Chidambaram

One of the solid tourist destinations of India is Chidambaram of Tamil Nadu State. As we discussed earlier in blog India is full of locations with different climate conditions and features. If you are planning for visit any religious place than nothing is better than Chidambaram town. A short description and the information of various tourist places of the city is mentioned in this blog. Plan your trip and attain this spiritual place to get the blessings of Lord Shiva. 

Ancient shrines and structural design of the city is amazing. Chidambaram is not a big city but a small temple town of State Tamil Nadu, India. It is the place where the Indian culture, religious rituals and tradition are conserved with artistic values. The word “Chidambaram” is synonym to God Shiva and devotees of Lord Shiva reach this spot every year in huge mass value. Chidambaram Natarajan temple is the main spot to visit in the town.  

The shrines of Chidambaram are mentioned in Mythologies and Puranas. People of India are having different beliefs about this town like some believe the shrine of Lord Shiva is the one where the air and natural elements like body and world are created. However, the town is completely peaceful and full of religious values.  

Impressive tourist spots of Chidambaram: 

Nataraja Temple: travelers must attain to Nataraja Temple first that is dedicated to Nataraja (Lord Shiva). Location is central part of the town, though town faced countless renovations during Chola and Pallava rulers. The shrine is famous for gopurams, carvings, inscriptions and mandapams. Huge walls and tall shikharas of shrine are impressive and able to attract the visitors. Timing for temple is morning 6 to 12 and evening 4:30 to 10. You can plan your visit according to timings so that blessing of Lord Shiva can be taken.  

Neyveli: The initial place where travelers can attain to is Neyveli that is a spot famous for lignite mines. Located at 30 km distance and must see spot are lush green vegetation areas.  

Annamalai University: another location for travelers is the Annamalai University spread in 300 acres land. Founder of the University was King Annamalai Chettiar and year was 1929.  

Tarangambadi: a historic place known as Tarangamadi is popular for decaying condition of fort Dansborg built in 17th era.  

Vaitheeswaran Koil: another religious spot located at 24 km distance from Chidambaram is available. This is again the temple of Lord Siva dedicated to Vaidya Natheswarar. People believe if the bath in taken in holy pond of Siddhamirtham then all diseases will get cure.  

Pichavaram Mangrove Forest: a small but dense forest of Chidambaram is one more natural attractive tourist destination.  

Thillai Kali Amman Shrine: one oldest temple of Swami Nataraja is next place to visit. Thillai kali shrine is located close to Natarajan Temple. Goddess Kali idol is placed in this temple having four faces.

Sivakami Amman Temple: another shrine popular for Siva Ganga Tank is next destination for visitors. There are thousand pillars in hall that sounds different when you touch.  

Two more attractive spots of Chidambaram are Chathapurinathar shrine and Tiruvetkalam Temple. There are many other small temples in the town located in different areas.  

Attaining to Chidambaram: 

By Train: Chidambaram railway station is properly linked to many big cities of India. Trains reaching to Chennai from major cities are going through Chidambaram. Train towards Tiruchirappali is also crossing the town so reaching through train is easy option for travelers. You can attain train from Mayiladuthurai, Vridhachalam Jn, Pondicherry, Chennai, Madurai, Tirupati, Varanasi, Tiruchendur, Tiruchy, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Mysore, Mumbai, Delhi and many other cities.  

By Air: closest airport for Chidambaram is Tiruchirappali however it’s a domestic airport and located at gap of 195 kms. Frequent flights from Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi are allowing visitors to reach spot easily. You can hire the taxi from Tiruchirappalli to town Chidambaram and fare will be around 2200 Rs. CIA (Chennai International Airport) is linked to almost every international city so abroad travelers can easily reach the destination from their nation.   

By Bus: road is another convenient way to reach the Chidambaram town. State buses are major sources for local and other cities people. Tamil Nadu state transport is having countless buses from various parts of the nation to reach Chidambaram. Buses from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are also available in good quantity. Bus service from Madurai, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Trichy, Trivandrum, Pondicherry and Thanjavur are available in large amount.

