Short trip to Bhopal..

Bhopal...City of lakes, capital of Madhya Pradesh is one of the greenest cities. This trip was one of the perks of having friends from different states and cultures. My friend was getting married in Bhopal and my whole group decided to travel for big fat 3 day wedding. We had only 2 days to explore this central state of India. So we decided to visit to most famous places in Bhopal.

After a long long time, I got chance to travel by Indian railways. Love train journeys...

Day 01 :

We got down at Bhopal station around 10 AM. Ola and Uber are available so instead of bargaining with autorickshows, we directly booked an uber to Hotel. After freshening up, we went to visit our beloved groom and his family. Had awesome MP style poha jalebi :). He helped us to book an Tavera car(₹2000 rent for the day) for the day. Bhojpur and Vanvihar was on list for the day.

Bhojpur Temple: This temple is around 30 Kms from Bhopal and it has one of largest Shivlinga which is around 7.5 feet. Its a really beautiful temple built in a single rock. Its an incomplete temple but has beautiful architecture. Surrounded by a garden and lots of monkeys playing around. ???? They keep entertaining visitors but be aware of them. If they see someone carrying food then they wont shy away from snatching it. ????

Vanvihar : This national park is situated near lake. This was a pleasant winter evening. Vanvihar is home to many animals from reptiles to mammals. We took our car inside which costs 400 per car. For an individual its around 20 or 30 Rs. But best idea is to rent an cycle and enjoy cycle ride around this beautiful park. At distance of every 200 meters cages were built for animals like deer, lion, tigers. Park has separate sections for snakes, crocodiles, tortoise and turtles as well. Park is well maintained and animals are well kept. Many of them are adopted from different parts of India.

There is a small snacks place in the park in front of snakes section which serves awesome bhel and gulkand chai. This was the first time I tried this flavor and it was really tasty.

As I mentioned earlier, park is located adjacent to upper lake. This is lake version of Mumbai's marine drive ???? Perfect place for an evening stroll. Its really popular among locals, offers boating, variety of food.

Day 02 :

Got up, went to attend haldi function (Traditional Indian pre-wedding function where turmeric paste is applied to the couple), where we got haldi all over our faces :D, so came back freshened up and left for the next place. Rent was 2500 for today as it was a long trip to sanchi stupa. Its 46 kms from Bhopal.

Sanchi Stupa : This marvelous Buddhist Stupa is one of the oldest stone structures in India and said to be built by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE in Sanchi Town. Now its one of the Unesco world heritage sites. Ashoka Pillar remains are still there on southern gate. As we have studied in history, Ashok stambha/pillar has its historical significance in Indian culture. It is state emblem of India. Every design and sculpture has a meaningful message. Stupa has four gates and each and every design tells a story. Sculptures are so beautifully made.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Ashoka

Udayagiri caves : Rock caves from 5th century CE. There are 20 caves that have sculptures of Vishnu, Durga, Shiva, Ganesh etc. Its an interesting place for those who are interested in archaeology and art. Udayagiri means "sunrise mountain" but we got to witness a beautiful sunset. ????

Next day we attended the most awaited wedding and boarded our return train...