries. The forest entry routes do not allow anyone after 3 PM.
By evening 5:30 PM, we went for a stroll around and one of the gypsy drivers offered a visit to Dhoopgarh for Rs.1000, and we immediately obliged. Dhoopgarh is the highest point in Mahadeo range of hills in Pachmarhi. The place is very popular for seeing the sunset and known as Sunset point as well. However, when we went the weather was absolutely stunning with lots of fog and settling clouds with mild drizzle. Though we could not see the sunset or the valley views, we thoroughly enjoyed the fog all around us. We spent almost 1 hour at Dhoopgarh and enjoyed every moment of it.
We returned back to the market area and there are small eateries around and the most popular one - Hotel Laxman - hot jalebis, samosa, chats and much more. We had few and walked down the streets in the cold evening. We settled back in the room post a night walk and had a good nap - more in the store for the next day.
Day-4 Splendid day at Pachmarhi
The day began with food. This was one of those days when we had the maximum number of dishes for our breakfast for hardly Rs.200 for 3 members. We visited the Laxman snack center to have breakfast - hot food was being served in this small shop. The idlies, samosas, poha, jalebi, dokla, aloo bonda, dal vada, and there were much more!
We hired the same gypsy driver for the whole day for Rs.2500 plus the forest entry fee to see as much as we could in the day.
By evening 5:30 PM, we went for a stroll around and one of the gypsy drivers offered a visit to Dhoopgarh for Rs.1000, and we immediately obliged. Dhoopgarh is the highest point in Mahadeo range of hills in Pachmarhi. The place is very popular for seeing the sunset and known as Sunset point as well. However, when we went the weather was absolutely stunning with lots of fog and settling clouds with mild drizzle. Though we could not see the sunset or the valley views, we thoroughly enjoyed the fog all around us. We spent almost 1 hour at Dhoopgarh and enjoyed every moment of it.
We returned back to the market area and there are small eateries around and the most popular one - Hotel Laxman - hot jalebis, samosa, chats and much more. We had few and walked down the streets in the cold evening. We settled back in the room post a night walk and had a good nap - more in the store for the next day.
Day-4 Splendid day at Pachmarhi
The day began with food. This was one of those days when we had the maximum number of dishes for our breakfast for hardly Rs.200 for 3 members. We visited the Laxman snack center to have breakfast - hot food was being served in this small shop. The idlies, samosas, poha, jalebi, dokla, aloo bonda, dal vada, and there were much more!
We hired the same gypsy driver for the whole day for Rs.2500 plus the forest entry fee to see as much as we could in the day.
Non-forest zone places
Jata Shankar caves - a walk down the hill through narrow steps into caves. The caves had knee level water and we had darshan of Lord Shiva in the form of Lingam. The place was so pleasant and amazing to walk through and be for some time. The total time for us to reach back to the vehicle was 45 minutes. There is a new temple for Lord Hanuman, where there is a piece of floating stone that was used as a part of Ram Sethu link build by Ram.
Pandav Caves was the next stop. There are five caves in different levels of a hillock and from this is what Pachmarhi gains its name. The caves had pillared verandahs and cave no.3 had some sculpt work while others were plain. The top of the hillock had some brick structure at the top and most of the hopeless and senseless tourists were walking on it with no respect to the historical place. More fencing would help. We spent around 30 minutes here. The view from the top was worth it!
Bison Lodge and Forest entry tickets
Jata Shankar caves - a walk down the hill through narrow steps into caves. The caves had knee level water and we had darshan of Lord Shiva in the form of Lingam. The place was so pleasant and amazing to walk through and be for some time. The total time for us to reach back to the vehicle was 45 minutes. There is a new temple for Lord Hanuman, where there is a piece of floating stone that was used as a part of Ram Sethu link build by Ram.
Pandav Caves was the next stop. There are five caves in different levels of a hillock and from this is what Pachmarhi gains its name. The caves had pillared verandahs and cave no.3 had some sculpt work while others were plain. The top of the hillock had some brick structure at the top and most of the hopeless and senseless tourists were walking on it with no respect to the historical place. More fencing would help. We spent around 30 minutes here. The view from the top was worth it!
