Watch the detailed video here
Overview: In our last post we had covered Amarkantak, and from there we visit Pachnmarhi Hill station, one of the most popular hill stations in India. We took a train from Pendra Road to Pipariya, the nearest railhead to reach Pachmarhi. Our train was delayed by over 1 hour and we reached by 7:30am. We quickly checked into our dormitory and freshened up.
 |
| Pipariya Railway station |
We waited for a bus to go to Pachmarhi, but found a shared cab waiting for us, so we boarded it in front of the railway station. It took around 1.5 hours to reach Pachmarhi, and the cost was around Rs80 per head. We reached Pachmarhi by 11:30am and hired a Gypsy near the bus stand. The Gypsy cost was around Rs 1500, but it depends on the season.
 |
| Pandav Caves, Pachmarhi |
We first went to the Pandav Caves, and were happy to see the 5th century Gupta era caves carved exquisitely. There are Buddhist caves and also also believed to be used by the Pandavas during their exile. There was a group if school children who were here on an educational tour, so there was considerable crowd when we went. Around 4km from here is a view point where we went next.
 |
| Viwe Point, Pachmarhi |
Our next stop was the Gupt Mahadev temple, a small cave temple in the middle of the forest. We need to traverse through a small gap between the boulders into the cave to reach the cave temple. Only one person can move in either direction, so better co-ordination is needed to reach the temple and come back.
 |
| Gupt Mahadev, Pachmarhi |
Our next stop was Rajendragiri Udyan, named after Dr Rajendra Prasad. The park is well maintained and offers panoramic views in all directions. There are places to relax and enjoy the fresh air inside the park as well.
 |
| Rajendragiri Udyan, Pachmarhi |
 |
| Rajendragiri Udyan, Pachmarhi |
From here we proceeded towards Bada Mahadev temple, a group of cave temples dedicated to Shiva. The temples are amazing and one of them is the largest with water flowing inside it. There are 3 more small caves with Shivalingas.
After Bada Mahadev, we had lunch at Beta Bawarchi, offering Continental cuisine.
 |
| Bada Mahadev, Pachmarhi |
 |
| Bada Mahadev, Pachmarhi |
Post lunch, we went to the biggest attraction of the day, the Jatashankar temple. We need to trek for 1.5-2km to reach the temple, and the route is very scenic. There are lot of souvenir shops on the way too. It takes around 45 mins to reach the Jatashankar cave, and it looks so divine with massive mountains at the top and the Shivalinga underneath the caves. Lord Shiva is always present in places which are so difficult to reach and looks massive, right? After visiting the caves, we came back to our Gypsy to head back towards the bus stand. On the way we stopped at an Ayurvedic store to buy some medicated oil.
 |
| Jatashankar, Pachmarhi |
 |
Jatashankar, Pachmarhi
|
 |
| Jatashankar, Pachmarhi |
We reached the bus stand and hired a shared cab to return back to Pipariya, and we reached the railway station in around 1.5 hours. We relaxed for the rest of the evening and prepared for our onward train at midnight.
How to reach: The nearest railhead is Pipariya and regular buses and shared cabs ply to Pachmarhi. Gypsy can be hired at the hill station to roam around. Accomodation is also available at Pachmarhi and it is advisable to stay for 2-3 days to visit all spots at Pachmarhi.
One can also drive to Pachmarhi from Bhopal and it takes around 2-3 hours to reach.
Comments
Post a Comment