Rameswaram and around

Trip members: Karthik, Sankar, Murugan, Sanjeev, Sathish Raja
Trip date: 1 and 2 July 2017
Trip Plan : Chennai - Rameswaram - Ramnad - Dhanushkodi - Chennai

Day-1

We reached Rameswaram by 04:30 in the morning by Sethu express. Sankarganesh had arranged stay for us in a guest house and we are bang there for sunrise! The guest house was just near Agni theertham and gave a great view of the sea and sunrise from the terrace. We spent time on enjoying the sunrise and the sea until 06:30 and ready for the day by 7:30.

Our cab was ready by then and we planned to cover areas around Ramnad in the first half of the day and then Dhanushkodi in second half. Our driver suggested to have breakfast enroute to the first stop in Ramnad and as usual we went by the driver's suggestion - always respect localites suggestions in a trip! We had breakfast at Hotel Sriram, jut before Ramnad. The tiffen items were quite good and they had nice varieties of dosas like herbal dosa, herbal oothappam, podi tomato dosa and many more. Our plan was to cover as much as possible in the first half in Ramnad and move to Pamban and Dhanushkodi by lunch.

First, we visited Devipattinam around 8:45, this is famous for the Navabhashana Navagraha temple in the ocean. Devipattinam is around 5 kms from Ramnad. The dieties are partially or fully immersed in water at 2-3 feet height and pilgrims take a dip in the water and then perform pujas to the dieties. It is believed to wash away sins of many kind. We spent around 15-20 minutes to offer our prayers and also enjoy the vast ocean.

Next, we went to Uthira Kosamangai. This temple is very famous for being a primary temple for Lord Shiva, offering blessings as Lord Mangalanathar/Mangaleshwar. One striking feature of the place is that it hosts Lord Natraja as Lord Rathna Sabhapathi as a single piece carved out of Emerald (Maragatham). The idol is 5.5 feet tall and is always covered with layers of Sandalwood paste. The day of Aaruthutra star is the one when one gets to see the Emerald idol as is. One would need around 20-30 minutes to see the temple on a normal day. This temple is around 11 kms from Thirupullani.

Thirupullani - our next destination. This temple is one of 108 Vishu Kshetras and is regarded is very special. It is believed that Lord Rama slept here on a bed of Tharbais (a type of grass known for performing rites for the dead). This is the only place where Lord Rama can be seen in Ananthasayanam (sleeping) posture.Temple open timings are 7:00 am – 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm – 8:30 pm.

We then went to Sethu Karai. Sethu Karai is 4.5 kms from Thirupullani. There is an Anjeneya temple on the beach. The beach is very serene and believed to clear all sins when a dip is taken. It is believed this is were the Ram-Sethu bridge was planned to be built and started. We spent around 20 minutes here enjoying the beautiful beach and taking some photos.

Excited to see Pamban bridge views as our train came in the dark in the morning and our cab when we crossed to come to Ramnad, we decided to stop on the return as temples are bound to close on time. Though parking is not allowed on the bridge, tourists take the liberty to stop by few few minutes to admire the humongous ocean views and the engineering marvel. Police and the drivers themselves regulate the stopping vehicles quickly, as the bridge is quite narrow and stopping vehicles on the bridge causes unwanted congestion.The humongous bridge and grand views it offers are definitely a matter of pride to visit. One can imagine how it would be when Rameswaram is hit by cyclone and the fiery ocean definitely scares. However, on normal days, they look massive and humble.

We next stopped at Villondi Theertham. This is the spot when Lord Rama used his arrow to have drinking water in the ocean banks on request of Sita. There is a well at this place and a small shop renting small buckets with rope for Rs.10 to fetch water. Though the water is salty now, it is assumed it was a momentary act to quench the thirst. Now, the water is treated as holy and people take it as
prasadam - drink and sprinkle on head.

We also visited the under construction - Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam's memorial. The big memorial is being constructed in memory of dear of all. We spent few minutes there and moved on - missing him.

We had lunch at Hotel SS Grand. The lunch served for Rs.120 was just ok. Quite an average sotuh Indian vegetarian meals - rice, sambhar, rasam, poriyal, kootu, curd and appalam. Driver said this is one of the better food one can get in Rameswaram and it was only average. Be prepared to have not so great expectations on food when you goto Rameswaram.

