Amarkantak is a religious town and a nagar palika situated in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is also known by the name of “Teerthraj”(the king of pilgrimages). The region is very traditional as well as exceptional. Here the Vindhyas and the Satpuras meet each other while the balkrum is the Maikal Hills. The Narmada river, the sone river and the Johila rivers emerge from this place.

The sacredness of Amarkantak is associated greatly with the sacred river Narmada. It may be due to the presence of this river that this area in the Vindhyas gained popularity as a pious centre. According to the holy scriptures, River Narmada rises above all other holy rivers with her strong quality as the daughter of Lord Shiva.

History

Vedic literature does not mention anything about Amarkantak and rivers originating from it. But Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vashishtha samhita and “Shatapatha Brahmana” have information about them. The history of a period of about 3000 years after Mahabharata remains in dark. According to Professor  Arjun Chaube Kashyap, the puranic name of Amarkantak was Riksh parvat. The suryavanshi samrat Mandhata discovered a town in the valley Riksh parvat about 6000 years ago and named it Mandhata. Mandhata’s son, samrat Purukutsa’s queen gave the title of Narmada to the river. Since this area was occupied by the Mandhatas, the descendants of Yayati dynasty shifted from this place to west of Madhya Pradesh and settled on the banks of river Narmada.

Traditionally, this Vindhyachal area was within the Ayodhya kingdom. There were ashrams of Kapila Muni, Bhrigu Muni and Markandeya Rishi at this place. It has been also told that Pandavas stayed at this place when they were outside their kingdom and gained divine benefits.

How  To Reach

By Air

Jabalpur is the nearest airport to Amarkantak. It is 245 km away from Amarkantak city. There are pre-paid taxi services available from airport to Amarkantak. The total cost is about Rs. 3000.

By Train

The closest railway station to Amarkantak is Pendra Road that is at a distance of 17 km from the city. Anuppur at distance of 48 km from Amarkantak is also convenient for the tourists.

By Bus

Bus services are also available in Amarkantak. State government  buses are there from Pendra Road, Shahdol and Bilaspur. The distance between Amarkantak and Jabalpur by bus is 245km, between Amarkantak and Rewa is 261km (by bus).  Amarkantak is also connected to Shahdol (261km) by bus.

Location Map

Places To Visit

Narmadakund And Temples

Narmadakund is an open pool at the origin place of Narmada River. There are numerous temples around this kund.  They are Narmada and Shiva temple, Kartikey temple, Shri Ram Janki temple, Guru Gorakhnath temple etc.

Mai ki Bagiya (Goddess garden):“Mai ki Bagiya” is a place where there is a group of trees in thick forest. It is situated at one km distance from Narmadakund. The place is named “Mai ki Bagiya” to honor goddess Narmada. This garden area consists of fruit trees like Mango, Banana and others along with Gulbakavli, roses and other flower plants.

Weather And Best Time To Visit

Weather

Summers

Tourists prefer to visit during March to June in order to enjoy the beauty. During this season the maximum temperature moves around 25’C to 30’C.

Monsoons

The monsoon season is from July to September.  Moderate rains occur during this time. The weather remains very pleasant. The rains make the place attractive with magnificent plant life.

Winters

Winters are extremely cold with the minimum temperature moving down to 2’C.

Best Time To Visit

The weather from October to March is cold and comfortable.  During this time visitors can visit the religious places in the town.

The time from March to September is suitable for all types of tourist activities.

Language And Culture

Language

People mostly speak Hindi, Punjabi and pahari languages. English is also understood by them.

Culture

In food the main attractions are the spicy achar gost (pickled lamb),  the lavish keemas (minced meat),  the tasty rogan josh (mutton dish) and lots of pulaos (aromatic rice). Shairi programme is quite popular and it is one of the favorite pastimes amongst the older generations.  The old quarter is well known for its traditional crafts like embroidery, zardoziwork, bridal wear and tailor-made sherwanis.

Accommodation

Ramakrishna Kutir, Amarkantak

Ramakrishna Kutir is a famous hotel in Amarkantak. Visitors can get all sorts of comfort. Seventeen rooms are available in the hotel. All the rooms are very comfortable.

Address:Sri Ramakrishna Kutir, Post : Amarkantak, District : Anuppur, India.

Holiday Homes, Amarkantak

Holiday Homes at Amarkantak is government owned and managed by MPTEDC. There are twenty seven rooms in the hotel.  All the rooms are maintained very well.

Address: Amarkantak-484886, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Festivals And Activities

Festivals

Narmada Jayanti, one of the important festivals of Amarkantak is celebrated in January at the time of MAkar Sankranti.

Shiv Chaturdashi is also celebrated in a grand way. Amarkantak is also known as Teertha Raj and so sadhus from all over India arrive for the festival.

Among other festivals, Nag Panchami and Kartiki Poornima are also celebrated in Amarkantak.

Activities

Mountain Climbing

Promotions are done to make mountaineering attractive for the adventure lovers. Hiking, Skiing, Surfing are also famous in Amarkantak.

Hotels

Sal Valley Resort, Amarkantak

Sal Valley Resort is situated in the village of Kheochi and is surrounded by abundant green sal forests. It is far away from the chaos of city life.  Here people can relax and spend time with nature.

Address: Village Keonchi, Pendra Road, Amarkantak, India 491001

Sarvodaya Vishram Griha, Amarkantak

Sarvodaya Vishram Griha, Amarkantak is not only popular among Indians but also known by foreigners. There are more or less twenty rooms in the hotel. The rooms are very comfortable and have advantages like tinted walls,  good beds, equipped floors etc.

Address: Narmada Temple Road, Main Market, Amarkantak, District-Anuppur, India.

Get Around

The best way to travel within Amarkantak is by foot.  People can hire taxis but they are not easily available and are also very costly. For visiting nearby places one can take auto-rickshaws. Fares are negotiable and they do not have meters.

Get Out

Nagpur-445

Nagpur, also known as the winter capital of the Maharashtra state is also the largest city in central India. Large variety of orange fruit is grown in several orchards in and around the city and so the city is also known as “Orange City”. Nagpur also indicates the center of India being identified with the “Zero Mile” marker.

Ranchi-517

Ranchi is a picturesque town situated in the Chota Nagpur plateau. It is the summer capital of Bihar and the current capital of Jharkhand. It got the name from “Archi” which is a nagpuri word and which means Bamboo forest.

Shopping

Amarkantak is not for the people who love to do shopping since it is a religious place. Spiritual photographs are mostly available here.

Horticulture Garden, which is situated 2km away from the temple on the way to Dudh Dhara has a shop. The shop sells medicines and beauty products. The products are all herbal. People can buy plant seedlings which are very rare.

Video

Photo Gallery