RAJASTHAN TRAVEL
Options after UdaipurRanthambore, Bharatpur, Agra, Orchha.Back to Delhi | |
Drive from Agra to Gwalior 2.5 hrs. Drive from Gwalior to Orchha 2.5 hrs. ---------------------------------------- Gwalior Gwalior has many remains of Hindu religion in the form of great temples and shrines. There is the Saas-Bahu Temple (Sahastra Bahu Ka Mandir) dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. Teli Ka Mandir, residing in the same complex, is known to be the highest building of Gwalior. Gwalior, the city with a celebrated history. From massive forts to beautiful temples and stunning monuments. Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior Fort, Sun Temple, Tighra Dam. There is the Saas-Bahu Temple (Sahastra Bahu Ka Mandir) dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
Orchha It is believed that Lord Rama frequented Orchha. In the 1500's the queen was a devotee of Lord Rama and wanted his idol to be installed in her palace. With a desire to bring the deity back in the form of a boy, the queen went on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya. It is believed that Lord Rama was pleased with her prayers, and agreed to come to Orchha with her on one condition. According to beliefs, he said that he would not move from one temple to another and would always remain in the place where she would initially house the idol. Thus, the palace was later turned into a temple. The Holy River Betwa, a place of Pilgrimage, runs along Orchha. Do not miss the aarti at the Ram Raja temple. The temple built by the king is the adjoining Chaturbhuj temple which towers around the monument. The other monuments in Orchha crowd around the Ram Raja temple. The courtyard is now an open bazaar. You can eat in nearby restaurants. Arti at the Ram Temple and a walk to the River Betwa. Orchha is a quiet city and staying a few days for a break is a nice idea. Dip your feet in the Holy Betwa River (or even take a dip). Easy river rafting too. Orchha Organic Food Restauran, you can't miss this place!! Ah, the view is so beautiful with the temples all around. Leaving Orchha: Taxi to Jhansi and a train ride to Agra (2.5 hours), be mindful of schedule. Or take a train from Jhansi direct to Delhi. ----------------------------------------
Agra Visit the Taj Mahal , Closed on Fridays to non Muslims. Presently Closed Saturdays and Sundays due to the pandemic. Possibly see the Taj by moonlight! Agra Hotel for two nights. A car and driver can stay with you until you return to Delhi. You can go inside the Taj Mahal building! .. If you have a “High Value Ticket”, you completely skip that line and go right to the center of the Taj Mahal inside the mausoleum itself, just as you skipped the line to get into the main doors to the courtyard. The Taj Mahal is now accessible to physically challenged people, the monument has wheelchairs that people with disabilities can use to move around the complex. There are nine ramps placed in different parts of the complex. Agra fort and the Shish Mahal within (the glass palace), built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan
Bharatpur Keoladeo National Park. You can drive from F. Sikri to Bharatpur in half an hour. Visit the Keoladeo Bird Reserve in the morning or late afternoon. Visit the Reserve in an open bIcycle rickshaw. Richshaw drivers are experienced guides and can be hired by the main entrance of Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary. 2 persons max. Open throughout the year. A few hours to see the city center is good as well. Drive Bharatpur to Mathura. (2 hours) It is possible visit the the elephant Care and Conservation Center. +91 96900 09792 on the way from Agra to Mathura. The Agra Bear Rescue Facility is the largest Sloth Bear Sanctuary. You can visit again, when it re-opens to the public, post pandemic. Drive Agra to Mathura and Vrindavan. (1.5 hrs) Mathura. Vrindavan. --------------------------------------
Vishram Ghat. Painting by Lord Weeks. MATHURA Lord Krishna was born in Mathura. His earliest years were in Gokul and childhood in Vrindavan.. Krishna later moved to Dwarka. VRINDAVAN The ghats of Vrindavan and Mathura were built by Raja Himmat Bahadur 600 years ago on the Yamuna river front. On the banks of the Yamuna river, few kilometers from each other, are the towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. Both sacred for devotees of Krishna Among the two, Mathura is the biggest: a city of 600.000 people, Mathura is also one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism, and the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Main attraction and core of the city is the amazing Vishram Ghat. Vrindavan, with only 60,000 inhabitants, is 11 kms North of Mathura. Despite its size, Vrindavan is home to around 5,000 Hindu temples. Vrindavan is also famous as a shelter for Indian widows, who, after their husband’s death, can be kicked out of their house by their relatives and end up living in the streets. Vrindavan was Krishna's childhood home, where he played the flute for his Radha and gopis, until he left Vrindavan.
Vishram Ghat Main ghat of Mathura is on the banks of the River Yamuna, and is central to 25 other ghats. The traditional parikrama starts and ends at Vishram Ghat. This is the place Lord Krishna bathed in order to celebrate his killing of the demon Kansa. People bathe, rest and worship. Krishna Janma Boomi Mander. Mathura. Constructed where Krishna was born. It was a prison cell that belonged to Kansa, Krishna’s maternal uncle. The prison cell is a stone walled cell that reminds people of King Kans’s cruelty in those days. Beautiful and well-maintained temple. limited hours. -------------------------------------
Govardhan Hill place of Hindu Pilgrimage the place where Lord Krishna grew up with his substiture parents, until he was 3, when they moved to Vrindavan. A number of 16th century monuments are situated on the hill, and the view of the surrounding villages is breathtaking from the top. Kusum Sarovar. Govardhan is believed to be the place where Radha along with gopis used to collect flowers and meet Lord Krishna. Kadamba trees are found all over. A simple earthen pond till 1675, it was properly built by ruler of Orchha, Veer Singh. Later surrounded by magnificent structures constructed by the king of Bharatpur in the middle of 18th century, The main tomb has beautiful paintings on its ceiling depicting the pastimes of Krishna and the lotus feet of Krishna engraved on the floor. The interior of these buildings is breathtaking. ----------------------------------------
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ANOTHER TOUR: MUMBAI TO VERAVAL. LIONS. DWARKA After Krishna moved his disciples to Dwarka in Gujarat, he married Rukmini. Krishna was king and Rukmini was queen -----------------------------------
Lord Krishna was King in Dwarka, on the coast of the Arabian Sea, western Gujarat. Lord Krishna moved with his companions to ancient Dwarka after he killed the evil Kansa. Krishna felt it was no longer safe around the Mathura area. The wars of the Mahabarata were fought from there. The legendary Dwarka of Krishna's reign is now 120 feet under the Arabian sea. A STORY OF KRISHNA IN ANCIENT DWARKA Delhi Fly to Srinagar. Fly to Pune. Fly anywhere.
