Tourist Places in and Around Vidisha

During our recent trip to Madhya Pradesh we visited a number of places. Vidisha was one of them. It has a number of places of tourist interest in the city and nearby. We went to vidisha from Sagar which is famous for its Sir Hari Singh Gaur University, a central university situated on a hill top with a beautiful surroundings and a view of the lake known as Talab in the center of the city. It also has the famous fort of Gharpahar and the Hanuman temple nearby and he Mahar Regimental Center. 

On the Road from Sagar to Vidisha after travelling a distance of 37 Km you come to a bifurcation where the left road takes you to Raisen and then Bhopal and the straight road takes you to Vidisha and then to Bhopal via Sanchi. At the bifurcation take the left road and travel approximately 10 Km and immediately after the toll barrier take a right turn and travel 2 Km on the forest road to reach to the beautiful falls of Rahatgarh. It is in the jungle and the water in the falls, if there, makes it a very nice picnic spot. Even if there is no fall then still the gorge filled with the water and the boulder in the river bed with birds and may be deer make your stay worthwhile. Return to the bifurcation and turn left for Vidisha.  After travelling another 40 Km you reach a place called Gyraspur. Here right on the road are the famous ruins called Athakhambe ( Eight pillars) and Chaukhambe (Four Pillars ) of what is left over of two temples belonging to 9^th and 10^th century AD. The carvings on the pillars testify the high degree of craftsmanship. You can also see the Mala Devi Temple in the city and Bajra Math some distance away. These will not take more than an hour in total unless you wish to spend more time.

From Gyraspur, it is another 37 Km to Vidisha. It is situated on the fork of Betwa and Bes River. In Vidisha one can see the Heliodorous Pillar also known as Khamba baba. The inscription on this monolithic, free standing column states that it was a Garuda Pillar raised in the honor of Vasudev by Heliodorous a resident of Taxila. This pillar is dated to have been made in 140 BC. Vidisha also has a museum with good collection of antiquities and terracotta. The Lohangi rock, Gumbaz ka Makabara and Bijamandal Mosque standing on the foundation of a temple as well as the ruins of the Brahamancial shrine dedicated to Vishnu are other tourist spots in Vidisha.

50 Km from Vidisha is the famous colossal Neelkanteshwara temple in Udaypur and was built in 11^th century AD. It is built with the help of fine red stone and is an outstanding example of Parmara art and architecture and stands on a lofty platform. On the way there are various temples and masjids to be seen.

From Vidisha on the road to Chanderi after travelling a few km and after crossing Betwa River, you turn left on a forest cum village road to go the famous Udaigiri Caves. These are rock cut cave sanctuaries carved into a sandstone hill. These were produced during the reign of Chandragupta II (382-402 AD). There are nine caves in all and in one of them stands the very tall figure of Vishnu inn Varaha form. Probably, it is the only place in India, where Vishnu is displayed in Varaha form. Another stupendous sculpture is of the reclining Vishnu. In all the caves are worth seeing even though one has to walk and even climb to see all of them. So wear good walking shoes.

From Udaigiri caves there is route which will take you to Sanchi straight but the road is not good. Hence it is advisable to come back to Vidisha and then proceed to Sanchi a short distance away. It has temples and pillars which date back from 3rd century BC to 12th century AD. Places to visit in Sanchi are the Great Stupa, the four Gateways, stupa 2 and 3, the Ashoka Pillar, the Buddhists Vihara, Great Bowl, Gupta temple and the museum. It might take you at least half a day to a full day depending upon how much time one wishes to spend. From Sanchi the capital Bhopal is about 50 Km away on a direct route. This route is good but high density of traffic and at places some small potholes and places where road plaster has come out make it necessary to drive carefully. The other route is via Raisen but this road has toll and after Raisen the traffic density is rather high with trucks.