Lonavala

A beautiful Indian tourist place Lonavla is available for you. The other name of this famous destination of Maharashtra is Lonavala. It’s a small hill area of Pune region, Maharashtra. The only distance of 64 km from Pune city makes it first choice for local people as well as visitors from other cities of Maharashtra. Mumbai city is only 96 kms away from Lonavala. The approx area of Lonavla town is 38 km² and famous sweet item that gives the popularity to this town throughout the nation is Chikki. It’s a major point of meeting of rail lines between Mumbai to Pune. Voyagers can reach Lonavala through local trains from Karjat station.

Lonavala is famous of impressive natural beauty spots, high hills and Mumbai to Pune highway road. Finest period to attain the town is monsoon season when the heavy clouds turns into big waterfalls from different areas of Lonavla. The lush green and full water ponds of Lonavla give a big mental peace to the mind. The view of nature becomes so impressive that visitors spend their maximum time in Lonavala to watch the natural waterfalls, ponds and the lush green areas.

Lonavala attractions for travelers are:

Karla Caves: initial place of Lonavala is Karla Caves, though visitors have to cross area of Lonavala as the caves are located at end point of the town. Karle Caves are also known as Karla Cells popular for having ancient Buddhist rock shrines constructed inside the caves. You have to reach Karli to attain this first and most beautiful spot of Lonavala.

Visapur Fort: an ancient fort known as Visapur Killa is next place to visit in Lonavala. The other identification of this place is Visapoor fort constructed on hill of Visapur village close to Lonavala town. To reach this spot voyagers have to travel for 2.5 km distance from Malavli Railway station. The fort was built during the ruling period of Balaji Vishwanath of Maratha Empire between 1713-1720 CE.

Valvan Dam: our next location is Valvan Dam where you can enjoy the garden as famous twilight spot located at 2 km distance from Lonavla town. Again the spot is famous for monsoon season as the water level comes up and surrounding areas becomes green. Closest cities for reaching dam are Khopoli, Talegaon Dabhade and Karjat City.

Ryewood Park and Shivaji Udyan: if you like the park or looking for the weekend spot then visit the wide garden Reywood and Shivaji Park. Here you will get the botanical area and the big picnic garden. This Udyan is having large lawns, cool shades and tall trees. Don’t miss to take blessings of Lord Shiva in the temple located inside the park. Tungarli Lake is in the park as well, though buses are not available at this location but you can hire the taxi and auto rickshaw from Lonavla Station to reach the Udyan.

Lonavala Lake: a favorite pond of local people is next spot for you. A place that is covered with natural scenery is known as Lonavala Lake. The only distance of 1.6 km from Lonavala town makes is easy reaching destination for the voyagers.

Ekvira Devi Temple: a religious spot such as Koli temple or Ekvira Devi Shrine is available for you. This is the holy place built by the fishermen community located at Chaitya of the Karla caves. Navaratri and Chaitra are special occasions to visit the temple. However, huge crowd reaches the shrine in such period so you can plan the trip if you are capable to handle spot of mass religious people.

Lohagad Fort: are you looking for the place where you can spend the whole day by watching the historical things? Reach Lohagad fort of Lonavala town where you can learn the history of ancient Maharashtra. Reaching the spot is possible by road from Pune or Mumabi. Enjoy your lunch at Lake Pavana if you want to taste the Marathi thali. Get the route of Kamshet to reach the Lohagad fort which is just 50 km away from Pune. However, the road between Kamshet and Lohgarh is little difficult to travel but with low speed you can manage.

Koregad fort: one more historical place available for you in Lonavala area is Koregad Fort. You have to complete the one hour trekking to reach the top of the Koregad fort. Some ponds and amazing scenery from the spot is major things for voyagers.

Nagphani (Duke’s Nose): A thrilling but exciting place of Lonavala is Nagphani also known as Duke Nose. Nagphani is positioned at 12 km distance from Lonavala town. Actually the top area of this location is looks like a pointed hood of the snake so the spot is given the name as Nagphani. It’s a favorite spot for hikers and adventure lovers. To reach the Nagphani you have to follow the route of Ryewood Park.