Around 2:45 PM when we completed our lunch, we started to Dhanushkodi. The first hop in the direction is Lord Gothandaramar temple.

This is the place where it is believed that Vibeeshanan was made as King of Lanka once Rama killed Ravanan in the war. The trip towards Gothandaramar temple and the great grand views the temple offers us all around is amazing. The place is a great time killer for photo enthusiasts; however, don't get carried away here - there is more calling in Dhanushkodi.

All vehichles stop at Mukuntharayar Chathiram. This is permissible final point for public and private vehicles. The place is buzzing with lot of shops and access to clean white sand as well as rocky beaches. This is a single strip of land with water on both sides of the land strip. One side, the white sand and rocky beaches call anyone to wet their feet and the waves punch you back with their power.

Other side - you would wonder whether is is ocean ! Quite calm and peaceful - almost stagnant water. After The place is a great time killer as it has beaches, lots of shops selling souvenirs made out of sea products and sea food.

From here, one is allowed to walk upto 9.5 kms towards Dhanushkodi and Arichal Munai. Dhanushkodi is 5 kms from Mukundarayar Chatram and Arichal Munai is 9.5 kms - a further 4.5 kms from Dhanushkodi. There are pooled vans which charge Rs.150 per person (2 way) to take you to Dhanushkodi - but by the banks of the calm side of the ocean. The road to Arichal Munai was fully laid and was waiting for inauguration when we went.

After seeking permission to go in our own vehicles beyond Mukundarayar Chatram, we went to the farthest accessible point of India in this region - Arichal Munai. Arichal Munai is the place where land ends and all 3 sides surrounded by desertly white fine sand and the mighty Ocean - connected by a thin strip of land. The evening was quite windy and the sands were all over carried on to the roads. We would not reach out to the beach as the wind was gaining speed and made it difficult to walk against the sandy wind. We spent around 20 minutes enjoying the serene beauty of the place. Yeah ... touching a farthest accessible point is quite a feel !! Isn't it !!

We then returned back 4.5 kms and stopped at Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi hosts the ruined Church and ruined railway station. It is becoming a living city as well as it was deserted after the cyclone hit few decades back. We heard from locals that around 300 people are living in Dhanushkodi nowadays. The ruins are quite a scene for photographers - the back drop of white sand and the blue ocean with blue skies captivates anyone. There are shops to shop-by, eat snacks and drink sodas.

Around 5, it was time to get out of Dhanushkodi as per the rules, and we obliged. It was quite a long dream come true for our group as we were planning to visit Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi for quite some time. We stopped by a souvenir shop run by brother of Dr.Kalam - they have great collections of stuff made of sea materials and wood - starting from Rs.5 to thousands. This is a perfect place for
anyone to get a steal of souvenirs. There is also Dr.Kalam's house in the building aside and one can go and visit it.

We packed dinner from Hotel Aryas as we were salty and sandy. The food was good - idlis, dosas with sambhar and chutneys. The food was better than what we expected and well enough for a long day and ready for sleep. We took bath, enjoyed the late evening with sea breeze and ready for the early morning dharshan of Lord Ramanathaswamy.

Day-2

As per our plan, we woke up at 03:30 and started for Ramanathaswamy temple. We reached the temple at 04:30 for the Spatika Lingam dharshan. Spatika Lingam dharshan is one of the popular events of the temple - where the main deity would be behind the screens and a Spatika Lingam - 1 feet tall. The Abhishekams and pujas would be done for the Spatika Lingam for 1 hour - 5 AM to 6 AM and then the dharshan shall move on to the main deity. People throng to see the Spatika Lingam to get special blessings. We then went out by 5:30, had hot piping tea and some snacks as the early morning wake-up kindled our hunger.

The visit to Ramanthaswamy temple is done in this order. Perform the Spatika Lingam dharshan early in the morning. Then, goto Angi Theertham and perform ocean bath during sunrise. Agni Theertham is the most prominent Theerthams of 22 Theerthams to visit before offering prayers to Lord Ramanthaswamy. Agni Theerthan is the ghat on the ocean where it is believed that the Agni (fire) is in form of water and shall wash away one's sins. We did this between 06:15 - 06:45.