Bison Lodge and Forest entry tickets
The driver informed us to visit the Bison lodge while he would stand in the queue and buy the entry tickets for the forest area. The bison lodge seems to be the first building in Pachmarhi and hosts museums displaying information on flora and fauna of the area. From here-on, we entered the exotic locations of Pachmarhi.
Exotic Bee Falls
First, we reached Bee falls. This requires a 500m walk from the parking and another 500m vertical climb down through stairs, to see one of the best places in Pachmarhi. The vertical climb down is definitely difficult for elders and people with knee issues. Once you reach the bottom, ensure you make all the way down to the waterfalls and get drenched! We had an amazing experience drenching in the chill water, falling from almost 100-200 feet. The water was so fresh and enriching. We enjoyed being in the water for more than 30 minutes and came out to do the steep climb back. The time we spent was lovely and can be never forgotten.
Reechgarh - one of the biggest natural cave in Pachmarhi. Reech stands for Bear and the cave is said to be the place for bears. Quite a massive cave and very interesting inside. The place is very picturesque and rough terrain. The cavern looks like a canyon inside with a lot of water scars, running for centuries inside. We spent close to 30 minutes here and it was really a worth time to spend.
There is a also small cave on the left side of the large cave leading to a slightly difficult path and then into the forest. Our driver said that place is the Echo point; to our disappointment, echoes were not experienced. However, the landscape was worth watching.
We stopped at Hotel Nandanvan for lunch, the service was quite slow but looks like most of the drivers get all the tourists here and it was crowded. Food was definitely very good, rotis, sabji, rice and starters. Post lunch, we visited Apsara Vihar.
Another gem of Pachmarhi
Apsara Vihar is around 1.5 km walk into the forest. The place has 2 routes, one - viewpoint to see Silver Falls and other to reach Apsara Vihar. Silver falls (Rajat falls) is a very tall and thin waterfall. The view is quite grand by the dense mountains around.
With the above place, we came out of one of the forest zones and then reached the other.
The other Forest Zone
Rajendragiri park - this gives another view of the Satpura range of hills. This is a sunset point. Importantly, one gets to see the highest point - Chauragarh from there. The views definitely are spellbound. When we went, it was close to 4 PM and sunset was far from this time. This is named after the first President of India.
With this, we completed our planned areas. However, we requested our driver to cover other routes as well as we had time. We had a late-night train from Pipariya and planned to leave Pachmarhi by 7 PM. We paid extra and covered Mahadev caves and a couple of more beautiful viewpoints.
Mahadev Caves
First, we reached Gupt Mahadev caves. Located 200m from the parking area, the reach into the cave is very narrow and if someone is fat, they would not be able to make it. One needs to walk sideways and the whole space inside the cave allows only 8 people at a time to have darshan of Linga. One gets to spend not more than 2 minutes inside as it is suffocating. Quite a different experience. This is on the route of 4 km trek to Chauragarh.
We then reached Mahadeo main cave. This is 300 m walk from the parking area on well-laid walkway. This is a bigger cave and comfortable for everyone to get inside and have darshan of Linga.
We then stopped by the Green Valley viewpoint. Definitely, as the name stood, the view was completely green - so dense that no other colour or empty space was visible. Worth a stop and good opportunity for shutterbugs.
Next, was Priyadarshini Viewpoint - named after then PM, Indira Gandhi visited this point - her original name. The older name of the place is called Forsyth point, named for Colonel Forsyth located in this place. The view of the valley and hills is breathtaking - a fantastic viewpoint and must to see. Chauragarh is well visible from there as well.
Last point to visit - Suicide point - known as Handi Khoh. This too is a popular tourist attraction - a view towards absolutely deep and stunning valleys; aged steep rock structure around. Real feel of being in nature! We spent 15 minutes here before it starting becoming dark.
