Quick Facts
Location - In the Narmada river valley in the western part of the
Madhya Pradesh in central India.
How To Reach - Indore airport is 10km from the city. The railhead is
connected with Delhi, Mumbai, and other major cities of India. Indore is
well connected by bus with Ujjain (55 km, 1½ hours) and Bhopal (186 km,
5 hours).
Where To Stay - All kind of hotels are available ranging from budget
to high end.
When To Go - Round the year.
Tourist Attractions - Rajwada Old Palace, Kanch Mandir, Seth
Hukunchand, Indore Museum, Lal Bagh Palace, Gandhi Hall, Chhatri Bagh, Bada
Ganpati Temple, The Gita Bhavan, The Annapurna temple, Bijasen Tekri and
Gomtagiri Jain temples.
Best Hangouts - Bijasen Tekri, Chhatri Bagh.
The largest city in Madhya Pradesh was planned and built by famous queen
Rani Ahilyabai. Indore lies extreme of western Madhya Pradesh on the banks
of twin rivers Saraswati and Khan. The city is 186km from Bhopal and named
after centuries old Indreshwar Temple. Indore was founded by Malhar Rao
Holkar, who was born in 1693 AD. His bravery brought recognition in the eyes
of Peshwas and thus rewarded with the gift of lands. Malhar Rao was
succeeded by his grandson and after his death, Maharani Ahilya Bai ascended
the throne.
Although Bhopal is the capiltal of Madhya Pradesh but Indore is considered
as the commercial capital of the state. The city has historic importance
plus a bustling modern city with all conceivable facilities. The city has
grown up into a major educational eden. The city beckons thousands of
travelers from every part of the world every year to see the historical
relics. Indore is known as a 'textile city' for its flourishing garment
industry. The outlook of the city is a strange impregnation of historic and
contemporary life and culture. Indore eatery is famous all over India, there
are numerous small shops lined up in the streets along with large showrooms
and retail stores.
Sights And Activities
Lal Bagh
The finest of all monuments left by Holkar dynasty. The gates are strangely
resemblance with Buckingham Palace and leads to 28 hectare garden, where
there is a statue of Queen Victoria. The palace is made in a European style,
where rooms are dominated by European style of architecture with baroque and
rococo dining rooms, an English library with leather arm chairs, a
Renaissance sitting room with ripped sofas and a Palladian queen's bedroom.
Central Museum
It is located on AB Rd, which was built by Holkar dynasty. It houses some
of Madhya Pradesh best collections of medieval and pre-medieval Hindu
sculptures, along with tools, weaponry and copper engraved land titles.
Skirmishes took place here during the Indian uprising - the well in the
garden was poisoned during the struggle.
Bada Ganapati
The temple is a great tourist attraction, built in the year 1875, renowned
for magnificent statue of Lord Ganesha ( elephant God in Hindu mythology).
The statue of Lord Ganesh is the biggest Ganesh statue in the world. The
statue is of towering height of 25 feet and made up of bricks, lime stone,
jaggery mix, soil collected from Mokshapuri( towns of salvation), powder of
five atnas and water from holy rivers. It is covered with metallic frame
made up of gold, silver, copper, iron and brass. It is undoubtedly one of
the spectacular idols in India.
Kanch Mandir (glass temple)
It is a medieval Jain temple entirely decorated with glass. Glasses are
embellished with some exquisite paintings. The temple is dedicated to Lord
Mahavira whose statues are preserved in a glass chamber.
Shopping
Mrignayani is the best emporium to buy some Indore's unique collections.
The two floors are crammed with handicrafts from a cross the state including
leather toy animals. There are also small ubiquitous shops in the market
place where you can shop some attractive souvenir.