Post this, one has to buy a ticket for Rs.25 per head from the left side of the temple (facing temple) to perform bath of the 21 theerthams. Beware of touts who would ask you to pay them anything between 300-1000+ for taking you across all theerthams and the dharshan. This is not at all necessary. Earlier, it would be really bad as everyone had to go with these touts, without which, it would be very difficult to have a peaceful time in the temple. Now, things have been well regularized and once you pay Rs.25, you get into a queue to go ahead with all theerthams. There would be one person who would take water from the well and pour over a group of people. If you think you need special attention, there are people who ask for Rs.100 per person and help you with one full bucket of water from each of the wells - which is much better than the group activity. We completed all the theerthams by 1 hour and by 7:30 AM done with all theerthams.

We carried alternate clothes with us, which is mandatory as one is not allowed to perform dharshan with wet clothes. There are separate places for changing clothes for male and female. Once done, we performed dharshan for the main deity - which is a Lingam made of sand by Goddess Sita and then turned into stone by history. At 8:15, we were out of the temple after completing the dharshan of main deity, Goddess Parvathavardhini, Lord Natarajar in Rudra mandap, Athmalingam, Kasi Viswanathar and Lord Hanuman.

We had breakfast in a local restaurant and returned to room to relax and have a bit of sleep.

Around 11, we decided to visit Holy Island Water sports. Holy water sports has quite a number of water sports - Kayaking, water boarding, snorkeling, scuba diving (for swimmers), JetSki and few more. The rates are quite nominal and the staff are very friendly. We did JetSki and Snorkeling. We spent around 2 hours across the activities and cherished the moments.

We had lunch at Hotel Jivan - they did not have lunch but north India menu and some rice items. We order cluster of gravies and Indian breads. The food was definitely good and tasty. We had a good lunch and proceeded to rooms for checkout.

We had train at 5 PM and checked-out by 3 PM. We planned to visit Ramar Padham before boarding train. Ramar Padham is around 5 kms from Agni Theertham. This is a must visit place in Rameswaram for the great grand views it offers. The temple hosts Lord Rama's feet impressions and a terrace with complete view of Rameswaram. We can realize that we are in an island from this place. We spent around 20 minutes here to enjoy the views and reached railway station.

We also got great experience enjoying the view of ocean from Pamban bridge.

Trivandrum Temples and Kulathupuzha

We planned to visit three temples - Attukal Bagavathy temple, Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple, and the world-famous Padmanabaswamy temple. We decided to complete the first 2 quickly so we spend enough time in the Padmanabaswamy temple.

Attukal Bagavathy temple is around 2 kms from the central station and we reached there by auto in 10 minutes. The temple is very serene and is known to be crowded on Tuesdays and Fridays. This temple holds a record of having 2.5 million ladies in the single biggest gathering in history. The Goddess is well decorated and the temple premises are quite clean. We completed darshan in 15 minutes and took an auto to Pazhavangady Ganapathy temple. 

Pazhavangady Ganapathy temple is located close to the Padmanabaswamy temple. Pazhavangady Ganapathy temple is a small and very popular temple. The tradition is to break coconuts in this temple. It is heard that there are people who break hundreds and thousands of coconuts as per their wishes and prayers. It takes few minutes on a normal day to complete the darshan. Gents should go with bare top body - remove shirts, t-shirts, banians, and women are not allowed with bags.

Padmanabaswamy temple

We next visited the Padmanabaswamy temple. The temple has quite a number of restrictions to enter. No mobiles, no any sort of electronic or electric devices like even mobile chargers or cables. No eatables, no anything apart from money! Women are allowed in sarees or asked to wear dhotis on top of their dresses. Female kids have to wear pavadai or frocks. Gents - no top-dresses are even allowed to carry inside. Only dhotis! All can be safely deposited in the cloakroom at a very low cost. As we entered the main gopuram, we saw the free darshan crowd to be considerably high. We opted for Rs.180 darshan, for which a pair is allowed on one ticket. I bought two tickets and we entered the main sanctum in 15 minutes. The main sanctum was very crowded and quite dark. The crowd was not managed properly and the darshan was not quite pleasant; rather it was very tiring and challenging for the elders. Somehow, we managed to out of the main sanctum and had darshans of other Sanctums of Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, and Lord Ganapathy. We completed the whole place in 1:30 hours and were out. There are small souvenir shops outside and one can dwell on them.