Valavan Lake: Valavan Lake or Valvan Pond is another place for your picnic. This artificial pond was developed because of a dam known as Valvan Block. This dam is built on the Kundali River flowing from nearby village Kundali.

Scorpion's Sting (Vinchu Kata): last tourist place in Lonavala is Scorpion’s Sting also identified as Vinchu Kata. This is the narrow and long fortified spur of Lonavala region.

Each spot of Lonavala is special because of their greenery and the beauty given by the nature. Attaining to this place in monsoon is beneficial for voyagers.

Attaining Lonavala:  

By Train: Many big cities are directly connected to Lonavala through railway. Direct trains from Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai are available for this town. However, many other cities of India are also having link trains to reach the Lonavala town.

By Air: closest airport to reach Lonavala is Pune that is just 64 km away from the town. Direct flights for Pune are available from Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Delhi and many other cities. The key international airport to reach Lonavala is MCSIA (Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport). Mumbai airport is only 100 km distant from Lonavala and flights from around the world are reaching Mumbai airport at frequent intervals.

By Bus: Maharashtra State Transport is having buses for Lonavala from many major cities so attaining to key spot is not difficult task. Direct luxury and normal buses from Mumbai and Pune are available for Lonavala town. 

Harpalpur

Our next Indian tourist place is Harpalpur (a small town) located in Chhatarpur District, Madhya Pradesh. This is kind of secret tourist destination that did not have much popularity due to lack of information.

According to sources this town was named after kind Harpal Singh. He was famous for developing Adhikumari Mata Temple in Harpalpur. The height of temple is 1000 ft from the sea level so people will definitely enjoy the site and can watch the town completely. Harpalpur is the only railway station of Chhatarpur region. Closest big tourist destination of this town is Khajuraho.

The dam constructed on river Dhasan is another must visit place of Harpalpur. However, the dam place is some far from the town but easily reachable through local transport to the spot. Visitors can enjoy the natural beauty spots at dam place. The most entertaining part of town is it is located on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Khajuraho is just few km away from Harpalpur and Bhopal is also closer to the town. Dam area is only 39.8 km distant from the town.

Other closest places to visit are Mau Ranipur, Baragoan, Ghatkotra, Deori Ghat, Ghat Lahchura, and Sapra Dam. Each place is having different quality and feature so visitors will definitely enjoy the spot. 1 week is enough time to enjoy the Harpalpur and the surrounding places properly and the place is not costly as well. Travelers can book hotels online for accommodation and the frequent trains are available for Harpalpur station from many big stations.

Religious place closer to town is Khandian Babba Temple. You can enjoy the swimming in dam area or at Talab (Lake) comes during the way to temple. Sarawati Vidya Mandir (temple) is next but little far religious place of the town. Ambe Devi temple and some more temples are located close to Sarawati Temple.

Hill Temple: most amazing view of city is possible from the Hill temple. Reaching top of temple is not difficult but old age people might get problem to get on the top. View of town from the temple is best thing to do from hill temple.

Overall place is good but most entertaining areas are Dhasna River, Dhasna Dam and Sapra Dam. These spots are covered with natural beauty and greenery and the rainy season is best time to visit the spots.

Attain Harpalpur:

By Train: Direct train from Nasik, Delhi, Bhopal and some big stations are available for Harpalpur. Frequent trains are available from Bina, Jhansi, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bombay, Chitrakut, Allahabad, Howrah, Gaya, Nizamuddinand many other cities.

By Air: Bhopal is the big domestic airport located close to town. Other closer airports for Harpalpur are Khajuraho and Gwalior. Flights from both airports are available from almost every city of the India.

By Road: If you have own vehicle or want to use state transport than you can reach Chhatarpur (49 km distant) and Rajnagar (73 km distant). The simple route from both cities allows you to travel tension free to reach Harpalpur.

Bareilly

Bareilly is our next destination for tourism in India. This prominent city of Uttar Pradesh state is located close to RamGanga River. “Lucknow” the Capital of UP is just 252 km away from Bareilly. This city is listed on 7^th position for largest metropolitan of state and 50^th in largest metropolitan city of India. Basically the city is popular for industrial achievements and social places. Bareilly is popular for having big plants of cotton, sugar, cereal and furniture production. The other names of city are Sanjashya and Bans-Bareilly. City was found by the famous king of UP Sri Jagat Singh Katehriya in 1537.

