Amarkantak is a small town, close to state border of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh state. It is basically a unique biosphere reserve forest area, spread over hills of Maikal. In terms of tourism, It is known for nature tourism and pilgrimage. As surrounded by forest area and located in hilly region thus it is considered good for nature lovers. At the same time it is a popular pilgrimage site due to presence of ancient temples, origin of oldest river of India called Narmada river, Sone river, its reference comes in Hindu holy books. Tourists mainly knows Amrakantak as a pilgrimage destination of Central India. Ancient name of this hilly region was Riksha parvat. With this name, we can notices its reference in holy books of Hindus. It is not only the Narmada which arises here but many other rivers also have their origin from these hills like Jwalawanti of Johila, the Mahanadi and the Amadoh, which is a major early tributary of the Godavari. All rise from within the Amarkantak plateau. Among all the sacred rivers of India, the Narmada occupies a unique place. Legend has it that Lord Shiva blessed Narmada with unique purifying powers. Whereas to purify himself, a devotee requires taking one dip in the Holy Ganga, seven days' prayers on the banks of Yamuna and three days prayers on the banks of Saraswati, the mere sight of Narmada is enough. A charming folk tale describes the superiority of Narmada over Ganga. Once every year, after she herself is polluted beyond tolerance, Ganga visits Narmada dressed like a dark woman and takes a cleansing purifying dip in its waters! Narmada, which is more than 150 million years older than the Ganges River Ganga and is considered by many Hindus to be the most sacred for all the rivers of India, Amarkantak itself is sacred to the Hindus and is deemed to be a door-way to ‘nirwana’.
The history about Amarkantak reveals that during the Chendi dynasty hold the region was followed by the Kalchuris in the 10th century. The region in the earlier days was believed to be known as the Ayodhya, as mentioned in our vedas, puranas that there was a ashram for the saints of Kapil muni and rishi Markand. Stories from the various books suggests that the Pandavas of the Mahabharat epic had spent their years of exile here. region was later in the 15th century was handed over Baghelas and in 1808, the Bhosle rulers of Nagpur, ruled out the region. Finally in went in the hands of minister of state government. In the Hindu mythology, Narmada is one of the seven sacred rivers of India. Pilgrims bathe in its holy water to wash away their sins. legend has it that once every year, the mighty Ganga comes to Narmada to take a holy dip into its water at the place of its origin.
Here local sightseeing is ideally considered for one full day. Most of the time, tourists, stay for one night in this destination. Amarkantak receives large number of tourists throughout the year. Being a pilgrimage destination, majority of them are Hindu devotees. Apart from being a pilgrimage destination, it is also a popular hill station. So for those who are interested in hill station pilgrim then it is the best option in Central India. Being origin of Holy Narmada river, devotees takes this place with great devotion and respect. While visiting this destination we can see various temples, Kapildhara, Temple of Kalchuri era & Narmada Kund from where river Narmada originates and number of Ashrams. Hindu saints see this place with great respect and visits for meditation and feel the holiness of atmosphere. In addition to a holy place, forest area of Amarkantak generates the feeling of wilderness of surrounding. This valley is popular among Botanist for huge variety of medicinal plants. Some of them are rare by nature. After visiting temples and other holy places, tourists have chance to visit nearby villages to experience the tribal culture and their rituals. Surrounding villages are of Central India Tribes where we can see they life style, housing pattern, know about their livelihood, customs, rituals, social pattern etc. Being located in South-East of Madhya Pradesh, it shares border with Chattisgarh state in which Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary forest is another wildlife attraction for visitors.
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DISTANCE CHART
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From
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Distance
(in Kms) |
| Amarkantak to Jabalpur | 250 |
| Amarkantak to Bilaspur | 130 |
| AMarkantak to Kanha National Park | 260 |
| Amarkantak to Bandhavgarh | 250 |
| Amarkantak to Raipur | 230 |
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Months
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Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Jun
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Jul
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Aug
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Sep
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Oct
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Nov
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Dec
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Minimum (°C)
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05
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12
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18
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24
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30
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27
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24
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23
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22
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21
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20
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11
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Maximum(°C)
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18
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32
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36
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40
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45
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41
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36
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38
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32
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34
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32
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20
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Amarkantak is a popular pilgrim destination. Although it is a hill station but more popular as a pilgrim destination. Being a important tourism region and sacred place it is visited by tourist through out the year by tourists and holy saints. Most of the visitors prefer to visit in winters and summers season as these are the best time for tourism activities in nearby tourist attractions and climate also favors traveling. Best time to visit Amarkantak is from August to April. During winters and summers its near by tourist destinations like Kanha national park, Bandhavgarh tiger reserve remain open for visitors so tourists makes their plan according to cover these destinations alsong with this hill station. During monsoon season, it receives healthy rainfall and its surrounding greenery attracts nature photographers. Despite of this, if visitor wishes to visit in odd time, he/she can visit as it is open throughout the year for pilgrims and tourists.
For accommodation, one can find hotels in Amarkantak. It is not a big city but a small town. Their are few budget category hotels and only one good category standard hotel of Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation. MPT Hotel Holiday Homes in Amarkantak is the best option to stay. It is the best option for stay, offering neat and clean air-conditioned category rooms.
After completing the Amarkantak sightseeing, tourists have many options to visit. Here they may visit to Kanha national park, Bandhavgarh national park, Jabalpur, Bhedaghat, Chitrakoot, Raipur etc. This destination lies at the meeting point of Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges of Central India. All major national parks of Central India are spread over these mountain ranges like Kanha national park, Bandhavgarh, Panna Tiger Reserve, Pench national park etc. These destinations can be covered along with Amarkantak tour. While driving from Jabalpur to Amarkantak, we will pass through two unknown but unique tourist attractions i.e. Patangarh and Karopani Deer Park also called Karopani Blackbuck Conservation Area. Both are close to Dindori town. Here Patangarh is a small village to witness famous Gond painting art, bamboo art which is unique and much appreciated by tourists. In all the popular national park of Central India, we will find these pictures in resorts, art-galleries, shops etc. Here every house is house of a painter and Gond Art is their main source of livelihood. Thus art and culture lovers can visit Patangarh village. Similarly, if you are wildlife lover then, just close to Dindori town, we can visit to Karopani Deer Part in which we can find freely roaming Black bucks and other deer species. Here they are free to roam and local people strives to ensure their protection, just like what we experience in Bisnoi villages of Rajasthan. Here villagers have left their fields open for them to roam and feed thus we can experience nice sighting of Black bucks in Karopani park.
9202337070
9202337070