Our trip took a direction towards Kulathupuzha after visiting Varkala beach.

We took the route of Varkala - Kallamballam - Kilimanoor - Kulathupuzha. Kulathupuzha is one of the important temples of Lord Ayyappan. This is located around 56 km from Varkala beach. This temple is where the Lord is incarnated in child form. This small and popular temple is on the banks of the river Kulathupuzha and across a narrow bridge. Gents have to remove upper garments to enter the main sanctum and no restrictions for ladies. It takes around 15 minutes to have a satisfactory darshan on a normal day. We reached the temple by 10:45 and had excellent darshan. 

Khajuraho - Orchha - Jhansi

Trip members: Karthik, TP
Trip date: 14, 15 and 16 Apr 2017
Trip Plan : Chennai - New Delhi - (Gwalior) - Khajuraho - Dhubela - Orchha - Jhansi - New Delhi - Chennai

New Delhi – Gwalior – 330 kms
Gwalior – Orchha – 125 kms
Khajurah– Orchha (near Jhansi) – 173 kms
Orchha – New Delhi – 477 kms
Khajurah– Jhansi – 175 kms
Khajurah– Gwalior – 282 kms
Orchha – Jhansi – 17 kms

Day 1

Started from Chennai by flight to New Delhi and then on to connecting flight from New Delhi to Khajuraho. Looks like there are only 2 flights to Khajuraho; one from Delhi around 15:35 and one from Mumbai in the morning around 7 am. From New Delhi airport, I called the place where we booked rooms, Marble palace for confirmation, and he said he will arrange an auto-rickshaw for me for Rs.100. After arriving, I found that it was important to have the vehicle pre-booked as there was almost no vehicles in the airport -  cab or autos, apart from those waiting for pick-up.

Hotel Marble palace was just 300m from the Western group of monuments. The elder person who took care of the place was very nice and walked me through the rooms and let me choose it. The rooms are quite spacious, clean and simple. The bathrooms were also clean, though not modern. The air conditioning was quite good.

After check-in, I went the Western group of monuments. I stayed in Marble palace, which was only 2 minutes walk. They charge Rs.30 for Indian adults and allow people in until 6:30. It was 5:30 pm when I entered. No tickets for still cameras.

Khajuraho has mainly three group of temples - Western, Eastern and Jain group of monuments. All are open from sunrise to sunset. The ticket is common ticket for all monuments - one needs to show the ticket at every entrance.

Western group of monuments has the following temples - Viswanath Temple, Lakshmi Temple, Kandariya Mahadev Temple (biggest of all) and most popular, Chitragupta Temple, Varaha Temple, Lakshmana Temple, Devi Jagdamba Temple, Parvati Temple and Nandi temple. All these are in single premises and easily takes 1.5 to 2 hours. I visited once in the evening for the sunset view and it was amazing. They ask everyone to go out by 6:30 PM.

On entering the premises, the Lakshmi temple, Lakshmana temple, Varaha temple are on the left and Nandi, Vishwanath temples on the right side. Rest of them just ahead across all sides of the premises. The Lakshmi temple is just a small temple and closed. It is first temple on the left side of the monuments. It is before the Varaha temple. The Varaha temple hosts a colossal monolithic sculpture of Varaha (boar). The Varaha is quite artistic and with a pyramidal roof, opposite to the Lakshmana temple.

Lakshmi temple

Varaha temple

Varaha 

Lakshmana temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and one is allowed after removing slippers/shoes. Various incarnations of Lord Vishnu can seen in the artistic sculptures with other God/Goddess. The sculptures are so well carved resembling real muscles and bone like structures. The sunset gave a golden glow to the greatly and uniquely sculpted towers.

Adjacent to the Lakshmana temple, is a currently active Shiva temple - Matangeshwara Temple. The Matangeshwara Temple is gardened out with fences and has a narrow entrance just next to the premises. The temple hosts a huge linga, which is 8 foot tall and said that the same size is beneath the ground as well.