The driver then dropped us at Pachmarhi bus stop. We bought bus tickets to Pipariya - the nearest railway station for Pachmarhi. We had booked our train tickets to Nagpur - an overnight journey of around 6 hours. We had dinner at Hotel Thakoor Ji, idli-sambhar, roti and sabji. They all were quite yummy and fresh. We then boarded the bus to reach Pipariya around 8:30 PM. We roamed around the tiny town before taking rest in the railway station; boarding around 11:15 PM.
Day-5 Nagpur
We reached Nagpur around 06:30 AM. The plan was to refresh and do some local sighting before we board the flight back to Chennai by 4 PM. We spent around 15-20 mins to locate a bathing place in a mansion like a place for Rs.100 per person; though very small, it was ok to get refreshed quickly. We also had a dilemma to visit Sevagram - however, we had varied opinions with respect to time and instead settled to stick to Nagpur city only.
We booked an Ola cab for 6 hours - 60 km package from the railway station. We reached back to the station and boarded the cab. Unfortunately, the local-born driver had absolutely no knowledge where to take us around and any name we spell out, he was blinking. He first drove us to a local shop for breakfast, where we tasted local delicacies - samosa, bread bhaji, aloo bhaji, and Jamun for breakfast. Then, Google maps ON!
Firstly, we visited the Jami Masjid in Nagpur. Followed, the most significant place for tourists - the Zero milestone of India! The Zero milestone depicts the geographic center of our country and shows direction boards across India. One of the proud places to visit and that feeling we were in the real center of India.
Ultimately, we made it a double by visit the Diamond crossing. A true diamond crossing is formed when two sets of parallel tracks cross yet another pair of parallel tracks. East-West route has to cross the North-South mainline and this happens in Nagpur. Again, a significant place for true Indian travelers to visit :) Some even term it as Double diamond crossing as a set of tracks cross each other!
We then visited the core of RSS in Nagpur. The massive halls and library/bookstall were good to visit. The place hosts the memorial for Reshimbag Dr. Hedgewar. We spent around 20 minutes here.
Deeksha Bhoomi was our next stop. This is the monument in regards to Mr.B.R.Ambedkar, where he converted to Buddhism. Along with him, around 6 lakh followers also converted to Buddhism in one of the rarest events in the world marking the single biggest religious conversion. The monument was under renovation when we went, we watched around the interior hall having photos and events of the conversion. Photography is not allowed inside. The garden around has symbols of Buddhism and famous words of Mr.B.R.Ambedkar in his context.
We had enough time to reach the airport and it was not possible to visit Sevagram on the same day; primarily, the knowledge of the driver was not helping too! We decided to kill time by visiting Empress mall, the biggest in Nagpur. We spent around 1 hour in the air-conditioned place to hide from the scorching sun. We then stopped by Haldirams for lunch. The food was just ok.
Reached to the airport on an on-time flight back to Chennai!
Mahadev Caves
First, we reached Gupt Mahadev caves. Located 200m from the parking area, the reach into the cave is very narrow and if someone is fat, they would not be able to make it. One needs to walk sideways and the whole space inside the cave allows only 8 people at a time to have darshan of Linga. One gets to spend not more than 2 minutes inside as it is suffocating. Quite a different experience. This is on the route of 4 km trek to Chauragarh.
We then reached Mahadeo main cave. This is 300 m walk from the parking area on well-laid walkway. This is a bigger cave and comfortable for everyone to get inside and have darshan of Linga.
We then stopped by the Green Valley viewpoint. Definitely, as the name stood, the view was completely green - so dense that no other colour or empty space was visible. Worth a stop and good opportunity for shutterbugs.
Next, was Priyadarshini Viewpoint - named after then PM, Indira Gandhi visited this point - her original name. The older name of the place is called Forsyth point, named for Colonel Forsyth located in this place. The view of the valley and hills is breathtaking - a fantastic viewpoint and must to see. Chauragarh is well visible from there as well.
