World Heritage

by anilrajput

Khajuraho Temples of Love Madhya Pradesh

Khajuraho a small town in Madhya Pradesh State once use to be the cultural capital of Chandela Rajputs of Central India from the 10 to 12 centenary , the world famous temples also the UNESCO World Heritage Site, were built during 950 AD to 1150 AD by the Chandela artisans .
There is a airport in Khajuraho one can reach here by Air from Delhi and Varanasi , There is a overnight train from Delhi , One can also reach here by taking trains  from Delhi , Agra, Bhopal , Mumbai, Nagpur, Bangalore , Hyderabad , Trivandrum to Jhansi and then a three hours road journey to Khajuraho on way one can visit the Orcha famous for Ram Raja Temple and wall and roof paintings at Orcha Fort .

Originally 85 such temples were built spread over in a 20 sq. km area but now only 25 temples are in good shape , after the decline of Chandelas the local villagers maintained the temples , with time the dense forest cover and weather took the toll and outside world even forgot these temples , in 19 Centenary these temples came in the notice of British Officers but it came on a world tourist map with the efforts of Mr. Shyam Sunder Poddar who visited this place  and his  fore sight saw the importance of this place , he built a hotel which started receiving guests  in 1969 and then Indian Airlines started the first flight from 15 Feb 1969 , his son Mr. Kanti Poddar trained the local people how to deal with the Foreigners , today Khajuraho is a the most visited site after the Taj Mahal in India .

Lakshmana Temple , Khajuraho


People wonder how and what was the purpose these temples were built , the legend is , the Hem Raj the Raj Purohit ( Royal Priest) of  King of Benaras had a beautiful daughter name Hemvati , once she was bathing in the river at a full moon night when The Moon fell in love with her and came down Hemvati got embraced by Moon and got pregnant , she asked the Moon that how she will face the world as she was  not married , The Moon told her that she will have a brave son and she should leave this place and move to Khajuravatika  the Garden of Dates , son who was named Chandravarma

State Emblem of Chandela Rajputs , Khajuraho


The boy was talented , brave and sharp , at  the age of 16 he killed his first Tiger. He was made the king  and his progeny, called Chandel’s . They are regarded to be Chandravanshi  i.e., the descendants of Soma (Sanskrit literal meaning: moon).

Kandharia Mahadev Temple Khajuraho


After some time  Mohoba and then Kalinjar became the Political capital and Khajuraho remained as cultural capital .

Vastu , Geometry, Archetecure and Art at one place Temples of Khajuraho


The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of 200 years, from 950AD to 1150AD .  Khajuraho has no forts because the Chandel Kings never lived in their cultural capital.

One of the Erotic art plate on Temple Outer Wall , Khajuraho


The erotic sculptures were crafted by Chandela artisans.  Today, the temples serve as fine examples of Indian architectural styles that have gained popularity due to their explicit depiction of sexual life during medieval times.
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by anilrajput

Jaisalmer , City and Fort , Rajasthan

Jaisalmer Fort

Jaisalmer Fort


 
 

Jaisalmer a World Heritage City founded atop the Trikuta Hill in 1156 AD by Maha Rawal Jaisal Singh a Bhati Rajput , Sixth in his ruling generation, the earlier city was Loduvra , still has a Jain temple remembering its past .
A yellow stone which is available in abundant around  is used in the architecture of this city . It has given the identity of being named as Sonar Qila   or The Golden City of India .

World famous Balcony in stone at Patwa Haveli, Jaisalmer Fort


This city had a strategic location on route for trading caravans en route Persia , Middle East , Egypt ,Africa , Sindh ,  North and Central of India carrying Silk and Spices .
The Bhati Rajputs are Chandravanshi claims to be decedents of Lord Krishna , In 1293 AD the Turk emperor Ala Ud Din Khilji invaded India and captured the Fort , the Bhati Royal families migrated for safety to various places like Jaisal , Larkana , Talwandi . It was after 1627 AD when Mughal Emperor Shajahan took over , the Rawal Sahal Singh  acknowledge  his patronage and then in 1818 AD the King Mulraj accepted the political alliance with the British . After the 1947 AD the creation of independent India and Pakistan the trade route was shifted to Mumbai port and city lost its importance as a trade route.

Main entrace Toran gate Jain temple , Fort Jaisalmer


In Jaisalmer water is scarce as it is part of Thar Desert  it is almost entirely a sandy waste . There are no perennial streams, and only one small river Kakni  which flows for about 48 km and then vanishes into Rann Kutch . Amar Sagar was the water reservoir used as a main source of water which got dried up due to increase in demand for agriculture .