The Kandariya Mahadev Temple is the biggest of all and most popular. The entrance level porch is very artistic. The multi-level towers are massive and uniquely architected. This temple is THE well known temple of Khajuraho and is on a lofty pedestal. This temple has elegant curves as a whole and great sculptures of Hinduism, elephants, ornamented people and much more. One can spend quite some time here admiring each of the carvings and the architecture. The grand views from distance and near are of great admiration.

Next, is the Devi Jagadambi temple. The temple is on a high platform as like the Kandariya temple and hosts Goddess Parvati. This temple also hosts excellent sculptures.

The Chitragupta Temple is the most talked about for obvious reasons across the world and is situated at the extreme diagonal of the premises. This temple walls are carved one of the finest sculptures and is dedicated to Lord Surya.

There is sound and light show at the premises are in Hindi and English. The charges for Indian is Rs.200/- quite costly! English version is at 19:30-20:25 and Hindi version - 20:40-21:35. The tickets are given closer to the gate for Sound and light show. The entrance for this is at the end of the front compound of the Western group of monuments. The show was ok with respect to history but it was very lengthy and looked like intentionally dragged for 55 minutes. The lights were quite less for photography, but I think it might have been intentionally kept less.

TP joined me at Khajuraho at around 20:45 after he completed Gwalior; and we had dinner at Hotel Blue Sky - just opposite to the Western group. The rotis and sabji was quite good. They have 2 levels of open sky restaurant; it would be great dining experience in winter.

Day-2

Around 6:30, we visited the Western group of monuments, this time with TP. Sunrise views were quite appealing for photography and admire the temples. We went across all the temples.

We continued to see all temples in Western group of monuments. The Parvati temple is a small temple and one of the oldest. The Viswantha temple is the oldest of all along with the Nandi temple. The Nandi shrine is part of the Viswanatha temple. The Nandi is a monolithic statue.

Parvati Temple

Vishwanatha temple

The Viswanatha temple was the first built of the Western group of temples in the Chandela dynasty. This has some great sculptures, ornamental ceilings and hangings.

We came out by 08:30 and had breakfast at a local restaurant - Aloo parathas. The shops are open only by 08:30. So, plan your day accordingly.

We then, checked out and planned 2 things - Eastern and Jain group of monuments and Raneh falls. We booked a cab to goto Orchha for afternoon and hired an auto for the local siteseeing of Khajuraho.

Raneh falls is 30-40 minutes drive by auto from Khajuraho - around 17 kms. The mercury was soaring, definitely around 45 degrees. The roads to Raneh were very good and narrow. We reached the entrance by 10 AM - the Ken Gharial Sanctuary. Vehicles are allowed inside with a charge of Rs.200 for autos, compulsory guide for Rs.75 and Rs.50 per person. There are 3 items to do here - the Raneh falls, Gharial view and a natural trial. We were allowed around 3-4 kms inside the sanctuary by auto with the guide to see the Ken river and the great rocks around. The whole place is a outcome of a burst volcano millions of years ago. The natural trial is done during winters as the sanctuary will be overflowing with water and not allowed to enter all places.

The bumpy ride was very eventful and we sighted deer (Nilgais), jackals, monkeys and lots of colourful birds. The dry forests were of a different gene all together and the rocks made it a grand view. The Ken river view was excellent. We also climbed the watch tower to have a great panoramic view. We could not spend more than 15 minutes as it was very hot. We cited a Gharial in the stagnant water.

The Raneh falls view with small crater like formation was amazing to see. The crater like formation is said to be the eye of volcano that gave out lava few million years ago. The place has well laid platforms and watch towers to view the canyons. The deep canyons have varying colours of granite and dolomite - red, green, blue, black and brown. It is also said few of these rocks are glow rocks and glow in the nights. Do take lots of water with you when you go here.

We then started back to Khajuraho. We had to complete the Eastern group of monuments and Jain group of monuments. The Jain group of monuments has 3 temples - one new - Shantinath temple and 2 historical - Parsvanath and Adinath temples. The Shantinath temple is a new temple and all temples are open from Sunrise to Sunset. The Shantinath temple is an active temple too.

The Adinath and Parsvanath temples depict the architectures of the Khajuraho temples that are in Western group. There are quite small temples and all within the same premises.These are around 700m from the Eastern group of temples.

Shantinath Temple

Shantinath Temple

Parsvanath Temple

Adinath Temple

Eastern Group of monuments are around 1.3 kms from the Western Group of monuments. These temples are quite distributed across the town unlike the Western group in a single mega premises.