Last point to visit - Suicide point - known as Handi Khoh. This too is a popular tourist attraction - a view towards absolutely deep and stunning valleys; aged steep rock structure around. Real feel of being in nature! We spent 15 minutes here before it starting becoming dark.
The driver then dropped us at Pachmarhi bus stop. We bought bus tickets to Pipariya - the nearest railway station for Pachmarhi. We had booked our train tickets to Nagpur - an overnight journey of around 6 hours. We had dinner at Hotel Thakoor Ji, idli-sambhar, roti and sabji. They all were quite yummy and fresh. We then boarded the bus to reach Pipariya around 8:30 PM. We roamed around the tiny town before taking rest in the railway station; boarding around 11:15 PM.
Day-5 Nagpur
We reached Nagpur around 06:30 AM. The plan was to refresh and do some local sighting before we board the flight back to Chennai by 4 PM. We spent around 15-20 mins to locate a bathing place in a mansion like a place for Rs.100 per person; though very small, it was ok to get refreshed quickly. We also had a dilemma to visit Sevagram - however, we had varied opinions with respect to time and instead settled to stick to Nagpur city only.
We booked an Ola cab for 6 hours - 60 km package from the railway station. We reached back to the station and boarded the cab. Unfortunately, the local-born driver had absolutely no knowledge where to take us around and any name we spell out, he was blinking. He first drove us to a local shop for breakfast, where we tasted local delicacies - samosa, bread bhaji, aloo bhaji, and Jamun for breakfast. Then, Google maps ON!
Center of India
Firstly, we visited the Jami Masjid in Nagpur. Followed, the most significant place for tourists - the Zero milestone of India! The Zero milestone depicts the geographic center of our country and shows direction boards across India. One of the proud places to visit and that feeling we were in the real center of India.
Ultimately, we made it a double by visit the Diamond crossing. A true diamond crossing is formed when two sets of parallel tracks cross yet another pair of parallel tracks. East-West route has to cross the North-South mainline and this happens in Nagpur. Again, a significant place for true Indian travelers to visit :) Some even term it as Double diamond crossing as a set of tracks cross each other!
We then visited the core of RSS in Nagpur. The massive halls and library/bookstall were good to visit. The place hosts the memorial for Reshimbag Dr. Hedgewar. We spent around 20 minutes here.
Deeksha Bhoomi was our next stop. This is the monument in regards to Mr.B.R.Ambedkar, where he converted to Buddhism. Along with him, around 6 lakh followers also converted to Buddhism in one of the rarest events in the world marking the single biggest religious conversion. The monument was under renovation when we went, we watched around the interior hall having photos and events of the conversion. Photography is not allowed inside. The garden around has symbols of Buddhism and famous words of Mr.B.R.Ambedkar in his context.
We had enough time to reach the airport and it was not possible to visit Sevagram on the same day; primarily, the knowledge of the driver was not helping too! We decided to kill time by visiting Empress mall, the biggest in Nagpur. We spent around 1 hour in the air-conditioned place to hide from the scorching sun. We then stopped by Haldirams for lunch. The food was just ok.
Reached to the airport on an on-time flight back to Chennai!
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| Chennai airport by evening .... after mid-day rains ! |
Distances - quick reference
- Indore – Ujjain – 56 kms (1 hour)
- Ujjain – Bhopal – 189 kms
- Bhopal – Sanchi – 49 kms (75 mins)
- Sanchi – Vidisha – 9 kms
- Vidisha – Bhopal – 57 kms (90 mins)
- Bhopal – Bhojpur – 28 kms (45 mins)
- Bhojpur – Bhimbetka – 25 kms (45 mins)
- Bhimbetka – Hoshangabad – 39 kms (1 hour)
- Hoshangabad – Pachmarhi – 118 kms (3 hours)
- Bhimbetka – Pachmarhi – 157 kms (4 hours)
- Pachmarhi – Pipariya – 54 kms (1.5 hours)
- Pachmarhi – Nagpur – 227 kms (5.5 hours)
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