Madhya Pradesh trip - 9: Jabalpur & Bhedaghat
Overview: Day 9 of our Madhya Pradesh trip and our next destination is Jabalpur where we stay for an entire day and visit Bhedeghat. We had our train from Indore at 9pm and reached Jabalpur at around 4:30am in the morning. We checked into our Railway retiring room and freshened up immediately.
Outside the Railway station we hired one autorickshaw who agreed to take us to Bhedaghat for Rs 600. Later we realised that there are buses as well which go to Bhedaghat tourist spots. However, since we had booked the autorickshaw, we continued our journey.
We first visited the mighty Dhuandhar Falls, often termed as the Niagara of India, though I don't like comparisons. We have to walk a few metres before we reach the waterfalls, and the pathway is well laid and made safe for the tourists. Some small shrines can also be seen on the way and offerings to Narmada Mata can be made. At the edge we can see the waterfalls taking a 30 metre plunge creating a spectacle. During monsoon the fury is even more and entry to the falls is restricted if the flow is too dangerous. There are a few viewpoints from where we can see the waterfalls in all its glory. Another important point I noted was the cleanliness at the place, and I could not see much plastic and paper cups thrown all around which has to be appreciated.
There is a ropeway too which takes us close to the waterfalls but we couldn't take that because it starts only at 10am and we were a bit too early.
From the falls we proceeded towards Chausath Yogini temple, which is a 11th century temple built by the Kalachuris, who ruled the ancient kingdom of Chedi, Shishupal's region. This temple is in a much better condition compared to the one in Morena, and Yoginis can be seen carced in the panels all around the interior walls. We had darshan of Shiva which is the main diety inside the temple, and then climbed down the stairs to proceed to the next place.
Our next destination was Marble Rocks, for which we need to travel by a small ferry, which charges around Rs 200 to take us around. It was early morning so we were lucky to find a few people already waiting on a shared boat, and we hopped into it. The boatman and the guide accompanied us to the Marble rocks viewpoint, and on the way explained about the story of Marble Rocks. It takes around 1 hour to go and come back, and the explanation about the place by the guide is very humourous.
On returning back, we saw a few stalls selling souvenirs and food and we had our quick breakfast at one of the stalls. The breakfast is the usual Poha and Samosa along with sweets.
From here we headed back towards Jabalpur, and on the way we visited the Rani Durgavati Fort, also known as Madan Mahal. We can see one Balancing Rock at the entrance of the fort, which is a geological wonder, and then to reach the fort we need to climb a few stairs, which is an easy uphill climb. The fort is mostly in ruins, except for a few standing buildings. The fort dates back to the 11th century, and gained popularity during the times of Rani Durgavati, who fought with the Mughals and was then martyred by the latter.
This concluded our day's trip around Jabalpur, and we returned back to our retiring room at the railway station and relaxed for the rest of the evening. At the railway station we have Namah Waiting rooms which is run by private agency and restaurant is also available. We had our dinnner there and boarded our train at night towards Umaria, which would be covered in the next post.
How to Reach: Bhdaghat can be reached by autorickshaw or cab or bus from Jabalpur. Regular AC buses run from Jabalpur to Bhedaghat. There is a railway station as well at Bhedaghat but most express trains do not halt here.
Accomodation/Food: Excellent options are available for stay in Jabalpur, and the retiring room at the railway station is also very clean. There is no problem of food and plenty of options are available in the city.
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