We visited the Dulhadev temple first - dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is octagonal and different sculptures like Makara (crocodile) and bull. It also has sculptures of Yama, The temple looks like got ruined and heavily restored. Even the main facet looks to be restored so are many sculptures.

Chaturbhuj Temple – this is a temple - looks to be built only for religious purpose unlike rest of the temples which has sculptures replicating the popularity of Khajuraho. The main idol is almost 7-8 foot tall and quite artistic, mounted on a pedestal. The entrance is well ornamented.

The Brahma temple is just on the road and quite not used at all - on the banks of the lake. There is no stop required for this, just seen from the vehicle as you go to Vamana and Javari temple.

The Vamana and Javari temples are located nearby (200-300m). The Vamana temple is dedicated to the Vamana incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The temple is decorated with lots of garlands, mithuna and dancers.

The Javari temple is mounted on a very high pedestal when compared to most of the temples. The torana - entrance is very artistic and so are many sculptures on the walls of the temple.

Vamana Temple

Vamana Temple

Javari Temple

We took our bags and shifted to the car, that was waiting for us to bid bye to Khajuraho. We had excellent lunch - rotis, jeera rice, dhall and bindi masala at hotel Badriseth - Marwadi Bhojnalaya. The food was cooked fresh and served and was very good in flavours.

The car driver had told us that he would take us to Dhubela Museum. We got to know about King Chatrasal as we arrived to Dhubela. Dhubela is located around 62 kms from Khajuraho enroute to Orchha. It is around 2 kms from the national highway. This was not a part of our plan, and that extra came in, which is a LIKE in our trips.

The Dhubela lake is surrounded by several ruined palaces, chatris and mahals. We visited the Maharaj Chatrasal museum - a proud place for Bundelkhand. The museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM and closed on Mondays. The place of Dhubela invites a whole day trip to see all the ruins around. The entry fees is Rs,10 per person and Rs.50 for still camera. The museum has lots of sculptures collected from the surrounding regions - mainly Lalitpur, Rewa and also about Bajirao, The museum comprises 8 galleries - inscriptions, copper plates, garments, weapons and paintings of the Bundela kings.

We reached Orchha by 19:00 hours after a tiring ride on the so called National Highways - mostly single road filled with cattle and small villages. We had booked rooms and checked into hotel Aditya - walkable distance and behind the Ram Raja temple. The rooms were ok and clean. The bed was quite big and hosted us a great sleep. We refreshed and walked around to know what is what. The sound and light show in English was in progress (19:30) and the Hindi was at 20:45. We planned to attend it and had dinner at Hotel Betwa Tarang. The roof top restaurant served quick rotis and sabji upon special request as dont want miss the sound and light show.

Sound and light show at Raja mahal of Orchha fort - entry fees is Rs.100 and free for still cameras. The show lasted for 45 minutes and it was much information and better than the one at Khajuraho. The history was explained well and the light/sound effects were enjoyable. The lights were enough for some good photography too.

Day-3

The places are open for visitors only by 07:30 in the morning. We started our day by 06:30 went around and located the Orchha fort, Ram Raja mandir and the massive Chaturbhuj mandir. We took some Sunrise photos and entered the Orchha fort by 07:30. No food was available in any of the shops until then,

Orchha fort - It is located on island of Betwa river and was a prominent building in Orchha. The premises has the most important monuments and buildings associated with Bundela dynasty. Orchha fort is also known as Jehangir fort, is erected in honor of Mughal Emperor Jahangir when he was on a visit to Bundelkhand region. Fort is setup using both Muslim and Hindu building architecture.

The Orchha Fort Complex hosts Raja Mahal and Jahangir Mahal. We hired a guide for Rs.470 (as per the fee structure) and the guide explained us quite a lot about the Raja Mahal and Jahangir mahal. He was not very detailed, but ok. The cost is quite high, but, that is all they get for their living.

We went around and around each of the levels of Raja mahal - 3 levels above ground and admired the grandness of the palace. Moreover, each level gave a great view of the Chaturbhuj temple, the Chatris and the ruined town of Orchha, The mahal had great paintings of Ramayana, incarnations of Lord Vishnu and somehow felt that they have not been preserved properly. The palace is quite massive it took almost an hour - all by ourself to see it.