House , living Museum , Fort Jaisalmer


In 1367 AD Rawal Gadsi Singh excavated a lake now known as Gadsisar Lake  a water conservation tank to fulfill the water requirements of this dry city, till 1970 AD before the Rajasthan Canal came in , it was the main source of water for Jaisalmer 

Gadsisar Lake , Jaisalmer , Rajasthan


This city remained strategically important due to skirmishes between India and Pakistan , roads , rail head and the Rajasthan Canal served to revive the surrounding desert areas.

Kanoi Village , Desert Spring Camp at Sand Dunes


Tourism is a major industry in Jaisalmer , famous for its Sand Dunes , Desert wild life , Camping , Camel and Jeep  Safaris  around Jaisalmer attracts tourists from all over the world.

Sunset at Kanoi , Sand Dunes, Desert Spring camp


Tourists from all over the world come and stay at Desert Spring Camp to have an  experience of Sunset and Sunrise in the Thar Desert .
For More information and Packages contact +91 9810506646
Callers from Outside India + 44 7700093414
Office contact (05.30 GMT)  011 45725562 , 45725563 , 45725564
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Website : kanoi.promarktravels.com , promarktravels.com 
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by anilrajput

Valley of Flowers , Uttrakhand trek opens on 1st June 2014

 

Valley of Flowers Uttrakhand


Valley of Flowers Uttrakhand a World Heratage site , opens for the visitors every year along with the opening of trek for Hemkund Sahib , Lokpal temple after the melting of snow at Bhyunder Valley ( 3658 mtr.) .This year the trek opens on 1st June 2014 .
One can reach here from Rishikesh/Haridwar by road up to Joshimath and then 21 km to Gobind Ghat , the 13 trek to Ghangharia the base camp for Valley of Flowers , Hemkund Sahib and Lokpal Temple , starts  after crossing the river Alakhnanda . Mules , Palki and Pittho are available and there is also a helipad for flights up to 1 km short of  Ghangahria.
Three Km. from Ghangahria the Valley of Flowers starts and the narrow path starts after crossing the river Laxman Ganga which originates from Lake Hemkund. One leave for  Valley of Flowers from Ghangharia early as one is to return the same day.
For more Information and packages contact +91 9810506646
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by rkgoel

A memorable trip to Ajanta & Ellora Caves

Before our visit to Aurangabad (the capital of Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb during his long sojourn in Deccan), Maharashtra during the first week of August 2011, the very name of Ajanta & Ellora caves would conjure an image of grand statues of Lord Buddha and his disciples, cut into gigantic hills. A google search before the visit informed me that Ajanta Caves are among 15 sites in India which are included in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites (Ellora being another).
 

The Ajanta Caves

From Aurangabad where we based ourselves, Ajanta is a two-hour comfortable journey by road. Spread around a horse-shoe shaped mountain range, there are 29 caves in all, carved from 2nd century BC onwards upto 7th century AD . While few of them are chaitya-grihas (meditation halls), the rest are monasteries (resting places for the monks).
These caves remained hidden from human eyes for some 1100 years and were accidentally discovered in AD 1819 during an expedition by British soldiers in nearby mountains. On 28 April 1819, a British officer for the Madras Presidency, John Smith, while hunting tiger, accidentally discovered the entrance to one of the cave temples (Cave No. 9) deep within the tangled undergrowth. Shortly after this discovery, the Ajanta Caves became renowned for their exotic setting, impressive architecture, historic artwork, and long-forgotten history. All paintings show heavy religious influence and centre around Buddha , Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings), incidents from the life of Buddha and the Jatakas (Buddhist literature).
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The Ellora Caves

The Ellora caves are located at a distance of 30 km from Aurangabad. There are 34 caves here and unlike Ajanta where only Buddhist caves are carved, at Ellora, three major religions i.e. Buddhism , Jainism and Hinduism are represented- starting with the Buddhist caves, you move on to the Hindu caves and finally to Jain caves. These caves were carved from 6th century AD to 12th century AD . Ellora is justly world-famous for the largest single monolithic excavation in the world, the great Kailasa (Cave 16).
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The Best Time

The visit to these caves is enjoyed maximum during monsoon , when every stream is filled with rainwater and the entire surroundings are lush green. We were indeed lucky to be there during height of monsoon this year and the monsoons surely made the environment very pleasant throughout our stay.
 

Shirdi

PS. While at Aurangabad, also take-out time to visit Shirdi which is some 100 km away. It is a two-hour drive from Aurangabad. If you are pressed for time, avoid the festival days and the weekends when crowds are much larger. We were lucky to be there on a Friday and it took just about 30 minutes of waiting before we were ushered into the sanctum sanctorum.
 

About the Author

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[author_image timthumb=’on’]wp-content/uploads/sites/2/authors/rajinder-goel.jpg[/author_image] Rajinder Goel is based in Delhi Graduate from Pant Nagar University in Civil Engineering, presently working with Steel Authority of India as Deputy General Manager – Projects and he has a keen interest in travelling and study of old architectures.

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