A famous song from the Bollywood movie is created on Bareilly city such as “Jhomka Gira Re Bareilly Ke Bazzar main”.

Some key attractions of Bareilly city are mentioned below:

Jagannath Temple: the initial place where travelers must visit is Jagannath Temple. A shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Champak-Rai Ki Bagia. Another big religious spot of Bareilly is Alakhnath Temple which is again a famous and big shrine of the city. Bareilly is full of religious spots and Ganga Temple is one of them. Ganga Shrine is located in front of Jagannath Temple though the shrine is 200+ years old.

Fun City:visiting theme park is always exciting and Fun City is one of the best spot of Bareilly where travelers can enjoy the water events. This is amusement park of the city having countless features such as Boond Water Park, adventurous rides, the roller coaster, an amphitheatre and a discotheque.

Trivati Nath Temple: a shrine positioned in the middle part of the city is our next destination. Voyagers have to reach Macnair Road to take blessings at Trivati Nath Temple. The recent renovation of temple expresses its beauty to the voyagers.

Alakhnath Temple: next place for our visit is Alakhnath Temple. This shrine is belonging to Anand Akhara order which is the main center of Naga Sadhus. The Naga Sadhus are different group of Lord Shiva followers.

Doopeshwar Nath Temple: a holy place devoted to Lord Doopeshwar Nath is another spot of Bareilly. Sources say Bareilly is the birthplace of Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi the popular parts of Mahabharata. To attain the temple visitors have to go through Cantonment area of the city. Here, the ancient Guffa (cave) is major spot for travelers at this place.

Tulsi Math: as there are countless tourist places in Bareilly the “Tulsi Math” is another location. Tulsi Math is close to Alakhnath Temple which is popular as home of big poet Tulsidas.

CMLNT (Chunne Miyan's “Lakshmi Narayan Temple”): a temple of Lord Lakshmi Narayan is positioned at Koharapeer in Katra Maanrai division. This shrine is belonging to Hindu refugee’s came from Pakistan to India in 1947.

Dargah (Ala-Hazrat): Dargah Ala-Hazrat is known Muslim religious place created by Imam Ahmed Khan. He was the Ahle Sunnat Scholar popular for Silsila known as Razwi.

Jat Regimental Centre: This is one of the headquarters of Indian Army in Bareilly region. However, visitors or normal public is not allowed to move freely in the area but still the center is neatly maintained and properly managed by the army administration. Visitors can visit some areas of the Jat Regimental center to learn about the history of the Bareilly city.

Attaining Bareilly:

By Train: Bareilly railway station is properly connected to major cities of India. Train passes from Delhi to Kolkata touches the station so reaching Bareilly is easy task. Delhi is the major station for attaining Bareilly as it is just 250 km away. Trains for Delhi are available throughout the nation. Lucknow is another big rail hub to reach the city Bareilly.

By Air: Closest international airport to reach city is Delhi. Domestic as well as international flights are available from around the world to Delhi. Voyagers can plan their trip according to their plan as flights for Delhi are available in large amount.

By Road: State buses are available from Risia, Ujjain, Gonda, Delhi and many other cities of India.

Overall attaining to Bareilly city is easy as there are countless sources from various cities of India to reach this destination.

Mahoba

If you check the history of India there are many small and big cities who played vital role for their revolution, however many of the cities are not even mentioned in the genuine lists of the country. Today we are going to discuss the best historical Indian tourist place Mahoba. It is the small but important city of Mahoba District, UP (Uttar Pradesh). It comes under the Bundelkhand region which is known for brave land of Mahoba freedom fighters. Reaching this city allow voyagers to visit amazing tourist places of India such as Laundi, Khajuraho, Kulpahar, Kalinjar, Charkhari, Orchha and Jhansi. 

