Palitana - Pure Vegetarian City Of The World

Tourism in India has been always surprising because we find different kind of cities with dissimilar features. After long research, we finally got one of the Jain temple city Palitana. The popular thing about the city is this Indian tourist place is declared as one and only 100 % pure vegetarian city of the world. Yes! This is true that Palitana the city of Bhavnagar region, Gujarat is listed as the pure vegetarian city of the globe. The distance of the city from Bhavnagar is just 50 km and famous as a key pilgrimage center for the Jain community.

However, we were not aware that this city is listed as veg, but we were told to throw the stuff at the border of the city by a local commuter. That was a big surprise for me because I have never heard such thing in my whole life. I immediately checked the reviews about the city and found that it was declared “The World’s First Vegetarian City” on 14th August, 2014. This was all effort of Sudhar Sagar the Jain believer and his party members. A long hunger battle until death created the history and Gujarat government declared this touristy spot as a Vegetarian zone of India.

Talking about tourism in the city it is the pilgrim spot and lots of big and small temples are constructed in the city. The city is linked to Jain legends and their bravery history. The first Tirthankar Shri Adinath meditated on Shatrunjaya Hill, Palitana. Later a temple was constructed at such location and today it becomes major part of tourism in the city.

Palitana was declared as a prime city in 1194, though it was the major states of Saurashtra spread in 777 km². In ancient period this Indian tourist place was ruled by Mughal Emperors and was granted to Shantidas Jhaveri the Jain merchant in 1656. Mughal Ruler Murad Baksh was the son of Shah Jahan gave the control of city to Shantidas. However, the temples in the city were constructed by the Anand Ji Kalyan Ji Trust.

Palitana is the only city of the world, having more than 900 temples in the hill. It is the major Tirtha place of Jain people. Nearly 3000 temples are established on Shatrunjaya hills made of white marble.

Attractions in Palitana:

Shatrunjaya Hill: Striking view of the valley and surrounding areas makes this place as first choice for visitors. The Shatrunjaya mount is 591 meters in height popular as the most sacred place of the shrine of Jains. The rock climb of 4 km with stepped path could be difficult for heavy weight people. However, the Doli and lift chairs are available for people who face difficulty to reach the top. There is another way to reach this peak temple and that is an elephant ride. Once you reach the peak you will find nearly 863 marble temples of Jain gurus constructed nearly 900 years ago.

Jasmine trees: Famous as Gulf of Cambay visited by numerous people every year. However, the trees and gulf area is closer to the temples so people who visit this area must not miss the amazingly designed shrines on the peak of the hill. Most of the temples are built of gold, silver and donated jewel items.

Modern Temple: The unique structural design of the Khartaravasi Tuk temple expresses the value of the shrine for people. It is counted largest peak temples with north ridge face towards Chaumukh temple.

Adinath temple: Another must visit place of the town located on the hill again. A holy place, having huge values for the devotees of Jain Community. View of the city is amazing from this temple and you will find a huge, dense greenery area starts from the boundary of the temple. The temple was built by a rich merchant of Palitana in 1618.

There are countless temples and naming each temple in the list is not an easy task. However, we tried to gather the data from different sources and we believe the mentioned spots of this Indian tourist place will attract the visitors to reach here.

How to reach Palitana?

By Air: The closest airport is Bhavnagar located at 51 km distance from Palitana. It is the domestic airport having two daily flights from Mumbai. However, the next closest big airport is Ahmedabad located at 215 km distance. Ahmedabad is properly connected to major cities of India so no worries if you are looking for flights to Ahmedabad.

By Rail: Palitana railway station is having direct trains so you can get the reservation for this city from almost every corner of the nation. Songadh, Bhavanagar, Mumbai and many other cities are having direct train for Palitana.

By Road: Gujarat government has managed the state with proper road constructions. The administration of the state is highly motivated and developing the roads throughout the state. If you are looking for Palitana through road, then you can get the route of Bhavnagar that is just a few kms away from the destination. Regular buses are accessible from Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Una, Talaja, Diu and several other cities.

Una - Hill Station of Himachal Pradesh

Amazing hill station Una is our target for the day. Our search for today gets completed at Una. This place is located at South-West Himachal Pradesh. Una is the big region of HP and there are countless ranges comes under this district. Shivalik ranges are best among all hills famous for heavy rainfall throughout the year. The impressive part of Una hills are most of the areas are covered with scanty vegetation. Hoshiarpur district is closer to Una, though it was the part of Himachal Pradesh till 1966. As per the present status Una is bordered with Bilaspur and Kangra Hamirpur.  