The Jahangir mahal - built as an extension of the Raja mahal is a mix of Mughal and Hindu culture - elephants and typical Mughal carvings at each level - Indo Islamic architecture. The place is like a maze across 3 levels with narrow and steep steps. The Jahangir mahal is very artistic and hosts great paintings. They also have blue and green glazed tiles across the construction - depicting Hinduism and Mughals together. The main entrance of the palace has a grand elevation.

There is also a partially ruined - Camel stable - Oont Khanna. The Sheesh mahal inside the premises of Jahangir mahal and Raja mahal is being used as MPTDC tourism stay. This also is quite grand to see and well maintained.

Rai Parveen mahal outside this premises is quite modern and small. Rai Parveen was an accomplished singer and dancer of the Bundela dynasty. We walked around the fort and also saw Hathi Khanna (elephant stable) and Shyam Daua ki Kothi.

We next visited the Ram Raja Temple. This a recently developed temple and a functioning one. Cameras are not allowed inside. There are queues and it took around 20 mins for us to complete the dharshan. The main deity is Lord Ram with Sita and Lakshman, There is also sanctum of Lord Hanuman inside the temple. It would take only 10 minutes if no crowd. There are lot of sweet and flower shops outside, to offer during the dharshan.

We hired a car to see the rest of the important places and checked-out as it was time for it. Chaturbhuj Temple is one important place - must visit of Orchha. This is a towering temple and can be seen from any part of Orchha. One has to be climb around 20-25 steps to see the temple. The main deity is Lord Vishnu. This was built to host Lord Ram, but as per history, Ram decided to sit nearby as this temple was incomplete and that place became Ram Raja temple. We also managed to sneak through to the top of the Chaturbhuj temple - wow view of the  whole of Orchha; mainly the palace. The arches are magnificent.

Betwa River - The fort is on an island on Betwa river. The river is the life line of Orchha. The water can be reached through at the Chhatris Cenotaphs. The Chhatris Cenotaphs are around 1.5 kms from the Fort. There are 15 Chhatris totally in Orchha. Majorly, there are 5 massive Chhatris in this premises by the Betwa river. There are definitely wonderful to see and lets you give a wow factor. The Chhatris are on elevated platforms and has beautifully architect-ed arches. We spent around 20-30 minutes here and also saw views from the Betwa river.

The last destination in Orchha - Lakshmi Narayan temple. This was around 1 km from the Chhatris. The temple was also built by Veer Singh Deo - the most important king of the Bundelas. The temple has great paintings - Vishnu incarnations, Ramayana, war and kings.

We left Orchha by 12:30 and reached Jhansi - 17 kms from Orchha by 1 PM. We got dropped at the Jhansi museum - on the foothills of small hill on which the Jhansi fort is built. The government museum is air conditioned and is open from 10:30 to 16:30, except Mondays. Entry fee is Rs,5 and Rs.20 for cameras. The museum has the history and lot of evidences of Jhansi Bai. It also explains the history around the area and how Jhansi came into bigger picture of Indian revolution against British. It easily takes 1 hour to go through all galleries. If interested, one can spend more time here.

We then had Aloo tikki and sugarcane juice just outside the museum as no restaurants were nearby. We decide to skip lunch and walk - 300m to the Jhansi fort. Jhansi fort is built on top of a small hill and has 5 levels of fortifications. Notable places to see - Panch mahal (only 3 levels are there to see), highest point - where Indian flag is hoisted, walk round the fortifications, a small lawn on top of the fort and the point from where Jhansi Rani fell with her horse and child.

It roughly takes around 2 hours to go around the fort. Most of the places in the fort are either locked or converted into working government offices. Thus ended our trip towards MP expedition.

We had lunch at Hotel Sita - not crowded at all and chilly paneer was very good!

We took the Shatabdi to Delhi - starting at 6 PM; reached around 00:00 and flight back to Chennai by 6 AM. At NDLS, New Delhi railway station, we came out through the Ajmeri Gate and took bus to the Airport. They charge  Rs.75 for the AC bus from  NDLS to New Delhi IGI airport and it goes through all terminals. Based on time, one can decide to take cab or the bus service.