World's 1000 beautiful tourist places

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Buddha statue & Hussain Sagar : Hyderabad has one of the world's largest freestanding stone Buddha statues. The 17.5 m high 350 tonne monolith was ferried to its place in the Hussain Sagar, the barge sank taking eight people with it. It was raised from water in 1992 and is on a plinth in the middle of the lake.

Boats operate from Lumbini park to the statue (Rs 25, 30 minute return trip). Admission fee for statue is Rs 2, Monday closed. From the Tankbund road has great views of Buddha statue.

State museum : Has a small collection of important archaeological finds from the area (Rs 10, Friday closed). Health museum is nearby.

Birla planetarium & science museum : Located near the secretariat on a hill (planetarium Rs 15, museum Rs 13). Planetarium has English shows at 11.30 am, 4 pm and 6 pm.

Birla Mandir : The white marble temple is on a rocky hill at southern end of Hussain Sagar near the Birla planetarium. It is a popular Hindu pilgrimage centre with excellent views over the city, especially at sunset.

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Nehru Zoological park : It spreads over 1.2 sq km of landscaped gardens (admission Rs 10, camera Rs 10, Monday closed). The zoo has around 3000 animals and the Lion safari is popular with tourists (Rs 15).

Ramoji film city : An 800 hectare movie making complex (admission Rs 300) having dance routines, gaudy fountains, flimsy film sets, wild west song & dance number, stunt show etc. is really a wonderland. Buses are from Women's college near Koti bus station (1 hour). www.Ramojifilmcity.com

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Chilka lake : Asia's largest brackish lagoon located in Orissa. The lake is separate from Bay of Bengal by a 60 km long sand bar called Rajhansa. Rajhansa has a pristine beach. The lake is note for the million plus migratory birds - osprey, grey legged geese, herons, cranes and flamingos - flock here in winter (from Nov to Mid Jan) from as far away as Siberia and Iran at the Nalabana island. Kalijai temple is nearby. Satapada is a small village from where most boat trips start. Irrawady dolphin sightseeing, seemouth visit and bird spoting are the main activities of Satapada (60 km from Puri).

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Bhopal

Taj ul Masjid : One of the largest and loveliest mosques in India. Fortress like terracotta walls surround two white domed minarets and three white domes towering over the main building (Closed to non Muslims on Fridays).

The Jama masjid built in 1837 has squat minarets topped with golden spikes rises up out of the frenzied bazaar that surrounds it.

Moti masjid is a smaller marble faced mosque with two dark red minarets and old spiked cupolas.

Other attractions of the city are Lakshmi Narayan temple and Birla museum at Arera hill, State museum (Rs 5, Camera Rs 20, Monday closed), Bharat Bhavan with tribal exhibits (Rs 10), Van Vihar Safari park and Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya. TT Nagar (3 km) and chowk are the main shopping areas.

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Bhimbetka cave paintings : A world Heritage centre 46 km from Bhopal. Over 600 rock shelters with pre-historic painting are located in a forest of teak and Sal. Only 15 are accessible and is linked by concrete path. By Itarsi bus get down for the caves. The caves are 3 km from the main road. You can visit the caves on one day tour conducted by MP Tourism.



Sanchi : Sanchi is a World heritage centre, 47 km from Bhopal. Archaeological museum (Friday closed).

Twenty three centuries ago, horrified by the slaughter he had inflicted on the people of Kalinga (now part of Orissa), Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, forsook war and embraced Buddhism. As penance he built his first stupa at Sanchi near the birthplace of his wife.

The 300 BC Great stupa, 16.4 m high and 36.5 m in diameter with 4 carved gateways, is a major Buddhist pilgrim centre. Few stupas, pillars and temples are nearby.

Vidisha (10 km) - Museum (3 m high Kuber statue, camera Rs 20), Heliodorous pillar (140 BC, worshiped by local fishermen), Udayagiri caves : Twenty Gupta caves dating from AD 320 to 606, of which 2 are Jain, the other 18 Hindus. Take an auto rickshaw from Vidisha to the caves (Rs 50, 5 km).

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Gwalior fort : The hilltop fort is 100 m above the town, having spectacular views. It has a length of 3 km and it's width varies from 1 km to less than 200 m protected by a 10 m high wall. From Gwalior gate it is 1 km uphill walk via 6 gates to the fort's entrance (admission Rs 20). Ticket for Man Singh Palace, Teli ka mandir and Sasbahu temples can be purchased from the counter near palace (Rs 5).

Rock sculptures : They are carved on the rock on the way from Gwalior gate. The most impressive are those on the route leading to Urvai gate (road access to the fort by taxi). The 15th century figures of Jain tirthankars are impressive (No 20 is 17 m sculpture of Adinath, No 22 is a sitting figure of Nemnath).

