Omkareshwar - Holy Place of Madhya Pradesh

Omkareshwar is the sacred Indian tourist place famous for Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva. Omkareshwar is named as 12 honored Jyotirlinga of God Shiva. This shrine is placed on an island known as Mandhata (also recognized as Shivapuri). The flowing River Narmada is having huge holy values for Hindus. If you view the island from sky you will find the shape of island as ॐ (Om) symbol. Omkareshwar and Amareshwar are two mostly visited temples of this place.

Omkareshwar is the place where Lord Shiva and many other Hindu gods visited several time. Vindhya hills in North, Satpura forest in South and River Narmada in West are making this place most impressive for voyagers. In ancient period this tourist place of India was full of alligators and fish.

Attraction in Omkareshwar

Countless places are available here for voyagers but few of them are special. Some of the key destinations of Omkareshwar are described below:

Omkareshwar Temple: A shrine of Lord Shiva is first place to visit. This most popular holy spots is positioned on Mandhata Island. This shrine is linked in 12 Jyotirlinga of the world located at different places.

Kajal Rani Cave: Another famous spot for voyagers is cave of Kajal Rani. This cave is placed at only gap of 9 km from main temple Omkareshwar. This main tourist spot is offering amazing view of long stretched surrounding lands with greenery everywhere.

Siddhanath Temple: Next spot to visit is Siddhanath Temple of Lord Shiva. The structural design of this shrine is special as it is made of Brahmin style. Wow, you have to reach plateau to attain the temple. The huge podium with decorated carvings and wall painting makes this temple special then others.

Shri Omkar Mandhata Temple: You will be surprised there are countless holy places in Omkareshwar. Our next holy place is Omkar Mandhata Temple that is one of the 12 Jyothirlinga’s in India. This shrine is placed at the meeting point of River Narmada and Kaveri. The structural design is similar to Nagara style. This shrine of Lord Shiva is special destination and voyagers must reach the spot at occasion of Shiva Ratri the Indian festival.

Kedareshwar Temple: one more holy spot is Kedareshwar positioned close to Shri Omkar shrine. This ancient temple was constructed in 11^th era A.D.

Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada Cave: Do you love adventurous places then visit cave of Govinda Bhagavatpada that is linked to Sankaracharya the famous Saint of India. As per sources this place is major spot of Sankaracharya where he learned the Govind Bhagwatpad grantha.

Mamleshwar temple: Once you visit the Omkareshwar destination you must visit and take blessings of Lord Shiva at Mamleshwar temple. Move towards opposite bank of River Narmada to reach the temple.

24 Avatars: Next is 24 Avatars holy place positioned at Omkareshwar City. It is the group of Jain and Hindu temples with unique structural design. However, city faced the damages done by the Muslim ruler Mahmud Ghazni in 11^th century as he demolished countless Hindu temples during his ruling period.

There are many more temples and shrines in Omkareshwar so you need to plan your trip for longer than one week so that you can take blessings of many Hindu gods at same place. Some of the key temples of this destination are Satmatrika Temples, Ranmukteshwar temple, Gauri Somanth temple, Fanase Ghat and Peshawar Ghat.

Attaining to Omkareshwar:

As it is an island so reaching there through steamboats is good option. Devotees can reach the place through different ways. There are two connecting bridges on Narmada River which allow the visitors to reach the Omkareshwar temple.

By Air: The nearest Airport to Omkareshwar is Indore which is 77 km away from this island and the next airport is Ujjain which is situated at 133 km distant.

By Rail: Closest Railway Station is Omkareshwar Road which is 12 km from the city.

By Road: This holy place is connected with major cities and towns of Madhya Pradesh. Though, there are frequent bus services from Indore, Ujjain, Khandwa and Omkareshwar Road.

Rourkela

Rourkela is the steel city of Orissa, India. City is covered with scenic hills with countless lakes in territory. However, city got huge popularity after establishment of 3 big steel plants in 1955.

Different people have various thoughts about Rourkela, though it is most attractive and imposing tourist destination available with loads of scenery areas. Rourkela is having religious values as well and that’s the reason there are countless shrines in town. Best among many is Hanuman Vatika (Garden) which holds the huge idol of 75 feet of Lord Hanuman. Other known spots where people can attain are Indira Gandhi Park, Jubilee Park, Nehru Traffic Park, Mrig (Peacock) Vihar and Green Park.

Sources say the writer of Mahabharata Sri Ved Vyas born in Rourkela. City is basically placed on meeting point of 3 rivers. From hills people can have the vision of three diverse colors of water. People can find the best Vedic Ashram and the Gurukul School at Rourkela.

As the town is placed close rivers people can also visit the Mandira Dam constructed on one of the river which is just 51 kms away from city. 

Best period to attain Rourkela is form October to March. Domestic airport of Rourkela is having flights from Bhubaneswar that is another tourist place in north east India.

Spots for Voyagers in Rourkela:

Badaghagra Falls: first place available in town for voyagers is Badaghagra waterfalls. Voyagers can enjoy the flowing water with approximately 10 kms distance. Fall is not much in height but it flows from 10 kms to 196 kms from Raurkela to Keonjhar. Average height of fall is 60 meters and a source is River Ghaghra.

Barehipani Falls: one more attractive location in Rourkela is Barehipani falls placed in the middle part of Simipal National Park (another picnic spot). Orissa is having countless falls in diverse parts of state. However, Barehipani falls are attracting visitors around the world because the visitors list from abroad to Raurkela is increasing all the time. Good height of waterfall with 399 meters makes it huge and very attractive.

Duduma Falls: a next spot where travelers can enjoy is Duduma falls located in Darjeeing area. The falls of Duduma originated from Machhakunda River, also recognized as Matsya Tirtha. Hydro-electric project of Machhakunda is major source of electricity in state.

Harishankar Falls:  other place is Harishankar Falls located in Balangir town. Here voyagers can enjoy series of waterfalls like some are lower in height and few are higher.

Hatipathar Falls: Orissa is full of waterfalls and Hatipathar is one of them. Place is named after two different words such as Hati means elephant and pathar means stone. Fall is only 3 kms distant from Rayagada (one more tourist location in Rourkela).

The top area of Rourkela is Indira Gandhi Park (IGP) housing the small and big waterfalls, Dam and forest areas. People visiting IGP can make their holidays special by attaining to Joranda Falls and Mandira Dam.

Joranda Falls: a place located close to Barehpani falls is Joranda fall having better height of 150 meters. However, travelers have to go through Simlipal National Park to reach the Jorander falls. To feature of fall is the falls and wildlife. Voyagers can enjoy the dense forest with safari service provided by the forest department of Orissa.

Mandira Dam: a spot with garden and huge dam located at only 32 kms gap from city is next tourist location. Voyagers have to attain Kansbahal to reach Mandira Dam. SAIL group of India has constructed the Dam in Rourkela.

Attaining to Rourkela:

By Air: closest domestic airport to reach Rourkela is located at Ranchi. However, Ranchi city is 250 kms distant but travelers can hire the taxi and private vehicle to reach Rourkela from Ranchi. Flights for Ranchi are available from Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and many big cities of India.

By Rail: trains to Rourkela are available from various parts of nation. This steel city is properly connected to major stations of India like Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmadabad and many more. From Bhubaneswar travelers have to travel for 7 hours by train. However, from Kolkata it will take only 6 hours to reach the Rourkela.

By Road: Orissa Roadways buses are available from Bhubaneswar and few other areas of State Orissa.  Frequent buses are available from Bhubaneswar though that will take longer time as the route is little difficult with some dangerous curves and hills.