The town of Jabalpur is located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Jabalpur is fast rising as a tourist destination, with its countless sightseeing options and places of interest. This town is located in a district of the same name, and serves as an administrative center and headquarters of the same. You can catch some splendid views of the Narmada River which flows through Jabalpur. There are many locations in and around Jabalpur that will be ideal places for day trips.
Trips to places like Bilhari, Roopnath, Mandla, Nohta, Rookhad, and Ramnagar can be taken, and you can also visit the National Park of Fossils and Pench National Park. These are prime must visit destinations that you can go to while in Jabalpur. Mandla, which is near Jabalpur, was the capital city of the ancient kingdom of Gond. There is a 17th century fort near this region, which serves as a prime tourist attraction. This fort is located on the banks of the river Narmada, and it is surrounded by the river from three sides.
A temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is located near Roopnath, and this temple houses a Shiv Lingam that attracts pilgrims from all around the country.
The history of Jabalpur is a saga of the ancient kings and the clamour of the battlefields. Incidentally, Jabalpur has been referred in the Hindu epic Mahabharata as the ancient city of Tripuri and it is believed that the tribes of Bhil and Gond were the aborigines of Jabalpur, who were driven out of the territory by the Marathas and the Mughals.
This apart, the history of the present day Jabalpur dates back to the third century and was known as Avanti that has been under the rule of numerous kings from various dynasties like Sungas, Guptas and Harshas until the 8th century. The Kalchuri dynasty ruled Avanti in the 8th century and they made Jabalpur their capital. However, the rule of the Kalchuris came to an end when the Gonds came to the throne of Avanti in the 13th century and they ruled Jabalpur till the late 16th century.
The local rulers were all ousted when the British gained the control of the region in the 18th century. Under the rule of the British, Jabalpur got rid of the elusive Pindari tribes, who were locally known as thugs and the city was made the capital of Sagar and Narmada territories. This apart, the city of Jabalpur also played a vital role in the freedom struggle of India as various national leaders like Lokmanya Tilak, Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi organised numerous conferences in the city.
How To Reach :
By Road/Bus :
Jabalpur is connected by road to Varanasi, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jaipur, Raipur, Allahabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore. Longest National Highway no.7 and National Highway no.12 run through the city. Consistent efforts are made by the Government of Madhya Pradesh and NHAI to keep roads in good condition. Many roads are being converted into four lane highways.
Comfortable bus services is available for cities in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh.It has direct bus service to Indore, Nagpur, Bhopal, Raipur, Bilaspur, Gondiya, Wardha, Durg, Akola, Bhilai, Amravati, Chandrapur, Varanasi, Allahabad. For these cities Luxury/Sleeper/Air conditioned bus are available at good frequencies.Both MPSRTC and Private buses provide most bus service.All types of buses like Seating, sleeper and Volvo bus service are available for major cities.
By Plane/Air :
Jabalpur Airport is known as Dumna Airport and is about 20 km from city. Jabalpur is connected to the capital city of Delhi by Kingfisher Airlines and the national carrier Air India.
By Train/Rail :
Jabalpur is the headquarters of West Central Railways and has direct rail connection to important cities like Mumbai, NewDelhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur, Surat, Pune, Patna, Ludhiana, Jammu,Vasco-Da-Gama, Coimbatore, Bhopal, Indore, Agra, Jaipur, Varanasi, Kanpur,Vadodara, Bhubhaneshwar, Lucknow, Puri, Raipur, etc.. Work to convert Gondia-Nainpur-Jabalpur narrow gauge to broad gauge has been started under Project Unigauge. This will provide new options to reach areas of Southern India. Apart from Jabalpur Main Station, Jabalpur city also has the Madan Mahal Station which generally caters to passengers from the inner part of the city and the Kachhpura goods shed which is used for transporting large goods and iron ore to port cities.