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Photo: Abhishek Roy, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Situated atop a hill rock and approached by a long flight of steps, the Chausat Yogini Temple commands a singularly beautiful view of the Narmada flowing through the jagged gorge of Marble Rocks (Bhedaghat). Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this 10th century temple has exquisitely carved stone figures of deities belonging to the Kalchuri period. According to a local legend, this ancient temple is connected to the Gond Queen Durgavati's palace through an underground passage.
The Chausath Yogini Temple, Bhedaghat, also called the Golaki Math, is one of India's yogini temples, but exceptionally it has shrines for 81 rather than the usual 64 yoginis. All the same, scholars include it among the 64-yogini temples. The group of 81 is a mark of royalty, implying that the temple was founded by a king. The large temple is on a hilltop above the river Narmada in Bhedaghat, some 5 km from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
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Marble Rocks
This small place of Jabalpur situated on the banks of river Narmada and widely famous for its marble rocks is at a distance about 25 Km from Jabalpur by road. Soaring in glittering splendour, the marble rocks at Bhedaghat rise to a hundred feet on either side of the Narmada. The serene loveliness of the scene is one of cool quiet, the sunlight sparkling on the marble-white pinnacles and casting dappled shadows on the pellucid waters. Sunlight, now glancing from a pinnacle of snow-white marble reared against the deep blue of the sky as from a point of silver; touching here and there with bright lights the prominences of the middle heights; and again losing itself in the soft bluish grays of their recesses. Here and there the white saccharine limestone is seamed by veins of dark green or black volcanic rock; a contrast which only enhances, like a setting of jet, the purity of the surrounding marble.
The Marble Rocks are best explored by boat. There are shared (₹100 per head) and charted boat (₹800 for a six-seater boat. services. The boatman doubles up as a guide narrating the story in Hindi, in a poetic and comical way. The boat ride takes about 45 minutes to one hour. There are special boat rides on full moon nights. The boat rides are suspended during the monsoon months (July - September).
Dhuandhar Falls
The famous waterfall is 25 km from Jabalpur. The waterfall is known as Dhuandhar ('Dhuan' is the Hindi word for smoke) since the water droplets at the fall go above in concentrated mass and create an illusion of vapours. There are two platforms which provide a majestic view of the waterfall. The waterfall can be also viewed from a ropeway (round trip ₹75 per head)
From where Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed in the Narmada, and venue of the open session of the Tripuri Congress in 1939.
Sangram Sagar Lake and ZBajinamath Mandir
These medieval constructions were built by the famous Gond King, Sangram Shah, between 1480-1540.
Built by the Gond ruler, Raja Madan Shah, in 1116 atop a rocky hill, the fort dominates the skyline and provides a panoramic view of the town and the country side around it.
Jabalpur is also famous for eroded volcanic rock formations called as Balancing Rock of Jabalpur. Amazingly this rock survived even in earthquake of magnitude 6.5. It is said that it's impossible to disturb their balance.