Gondola ride in Gulmarg, Kashmir. Gulmarg 9,000 feet. Srinagar in Kashmir SRINAGAR: altitude 5,200 ft . Tulips bloom from the end of March until mid-May. The flowers are at their best in mid-April. Late Summer and monsoon, there's an onset of light rain. July. The Srinagar monsoon is not very heavy. The valley looks beautiful at this time and you can walk through the meadows and listen to the raindrops... In October the air pollution starts to build up and peaks throughout November. East of Dal Lake the air is less polluted. Jesus is alleged to have lived and herded sheep in Yuzmarg, an easy drive from Srinagar. A beautiful meadow and river place, A day trip. Another day trip, up to Harwan and view of the mountain where Jesus was buried there, after he lived out his life. Best Chinese restaurants in Srinagar are: Lasha, Tibetan Bowl and Nun Kun. Fancy dining in the Lalit and Dal View. Ahdoos Restaurant and Bakery in town is very popular. Srinagar History A Hindu kingdom during the Mahabharata period. It became a part of the Buddhist Mauryan empire between the 3rd and 1st Centuries BCE. The Emperor Ashoka founded the beautiful city of Srinagari in the 3rd Century BCE. Buddhism flowered in Kashmir under King Ashoka, who dispatched hundreds of monks from Gandhara to spread the faith, at the same time building a Shiva temple at Vijeshwari to support what was then the Hindu religion of the majority. The area around Srinagar has been inhabited since ancient times. Several ancient temples and monasteries were constructed in the area, contributing to its religious and cultural importance. It is locally known that Jesus spent the elder years of his life in Kashmir and his Tomb is in a cave on a mountain at the edge of Srinagar, now sealed by a landslide. Modern Srinagar dates back to the 7th Century. Buddhism continued to blossom in close proximity to Hinduism under Ashoka’s son and grandson, The Fourth Buddhist Council in the first century at Harwan, ... today’s Shalimar Garden in Srinagar... The council drew 500 Buddhist and Hindu scholars from all over the region, including China, to codify Sarvastivada, the precursor to Mahayana Buddhism. -----------------------------
Kashmir Converts to Islam During the 14th century, the Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani from Iran, travelling on the Silk Route, visited Kashmir accompanied by hundreds of disciples, many of whom settled in Kashmir. He saw the superlative quality of the wool. The King provided patronage to the Sufi craftsmen and in no time pashmina weaving took over the valley. The mass conversion of the Kashmir Valley to Islam occurred in the fourteenth century. Srinagar became a hub of Islamic culture and scholarship. The Mughals recognized the strategic and scenic significance of the region and established beautiful gardens, such as the Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Bagh. In the 19th century, Kashmir came under the control of the Sikh Empire, and later, the Dogra dynasty. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's forces annexed Kashmir. However, following the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1846, the British awarded the region to Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu, who established the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. During the British colonial era, Srinagar and the surrounding region remained a princely state under the British Crown. The region retained its cultural and religious diversity, with a mix of Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh. The region has been a center of political and territorial disputes between India and Pakistan for many decades. This has led to occasional unrest, protests, and conflicts in the area, which can potentially escalate and affect the safety of travelers. India claims the entire former British Indian princely state of Jammu and Kashmi. Pakistan insists on claiming most of the region based solely on its Muslim-majority population. Presently Muslims make up about 90% of Srinagars population. Many thousands of Hindu Kashmiris have fled around 1990 because they were threatened by the violence of terrorist attacks from Pakistanis.. Kashmiri Pandits have formed an organization called Panun Kashmir ("Our own Kashmir"), which has asked for a separate homeland for Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley, they have opposed autonomy for Kashmir on the grounds that it would promote the formation of an Islamic state. Their return to the homeland in Kashmir also constitutes one of the main points of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's election platform. The presence of heavy security forces and the implementation of security measures in response to the political and security situation can create an uncomfortable environment for travelers. Always seek up to date info. -----------------------------------------
Avatar Meher Baba Samadhi - Tomb Shrine. Meherabad To visit: Avatar Meher Baba Samadhi Tomb Shrine. Fly from Delhi to Pune. There are many hotels in Pune, which is a 2 hour drive from Meherabad (Ahmednagar). There are a few new hotels in Ahmednagar with restaurants. The car ride from town to Meherabad is 15 minutes. There is a pilgrim guest house in Meherabad available for people genuinly interested in Meher Baba, only with prior reservations through the Trust Office. The Samadhi can be visited directly from either Pune or Ahmednagar. You need to hire a car with a driver who knows how to drive to the parking up the hill, near the Samadhi. Open to everyone from 7 am to 7 pm. Information about Meher Baba: https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/ The stories of the 5 Avatar Advents in India ------DISCLAIMER: This is not a commercial site. We offer nothing but the opportunity for you to see a way to make this trip work. Information only. No gaurantee the info is correct. Have tried my best, but I'm no expert. ---------------- I have not taken all the *photos on this page-------
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