This Indian tourist place could be your favorite location for holidays as the place is all time cool in temperature and the surrounding is covered with greenery. If we talk about the tourism in Una some spots are on the top such as Mata Chintpurni idol, Bangana Lathian Piplu, Dera Baba Barbhag Singh, and the Una town. Hills are always reasonable for holy locations and Una is having similar feelings for Indians. Few best temples of the location are Chintpurni temple, Shiv Bari, Dera Baba Rudru temple, Baba Barbhag Singh, Baba Rudran, Dhyunsar Mahadev Temple and Ashram.

Geographical Structure:

A town located at altitude of 1200 meters from the sea level and closest nearby big destinations is Jalandhar (78 km) and Hoshiarpur (39 km).

Weather Conditions:

Hills of Una are basically with semi-tropical and semi-arctic conditions. Average temperature in summer is between 8° C to 45° C, though winter temperature rises between -3° C to 33° C. You can reach the Una town in any season, but winter is a most preferred period to reach this place.

India is famous for not only for locations, but also for religious values. In Una the popular fairs are Hola MOhalla fair, Sawan Ashtami Fair, Chintpurni fair, Paanch Bhisham fair, Baisakhi festival, Piplu fair, and Prakash Utsav. However, known lake of this place is Gobind Sagar lake starts from Bilaspur region. 

Some of the key locations that you can visit in Una town are mentioned here:

Baba Bharbhag Singh: A first place to visit in town Mairi of Tehsil Amb is 3 kms. You have to reach village Nehri comes with the route of Una to Hamirpur. Dera is basically a holy place which is believed to be the spot for curing the patients possessed by evil spirits. Here you can also find the famous Gurudwara visited by the large amount of Sikhs throughout the year. This Gurudwara was established by Bharbhag Singh the popular saint of Himachal Pradesh. This Dera is located at distance of 40 Kms from Una Town. Direct buses are available Dera from almost every part of the region. Chandigarh is the biggest station for reaching Dera. The best part of the Gurudwara is it is on the top of a hill surrounded by eucalyptus trees.

Bangana Lathian Piplu: Positioned on the peak of Sola Singh Dhar popular for amazing sceneries. This place is impressive in the winter season and some big religious celebrations are conducted at such period. Don’t forget to visit Jogi Ponga and Temple Naina Devi at Piplu.

Una Town: I am sure you are having amazing feeling as you are going through this document. Though the next spot is more impressive than other places of town because the spot name is Una Town. You are getting a chance to visit one of the beautiful rivers of India known as Swan River. This river is tributary to the holy river Sutlej. Local people believe that the famous saint Valmiki named the river as Som Bhadra and also mentioned in his myth book Ramayana. He mentioned the river as Swastu Una. 

As I have mentioned that every hill station of India is having holy locations so the Una is also listed in similar locations. Few of the famous shrines of Una are Chintpurni Temple (famous for Shukalpaksh festival), Dera Baba Rudru Temple, and Shiv BariShiv Bari at Gagret, Mairi, Dhyunsar Mahadev Temple, Baba Rudranand Ashram, and some more holy places.

Gobind Sagar Lake: I like boating specially at different locations or hill stations and if you are on the list, then enjoy the boating at Gobind Sagar Lake of Una. However, there are several other lakes as well at Una but Gobind Sagar Lake is special then all. This is the artificial lake, though many other spots, areas available closer to this lake. The lake area is famous for water as well as events like speed boats and ferry rides. Water skiing, kayaking, sailing and scooter racing at lake are few more impressive sporting events available at this place.

Bhakra Dam: Built on river Sutlej at Bilaspur region is the next wonder place to visit with Una. Bhakra dam is listed as world's highest dams. Constructed under the supervision of American dam expert Harvey Slocum started in 1955 completed in 1962.

Una Wild Life Sanctuaries: Most of the hill areas are covered with greenery and dense forest. There is a sanctuary managed by the Bhakra Management Board constituted in outer area of Bhakra Dam.  

How to reach Una?

