Bhedaghat

Bhedaghat is a small town situated near Jabalpur. It was my destination for the weekend, my friends - Alok and Rahul joined me from Indore and Mandla respectively. Jabalpur is the entry point for Bhedaghat (situated around 28 Km from the city). Jabalpur is known as the Sanskaar Dhaani or the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh. Public buses (fare INR 20) ply from Jabalpur Bus stand to Bhedaghat at regular interval. Auto Rickshaw or cabs are also available for Bhedaghat.

Alok and Rahul reached the fall earlier in the morning and i joined them later in the evening. One can have a day long stay in the beautiful vicinity of the Dhuandhar (named due to the creation of white smoke like particles formed by the powerful fall) water fall at Bhedaghat.

There are well maintained view points with railings to have closer view of the waterfall. The minute particles flying out of the fall can be felt up close and personal . River Narmada which can be seen in it's fury here originates from Amarkantak situated at a distance of 250 Km from here.

We purchased tickets of the rope-way to have an aerial look of the fall. The cost is around INR 75 both ways. We hooked up near the windows to enjoy the view with camera in hand. 

First view from the Rope-way

In rope-way just above the river

The mesmerizing waterfall

Tilt-shift version of the supporting falls at Bhedaghat

Rahul and Alok glancing the natural beauty through the trolley-window of the rope-way

River Narmada flowing through the marble rocks

It seems these rocks have been negotiating with the water from eternity

Another view of the rapid flow of river Narmada

The best thing about Indian culture is it's association with nature. Rivers and mountains are considered sacred which they surely are.
A closer view of the magnificent marble rocks in a boat is a must at Bhedaghat. On full moon night the scene becomes rather heavenly. I can very well imagine that. Unfortunately we didn't had the luxury of neither a night stay nor the full moon so we decided to enjoy the dusk time in the water.

Sunset as seen from the boat club at Bhedaghat

We got into a small boat with capacity of 20 people with 5 crew member. The cost was INR 50 per person for a half an hour trip. There was a guide on the boat who described the passing locations in form of small rhymes. He informed us about the various types of marble rocks present in the valley, the locations where many movies have been shot, and other true and fictitious details about the whole terrain. The experience was magical, the rocks were very close to our boats. At one point we were informed that the depth is around 450 feet which was really very comforting :P

entrance to the narrow valleys made of marble rocks

A marble rock with it's reflection in the river

Water hitting the rocks

Wooden Oars used in the boats

The placid Narmada valley

The rendezvous with the holy river and the splendid mountains ended soon and we were lucky to reach back on the bank at the time of the evening prayer.The priest and the other crowd gathered around sang in unison the prayer for River Narmada. Unfortunately I was unable to understand the words used in the prayer but it was soulful enough the capture my attention.

Evening prayer at the ghat of river Narmada

Chausath Yogini temple is another famous attraction at Bhedaghat situated very near to the Dhuandhar waterfall.. It is an ancient temple built in tenth century having carvings of 64 female yoga mystics. A large variety of statues and other marble products are available all around Bhedaghat.

Alok and Rahul at the end of trip

The place can be visited at any time of the year, except in rains when the water level increases to such an extent that the whole fall vanishes beneath the heavy flow of the river.

Wai

Wai was my destination next. It is a small town situated at bank of river Krishna, it is also called "Dakshin Kashi". I reached Dhayari late afternoon. Pankaj was waiting there for me with his bike ready. We hit the highway shortly and after around two hours drive we reached Wai. 

We checked in at a hotel situated at outskirts of the town and headed towards Dhom lake to capture the sunset.

Sunset at Dhom Lake
We were at the northern side of he lake. There is a beautiful pathway created at the corner of the dam. The environment was so calm and soothing. Mild breeze and the subtle sound of the lake water hitting the walls of the dam. On the other side there was dense vegetation and small huts around. White smoke coming out the houses signified that the dinner preparation was in full swing. After spending some amazing moments there we headed back towards the hotel. The surroundings around the roads were very captivating- lush green fields, the brown mountains and the small streams of blue water flowing towards the river.

Sun's first rays at Sahyadri Mountain range

Next morning we got up at 5 in the morning and started again towards the lake. This time we headed towards the southern side of the lake. We reached on time luckily and got some wonderful views.

The rising Sun

Me, enjoying a refreshing morning

Sun over Dhom Lake

A serene morning landscape

Another morning landscape

A Crane on a morning walk 

Next we entered some village in the vicinity. There were few canals filled with clear flowing water. The surroundings seamed very prosperous both in terms of nature and money. Maybe the presence of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar made Wai and surrounding villages strong financially.

Pankaj sitting besides a small stream coming from a canal

A canal

The lake and the mountain from the northern side of the lake

Shy Peacocks running away from us

A beautiful morning of the countryside, Wai

Distant view of Ganesh temple from bank of river Krishna

Soon we entered Wai again and went to the famous temples situated at the bank of river Krishna. Ganesh temple and Kashi Vishwanath temple are among the most famous temples at the town. It is rightly called the southern Kashi owing to the large number of temples and Ghat right through the town. Around 5 km from the main ghats, Menavali ghat is situated. It is quite famous among the Bollywood film makers.(Swadesh,Dabangg,Gangajal and various other movies were shot at this location).

