Beautiful Bhedaghat and Divine Amarkantak

One of our relatives residing in Jabalpur were forcing us to come to Jabalpur from many years. Because of our busy schedule and lack of leaves for such a long journey we were unable to manage. However taking advantage of the Work From Home situation because of Covid we managed to go to Jabalpur from Pune by car by taking a halt at Nagpur. Road from Nagpur to Jabalpur is superb passing through Pench National Park. Total distance travelled from Pune was around 1000 kilometer.

Being in Jabalpur for three days, we decided to visit Bhedaghat, Amarkantak, Bargi Dam and Payli.

Bhedaghat

Bhedaghat which is 26km from Jabalpur took 1 hour to reach. We went straight away for boat ride in Narmada river. Boat ride took around 1 hour which is an ultimate experience. Narmada flows through this gorge surrounded by Marble Rocks on both sides after falling from Dhuandhar water falls and the boat passes through it. It is a treat to eyes. To add to it the boat men gives commentary in specific poetic way which is appreciable. Many Bollywood's movies including Ashoka and Roja are shot there. Do not miss road side shopping for marble articles.

Bhedaghat is majorly famous for Dhuandhar waterfall and boating through marble rocks, but do not miss the Chausath Yogini Temple located just half a kilometer from boating point. It is the largest of the circular yogini temple. You have to climb 108 stairs to reach the temple. It is a very old temple built in the 10th Century AD by the Kalachuri kingdom having 81 cells for yoginis around the inside of its circular wall.

Last and the amazing sight was the Dhuandhar Falls. It is 1.5km from Chausath Yogini Temple. The sun was setting by the time we reached there. It was lovely sight. The path to reach to waterfall is surrounded by road side shops on both sides. Ropeway is also built to get the view of the waterfall but honestly it is slightly away from the waterfall not giving close view of the waterfall. So we preferred not to go for it. Waterfall is awesome and pics will speak everything.

Amarkantak

The next destination in our list was Amarkantak. It is a pilgrim town approximately 225km from Jabalpur. Initially we have decided to take a night stay at Amarkantak. But due to Covid restrictions unable to get any booking there. So we made a plan to leave Jabalpur early in the morning at 6am and return back late night. In the morning chills of winter with temperature below 10 degrees we started from Jabalpur. The way towards Amarkantak is very scenic and have almost no vehicles on road apart from our two cars. It is a country side drive and having rare food options on the way. We have our breakfast packed from home so we stopped on the way and had the breakfast under Nilgiris trees with morning sunrays.

Amarkantak is the place where Narmada River, the Son River and Johila River emerge. Narmada Ugam temple is the place which is Ugam sthan of Narmada river from small kund. There are many small temples and because of Covid restrictions, there were minimal pilgrims so we got a very beautiful view of the temples.

At a walking distance from Narmada temple, there are Kalachuri Temples. These are super beautiful temples and must visit when you are in Amarkantak. These ancient temples were built between the 8th & 9th century, it includes the Pataleshwar Temple and Machhendranath Temple. It house the temples to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and other major Hindu deities. It is a world heritage site and very nicely maintained.

From Pataleshwar Temple, just a kilometer away is Shri Yantra mandir. The most prominent feature of this temple is the huge 4-headed idol at the entrance. When you browse through sites, you will see some old photos of this sculpture however now it is repainted with dark brown glossy paint. I must say old site is more beautiful. Entry to this temple was closed due to Covid. So we climbed the small hillock adjoining the boundary walls to take some snaps.

There are some other places to visit in Amarkantak like Kapil Dhara, Mai ki Bagiya, Jain Temple, Sonmuda, Kabir Chabutra, etc. However we only visited Sonmuda and Jain Temple due to time constraint. Sonmuda is the place of origin of Sone River. A thin stream emerges from the pool and later on, it forms a waterfall. There is a viewpoint from where you will get the panoramic view of the valley. Be aware of monkeys when you were at Sonmuda. Jain Temple was under construction when we were there.

We started return journey from Amarkantak at about 5:00pm in the evening and reached Jabalpur at 9 O'clock at night. On our return journey night was more chilly, darkness everywhere, rarely any light and stary skies 😊 We can see stars all over in the sky from the sunroof of our Car as well.

Bargi Dam and Payli

It was our last day for sight seeing in Jabalpur. We decided to do half day excursion to Bargi Dam and Payli. Bargi dam is located around 55km from Jabalpur. It is built on Narmada river. There are boating facilities also available from cruises to speed boats. Payli is situated along the backwaters of Bargi Dam. It is further 19km from dam. Road condition towards the end of Payli was not very good. But once you reach there it is a good one day picnic spot with family. Along the backwater of Bargi Dam you can stop at any appropriate place, set your mat, open your snacks/lunch and enjoy it in the laps of nature.