Man Singh Palace : The imperial palace is decorated with frieze of yellow ducks, mosaic tile of elephants, tigers and peacock in blue, yellow and green. The palace was built between 1486 and 1516 with two open courts surrounded by apartments on two levels. Below ground lie another two storeys constructed for hot weather connected by speaking tubes built into the walls. The palace museum has sculptures and carvings from around the fort.

During the Mughal period they were used as prison cells. Here Aurangzeb had his brother, Murad, imprisoned and later most cruelly done to death, slowly poisoned with opium, which sent him mad.

Teli ka mandir : This temple is in Indo-Aryan style. The whole temple is covered with sculptures and a Garuda tops the 5 m high doorway.

Sasbahu temple : The 9 th century temple of Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law temples are located near the eastern wall. Mother-in-law is dedicated to Vishnu with an ornately carved base and figures of deity over the entrances; four gigantic pillars support the heavy roof.
Daughter-in-law is dedicated to Shiva and is heavily adorned with sculptures.

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Other palaces on the fort are Karan palace, Jehangir Mahal and Shah Jahan Mahal and Jauhar Kund (a deep and large tank for jauhar). Rajput women of the harem committed jauhar (ritual mass suicide by immolation) here after the raja was defeated in 1232.

State Archaeological museum : It has a large collection of Hindu and Jain sculptures, including the famed Salabhanjika (an exceptionally carved female figure). It is located uphill west of Gwalior gate in Gujari Mahal (Admission Rs 5, camera Rs 20, Monday closed).

Jai vilas palace & Scindia museum : The 35 rooms of the palace form the museum. Bizarre items fill the rooms : Belgian cut glass furniture and a sizeable representation of the tiger population, shot, stuffed and now bursting at the seams. There is a neoclassical marble statue of Leda and swan in orgiastic coupling. The dining room has a silver train that carried after inner brandy and cigars around the table (Admission Rs 30, camera Rs 25, Wednesday closed).

The gold paint around the durbar hall is said to weigh 58 kg. Eight elephants were suspended from its ceiling to check that it could cope with two 12.5 m high chandeliers each holding 248 candles, and weighing 3.5 tonnes. The giant hall carpet, the largest in Asia, took local convicts 12 years to weave.

Tomb of Mohammed Gaus, a Muslim saint, and Tomb of Tansen (a singer admired by Emperor Akbar and held to be the father of Indian classi music) are at Old town (1.5 km from railway station near the Gwalior gate).

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very interesting!!!!!

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Khajuraho temples : A World Heritage Centre by UNESCO has temples with erotic sculptures built by Chandelas in 950 AD. The stunningly exquisite temples of Khajuraho are deservedly one of India's major attractions. Khajuraho's erotica is famous all over the world. Why all the sex ?. According to Tantric cult, gratification of the baser instincts is one way to transcend the evils of the world and achieve enlightenment. Bhoga (physical enjoyment) and yoga (spiritual exercise) are seen as equally valid in this quest for nirvana. Sculptors representing the life of that time, with unhampered sexual expression. Dance festival is in March.

The temples are on a raised platform, which help to view the artistic stonework - Gods, goddesses, warriors, musicians, real and mythological animals, woman and sex. Stone figures of sensuous posturing apsaras (heavenly nymphs) have been carved with a half-twist and slight sideways lean that make the playful figures dance and swirl out from the flat stone. Posing in between are the mithuna (carved erotic figures), running through a whole Kamasutra of positions and possibilities.

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Western group, Khajuraho : The main temples are located here (Admission Rs 20).

Lakshmi and Varaha are two small shrines facing the large Lakshmana temple. Varaha shrine is dedicated to Vishnu's boar incarnation. The temple has a huge solid boar figure carved with a pantheon of gods.

Lakshmana temple is dedicated to Vishnu, in design is similar to the Kandariya Mahadev and Vishvanath temples. The temple has two bands of sculpture instead of the usual three; the lower have fine figures of apsaras and erotic scenes.

Kandariya Mahadev (Shiv) temple : Built between 1025 and 1050 in the Chandela architecture is superb in design. The 31 m high sikhara is decorated with an ascending series of 84 replicas of itself. The temple is lavishly carved with 872 statues (of which 226 are inside), most of them are 1 m high. Around the temple are three bands of gods, goddesses, alluring women, musicians and some gorgeous groups portraying the most energetic eroticism to be seen at Khajuraho.

Mahadeva and Devi Jagadamba are small temples on the same platform as the Kandariya Mahadev temple. Devi Jagadamba temple has a Kali image and the two lower band of sculptures are of Vishnu and sardulas (a mythical beast, part lion, part some other animal or even human. Sardulas usually carry armed men on their back.) in the inner recesses. But on the third upper band the mithuna come out to play.