Amarkantak Travel Guide

Situated at an altitude of 1065 mt at the meeting point of the Vindhya and the Satpura mountain ranges amongst sylvan surroundings, Amarkantak is a great pilgrim centre for the Hindus, and is the source of the rivers Narmada and Sone. While the Narmada flows Westwards from Amarkantak, the Sone flows towards the East. Amarkantak is indeed blessed by Nature. Holy ponds, lofty hills, forested surroundings, breathtakingly beautiful waterfalls and an ever-pervading air of serenity make Amarkantak a much sought-after destination for the religious-minded as well as for the nature-lover.

FESTIVAL:
Ghotul is a better-known event in tribal life and they have aroused considerable interest from anthropologists to study the tradition. Both boys and girls are allowed to spend a night out in the ghotul (kind of rest house), every week. Ghotuls are regarded as a shrine, built by Lingo Pen, a Gond (a tribe) cult hero. Here, the unmarried boys of the village learn songs and dance from their leader. Besides, every week, there is a dance carnival as well in which the girls also take part. Moreover, It is treated like a pilgrimage.

CLIMATE:
The temperature starts rising in Madhya Pradesh from March onwards, varying from region to region. In summer, the mean maximum temperature goes up to around 42.5 o C in northern MP at places like Gwalior.
It is 40 o -42.5 o C in places like Bhopal, Sagar, Rewa, Bilaspur and Raigarh, to name a few. In other places, it ranges from 35 o -40 0 C. May is hotter than June when moisture-laden clouds arrive and bring down the temperature considerably.

EXCURSION:

Shwetamber Jain Temple: Shri shwetamber jain shri sangh did the pratistha of "shri rishab dev" in raipur here. The temple has 3 prasadas, 3 devkulikayes & 8 gavashas. Apart from this there is a beautiful statue of chandraprabhu swami, which is adorned with gems. The temple has all the statues of the 24 jain tirthankars.

Shri Jagannath Dev Temple: More than a hundred years old and named after lord jagannath, the temple has a le gend. It is believed that in the 18th century one pujarii family passing through here performed pujas for the ailing ruler, which cured him. The pujari had said that if the ruler recovered he would build a jagannath temple here. The family was requested by the ruler to stay back.

Guru Nanak Devji Gurudwara: Constructed in the year 1940 this gurudwara in raipur is the oldest and biggest of all the 500 gurudwaras found in the original state of madhya pradesh. This gurudwara welcomes all people, irrespective of religion, cast, creed and wealth.

Amarkantak Water Fall - Amarkantak
Amarkantak Water Fall - Amarkantak


Amarkantak, Dongargarh, Arang - Amarkantak
Amarkantak, Dongargarh, Arang - Amarkantak

Dongargarh: Dongar means mountains while garh means fort. Like most places of pilgrimage, dongargarh also has legend behind it. Roughly 2200 years ago, raja veersen, a ruler of this kingdom, was childless and upon the suggestions of his royal priests, went to mahishmatipuri (mandla) to perform some puja and construct a temple. Within a year, the princess gave birth to a son whom they named madansen. Raja veersen considered this a blessing of lord shiva and parvati and constructed a temple here. Raja madansen went on to have a son named kamsen, under whose rule the kingdom flourished and it came to be known as kamakhaya nagari.

Chhoti Bamleshwari: The temple on the plains is dedicated to the goddess bamleshwari and is popularly known as choti bamleshwari devi temple. The temple was constructed on the plains for those who wished to pray to the goddess but couldn't walk all the way up to the main temple on the mountain.

Attractions and Places to Visit in Amarkantak

Narmada Mandir (group of temples): Narmdeshwar temple which has a holy kund made at the      source of river Narmada is the most important temple at Amarkantak. There are about twenty small temples in the premises of the Narmada Mandir each one of which is important in its own way. There is the Sati temple, which is, devoted to Parvati. The protected site of the ASI is close to the main Narmada temple .

Mai Ka Bagiya: About one Km. from the main temple, there is a garden, which lies in a densely forested area. It is popularly believed that the Narmada devi used to pluck flowers in this garden.

Bhrigumandal: It is around 3 Kms. from Amarkantak on a difficult forest trek route. It is believed that Bhrigu Rishi meditated here. The Parasvinayak and Chandi caves are on this route.

Jwaleshwar Mahadev: The origin of river Johilla. There is a temple deep in the forest of Jwaleshwar Mahadev . There is a 'sunset point' close to this temple.

Kapildhara: At a distance of 8 Kms.from the origin of river Narmada , the river falls from a height of 100 feet creating a waterfall known as Kapildhara. It is believed that the Kapil rishi meditated here.

Shambhudhara & Durgadhara: Two other extremely beautiful  waterfalls are situated deep in the forest. One has to walk a few Kms. to see these breathtaking waterfalls.

Sarvodya Jain Temple: This temple is under construction. It is considered a construction marvel. Cement and iron have not been used in this temple and the weight of the idol to be placed in the temple is around 24 Tones. Besides these regularly   visited sites, all roads from Amarkantak within 3 Km radius are excellent trekking routes where one can behold the beauty of nature in its breathtakingly untouched form.

How to Reach Amarkantak

By Air: The nearest airhead is Jabalpur (245 kms).

By Rail: The nearest railhead is Pendra Road (17 kms) though Anuppur (48 kms.) is more convenient.

By Road: There are buses from Pendra Road, Bilaspur and Shahdol.