India Travel Blog

Jabalpur Hub of Tourism

Though the city does not lack tourist place it is mainly seen as a transit point. The destination sits at the fulcrum of major tiger reserves and hill resorts in Madhya Pradesh.

The tiger reserves Kanha, Bandhvgarh, Pench and Satpura are almost equidistant from Jabalpur.  So is the famous Pachmarhi Hill Resort and WLS.  Satpura National Park is about two hours from Pachmarhi while Bori Wildlife Sanctuary is nearer. 

Another place of interest is the Achanakmar Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve. Amarkantak is the source of Holy River Narmada and is a major pilgirmage destination for the Hindus.

Another place of interest is the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary which is home to tigers and exciting bird species. Indian Wolf is seen here besides Chinakara and Indian Fox.

For reaching these places on needs to arrive at Jabalpur from here one can drive down. Jabalpur is connected to a number of trains with Capital City New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkutta. All the trains are overnight and need advance reservation.  There is a flight service to Jabalpur from New Delhi and Mumbai.

 Another way to reach these destination is using the local bus service but these are very uncomfortable. One can avail luxury bus service only for the Pench Tiger Reserve which is closer to Nagpur

 Since the rail connectivity is not present taxi is the only way you can reach here. There many travel agents that offer car rental in Jabalpur for the tourists. From here one can drive down to all the places mentioned above. One can also visit the famous Khajuraho Temples from Bandhavgarh onwards. 

One need to remeber that all travel services are booked in advance during holidays and festivals. Hence one should book in advance during Diwali, Xmas, New Year and Holi. The National Parks open on 16th October and close by 31 June. Evening safari on each Wednesday is not available. 

Deepawali - Hindu Festival

The country is a hub of religious and spiritual activities. India subsists on religion and the ensuing rites and rituals. The colors of festivities are most evident during the major festivals which usually signify an event or Godly phenomena.  

Diwali the festival of lights!

The festival celebrates the return of Lord Rama, Laxman and Sita and consequently victory over Ravana the evil King of Lanka. This tantamount to victory of good over evil. Diwali or Deepawali is also called the  festival of lights as firecrackers and colored lightening dazzle through the whole night. The buildings, temples and many offices are lit by colorful lights or traditional lamps the diyas. 

Normally four days of festivity takes places. Dhanteras: This is the negining of new financial year for most businesses. The second day is Naraka Chaturdashi, Lord Krishna overpowered the demon Narakasura and his on this day.  The third day is Amavashya on this day Lakshmi the Godess of wealth is prayed to for a successful financial year. The fourth day is the most significant day with ritualistic evening prayers taking place. The spiritual meaning of the festival is victory of good over evil. Large effigy of  Ravana who symbolizes evil are set to fire and complete destruction. The nights are spent bursting crackers and distributing sweets. Many people celebrate Bhai Dhuj on the Fifth Day whence sisters invite their brothers for celebration and feasting.

The dazzling colors and holiday mood makes this festival the most popular in India.  Diwali is usually held in the months of October or November a per Hindu calendar every year. It is a National Holiday and people of all religions exchange pleasantries and good wishes on this occasion.  

For traveler there are many resorts and hotels that perform the ceremonies with religious fervor. But the best celebrations take place in homes of Hindu families in the country. You can enjoy the revelry and feasting with your Indian friends.   

The mythylogy associated with Hinduism and the mystic rites and rituals have deep spiritual and philosophical meaning hidden in them. 

Holiday Travel in India

The holidays in India are linked to uncountable number of festivals it has.  India is a diverse country with great diversity of traditions religious beliefs associated with mythical and mystical practices. Hindu religion is a colorful religion with open minded approach to practice. Some morms may be basic to the religion but there exists plethora of mythical beliefs and traditions. Each major event linked to the religion is associated with Hinduism. 

Each region or state in India has it local flavor and way of celebration. Major Hindu festivals are:

Diwali

Holi

Dasshera

Nag Panchami

Shivratri

Onam

Bhai Duj

Rakhi

Baisakhi

Festivals of other religions are also celebrated with lot of gaiety in India. 

Christmas

New Year

Eid

The list is very large if all the festivals that the Nation Celebrates.

People partake in festival celebrations in large numbers especially people from rural communities. Hence the festival have an impact on daily lives of the people locally and nationally. Sometimes it effects all activities across the Nation. 

 On major festivals that are widely celebrated across India the schools, colleges other education institutions and businesses are closed. 

People in hospitality business like hotels, restaurants, shopping all experience rise in business. All over the country hotel accommodation are booked advance including famous five star hotels.  

The public transporters like taxi services, luxury buses and local transpostation also benefit a lot from festivites. People travel a lot during festival seasons they visit their families, friends and children to clebrate together.

The major burden of traveling populace falls upon the Indian railways. There is a great rush for tickets days in advance since trinas are always overbooked. Due online reservation one need not visit the reservation counters. A trevaler can book ticket or buy if itis in waiting. Then he or she can seek confirmation status online. There are search tools which enable pnr status enquiry in order to know if the ticket has been confirmed or not.

If the celebration takes in one destination like in the case of Kumbh Mela than there is no hope of traveling late by train. All means of transportation are employed to take the masses to that destination.