Another famous ghat at the bank of river Krishna

People busy in there daily chores at the Ghat

Aerial view of the major temples and Ghat at Wai

We started back our journey to Pune at around 12 PM. It took us lesser time to reach back owing to a tunnel just after leaving Wai which reduces the whole Ghat section journey to a couple of minutes.

crossing the tunnel on way back

Wai was another beautiful experience. Pristine nature and the simple life at the countryside were the pick of the trip.

Nashik - Trimbak

I began my journey to Trimbakeshwar on Saturday at around 10:45 PM in a Night Express bus (Fare INR 255) run by MSRTC from Shivajinagar Pune. After spending a virtual sleepless night in the sitting bus I reached Trimbakeshwar at 04:40 AM. After having a cup of tea I started to move towards the temple. Devotees are expected to take bath at Kusavarta filled with holy water from Godavari.

Kusavarta - place to take bath in Holy water of Godavari 

Trimbakeshwar Shiva temple is among one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. People are permitted in starting from 5:30 AM. After being in line for about half an hour i ventured in the temple compound.Photography is prohibited inside and mobile phones and any other belongings are prohibited inside the temple. The temple is an archaeological marvel created with black stone. 

Entrance to the Trimbakeshwar Temple

I sat down in the compound for a while in peace with the surroundings. Next I had breakfast (Poha) in a nearby restaurant. The good thing about such holy places is that one can roam around anytime of the day, talk with people, eat variety of things and can experience real natural beauty which is conserved because of the religious significance attached to it.

Brahmagiri - mountain was next on my list. It is considered to be the source of river Godavari. There are steps from the foothill to the top of the mountain. I started to ascend at around 06:00 AM. The whole path is surrounded by dense vegetation with few shops and huts present in between. I kept on moving up amid the cool breeze, bird's chirping and the rattling sound of the fallen leaves. It took me around 45 minutes to reach to the top.

Sunrise from Brahmagiri

  There are couple of temples situated at the hill. A narrow path connects them with one another. After paying visit to each of them i sat down on a corner and had a good view of Trimbak from the top.

Trimbak as seen from Brahmagiri

 Photography was not allowed inside the Trimbakeshwar temple, but Brahmagiri gave me an opportunity to do so.

Trimbakeshwar as seen from Brahmagiri amid morning mist

 After spending some quality time at the top i descended back and reached the base at around 08:00 AM

Reflection of Brahmagiri in GangaSagar Lake

I decided to head to Nashik next. Frequent buses are available from Trimbak to Nashik. The journey takes around half an hour and cost INR 30. I hired an auto and started my journey in Nashik from Panchvati - "garden of five banyan trees". As per Ramayana this is the place where Lord Rama lived with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana for some time during there exile. The whole area is very beautiful, it is filled with greenery. Kumbha Mela is organized here once in every 12 years. Next Kumbh Mela will be held in 2015.

River Kapila and Godavari meets at a holy place which is of great significance as per the Hindu mythology.

At the Sangam of River Kapila and Godavari

 The five Kundas,each having it's own story are of religious importance. The priest present there explains the story about the place.

Five Kundas near Kapila-Godavari Sangam

Lord Rama followed by Sita and Lakshmana

 The whole place has numerous places of religious importance. There are stories associated to each of them. I roamed around most of these places.

As per Ramayana - during the exile period Rama followed the path as shown in green in the map

Nashik got it's name from an incident which happened in Tapovan. As per Ramayana, Lakshmana cut off the nose of Surpanakha at this place and nose in sanskrit is called Nasika.

Tapovan - Lakshmana cut off nose of Surpanakha at this place as per Hindu mythology

 My next destination was Ramghat. It was a perfect blend of chaos and spiritualism. There were numerous temples and people all around. Everyone busy in there own work. I stood on one of the bridge for a while to look at the scene attentively and then headed on to explore few old temples, which were quite appealing due to there architecture and the soothing air around them. Photography is strictly prohibited in almost all the temples in Nashik.

Ramghat Nashik

A temple at the Ghat

At around 11:00 I went to a small restaurant and had a decent lunch.

Streets of Nashik near Sita Gumpha - Ravana abducted Sita from this place as per Ramayana

There are a variety of places to visit in Nashik. I hired another auto and headed towards Someshwar temple (at around 12 KM from Sita Gumpha) and a small waterfall (seasonal) nearby. The Auto driver was one good person. He took me to various other places which fell en-route to our destination, his enthusiasm to show and explain about various places of interest in Nashik was remarkable. Except for Saptashrangi and Pandavleni i covered almost all major places in the city.

India's second largest flyover on NH-3

Beautiful countryside at the bank of river Godavari

Flowers blooming with river Godavari in backdrop

At around 02:00 PM the auto driver dropped me at the Nashik bus stand. The city was very lively. There is lot to visit and explore in this ancient city which is important because of its direct relation to Ramayana. Time spent on top of Bramhagiri , in the streets of Nashik and at the banks of river Godavari was the best part of the trip. Nashik has a perfect mix of nature, religion and history associated with it.
I reached back Pune in around 5 hours journey from Nashik.