Himachal Pradesh is connected through road to various parts of India. However train project is also implemented in major parts of the state. To reach Una you can get the transport from Delhi, Sonipat, Kurukshetra, Chandigarh, Ambala, Nangal, Bilaspur and some more cities. Shimla is another source available to reach Una because Shimla is closer to this Indian tourist place.

By Air:Biggest airport is Jalandhar located at 78 km distance. Jodhpur is a domestic airport but flights to Jodhpur are available from almost every city of India.

By Train: Una railway station is properly linked to many major stations of India as a broad gauge line is available in the town to reach easily.

Ajaigarh - Historical City of Madhya Pradesh

This place was a capital of a princely state with the same name during the rule of the British Raj.  In 1765, Ajaigarh was founded by Guman Singh, Abundela Raiput, a nephew of Raja Pahar who is a Singh of Jaitpur. He was captured in 1809 by the British and it became the princely state in the Bundelkhand Agency of the Central India Agency. 

Ajaigarh had an area of 771 miles (1997 kilometers) with the population of around 78,236 in 1901.  Their rulers were given the title Sawai Maharaja who commanded with estimated annual revenue of around £15,000.  At the foot of the hill-fortress of Ajaigarh, the chief stayed in the town called Nowgong from which the state took its name.  

​At this Indian Tourist Place, there is a fort that is situated on a steep hill and it stands more than 800 feet (244 meters) above the township and it has the ruins of several adorned temples with sculptures that are carved elaborately.  During the year 1868 to 1869 and 1896 to 1895, the town is always afflicted by malaria and most of the people suffered severe famine.  

On January 1, 1950, the state acceded to the Government of India, where the ruling chief was granted a privy purse of Rs 74700 and the courtesy use of titles and his own styles.  But on 1971, all of these were revoked by the Government of India.  They used to-be princely state became part of the Indian state of Vindhya Pradesh.  Most of the territory of the former state, including Ajaigarh, it became part of the Panna District, where smaller portion goes to the Chhatapur District.  It was on November 1, 1956 when Vindhya Pradesh was combined to Madhya Pradesh.  

Attractions:

Forts of Ajaigarh – if you and your family want to visit this Indian tourism spot and spend a royally short vacation, you can come here in Ajaigarh to see the divine temples as well as the kingly mansions.  The Ajaigarh fort shows the engineering skills of the Chandela rulers.  On the mighty Vindhaya range, you will see a structure that is 1110 meters tall and it was mainly built to protect the territory from the attack of the enemies. 

​Panna – This is another Indian Tourist place near Ajaigarh where one would experience wildlife and jungle. This small city is famous for its tiger reserve, which is spread over an area of 543 square km and diamond mines. Panna is located at Vindhyachal Ranges with an average elevation of 433 meters.  It is not visited not only for its National wild life reserves, but also for the shrines and monuments.  Other places of interest in Panna are the Mahamati Prannathji Temple, Kalinjar Fort, Pandav caves and the Panna National Park.  It is also considered a significant pilgrim site for the Pranami sect followers around the world.

Chitrakoot – this is also called Hill of Many Wonders.  It is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh as it covers the distance of 62 kilometers from East to West and 57.5 kilometers from North to South.  

​The residents of Chitrakoot speak mainly in Bundeli and Hindi.  As a holy destination, they only serve vegetarian dishes at this place.  This place is very popular for pakode, dum Bhindi, Gobi musallam, and sultani dal.  You can also find some sweet specialties at this place like petha, peda, rewri and gazak. There are several festivals and fairs being organized at this place like Dipawali, Navaratri,, Ramayana Mela, Ramnavami, Vijayadashami, Amavasya Fair and Shrawan Jhoola Mela.

Weather Conditions:

​It is the best time to travel Ajaigarh is during the months of December to March.  The temperature is around 14C with 36% of humidity and the wind coming from the East at 6kph. 

Accommodation Status:

If you plan to visit Ajaigarh, you can stay in any hotels located at Khajuraho and Panna with the price range of Rs800 to Rs20, 500.  

How to reach Ajaigarh?

By Air: If you travel by plane, the nearest airport is Khajuraho which is around 45 kilometers from Ajaigarh.  There are flights to major cities in the neighboring states.  

By Train: There are two major railway hubs, which are Khajuraho and Attara.  It is about 45 kms and 60 kms respectively to Ajaigarh.  

​By Bus: If you visit Ajaigarh via bus, it is about 25 kilometers from Panna.