The glorious history of Mahoba makes it special destination for visitors. The bravery stories of Veer Alha and Udal describes the sacrifices of the city for resolutions. Earlier the city was known with different names like Patanpur, Kekaipur and Ratanpur. Some proofs are available of lord Ram and Devi Sita as they visited the place at their exile time. Pond such as Ram-Kund and kitchen known as Seeta-Rasoi are two important areas of Mahoba at Gokhar hill. As per sources Lord Rama came to this hilly region at the time of their 14-years exile period.

Places to visit in Mahoba:

Indian rulers made countless monuments in their kingdom. Mahoba is also having some amazing monuments where people can visit.  

1. Kaknamath Temple: a shrine built of granite is dedicated to God Shiva. This shrine is placed at the Madan Sagar area. The structural design is similar to shrines of Khajuraho. 
2. Madan Temple: one more shrine dedicated to God Vishnu is next close tourist place to Kakarmath Temple. 
   
   
   
3. Vijay Sagar Pakshi Vihar: this tourist attraction is just 5 km away from central part of city. This bird sanctuary is positioned on the shores of manmade Vijay Sagar (a lake) constructed by Vijay Pal Chandela during 1035 to 1060 AD. 
   
   
   
4. Sun Temple: another location to visit is Sun temple at Rahila Sagar. This shrine was built in 9th century with granite, however its present condition is not good and local administration must take care of this historical temple of India. This amazing shrine was built by Chandela King Rahila and the duration was between 890 and 910 AD. Today the temple is in ruined state and nobody is taking care of this finest shrine of Pratihara structural design. 
   
   
   
5. Senapati Mahal: A spot that is known as Senapati palace is available for visitors. Ruler Jagat Rai built the palace in 1700 AD. Senapati was the son of Jagat Rai so the palace was named as Senapati. 
   
   
   
6. Raja Ka Tal: a spot built by King Senapati in 1707 AD is next spot. Spot is identified as Bara Tal a large lake constructed in 18th century AD. The lake is spread in 2 square km area built for solving the drinking water problem of the region. 
   

Some other tourist attraction spots of Mahoba are Yajna Mandap, Manaiya Devi Temple, Gokhar Hill and Belasagar Lake. 

Some surrounding tourist attractions of Mahoba: 

Khajuraho: an ancient tourist destination popular for different architectural temple is at 61 km distance from Mahoba. Because of ruined conditions of temples only 25 shrines are survived today. However, their structure is still strong and can hold for more years. Most of the shrines are dedicated to Lord Shiva. 

Kalinjar: next close tourist destination is Kalinjar at 109 km distance from Mahoba. Kalinjar is popular for strong fort built in 15th century. Most important spot of Kalinjar is Aman Singh Palace, though it is converted to museum now. Some more spots of Kalinjar are Neelkantha Temple, Patal Ganga, Sita Sej, Pandu Kurd, Bhairon Ki Jhariad and Koti Tirth.

Chitrakoot: one historical and religious place of India is Chitrakoot at 127 km gap from Mahoba. If you are known to Hindi slangs then you might hear “Chitrakoot Ke Ghat Par Bhai Santan Ke Beed”.  This means the ghat in Chitrakoot is religious and countless saints reach the pond to take religious bath. This place is mentioned in Ramayan the Epic which means the place is having huge importance for religious people of India. Lord Rama and Devi Sita spend their valuable years in Chitrakoot so it’s a holy place overall for the visitors. River Mandakini is flowing from this area and several ghats are important areas to visit in Chitrakoot. 

Attain Mahoba: 

By Air: closest airport to reach Mahoba is domestic airport Khajuraho at 65 km distance. Flights from Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and many other cities are available for Khajuraho. 

By Rail: Mahoba city is properly linked to metro cities of India through railway. The broad gauge lines allow fast express trains to cross this important city of India. Some big trains to reach Mahoba are Bundelkhand Exp runs between Gwalior to Varanasi, Mahakaushal Express runs between Delhi to Jabalpur, and some more.

By Road: UP government has constructed the broad roads from Mahoba to various parts of the nation. SH (State Highway) 44 is passing through Mahoba city and direct buses from Chitrakoot (125 km), Kanpur (155 km), Lucknow (240 km), Jhansi (165 km), Allahabad (245 km), Banda (52 km), Khajuraho (65 km) and Kalinjar (130 km) are available for Mahoba.