Page 488 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

486  SOUTHWESTERN INDIA

u Nagpur
Nagpur district. 520 km (323 miles) NE
of Aurangabad. * 2,405,700. ~ 10
km (6 miles) S of city centre, then bus
or taxi. £ @ n Maharashtra
Tourism, (0712) 253 3325. _ Pola
(Jul/Aug), Kalidasa Festival (Nov).
Situated on the banks of the
Nag river, Nagpur lies exactly in
the centre of India. The capital
of the Central Provinces until it
became part of Maharashtra
Enormous meteorite crater at Lonar, partially filled by a lake state after Independence, it
is a fast-developing industrial
t Lonar are now threatened by rampant city and the country’s orange-
commercial exploitation for growing capital. Historically, it
Buldana district. 130 km (81 miles)
E of Aurangabad. £ Jalna, 83 km timber. Along with its elusive was the capital of the aboriginal
(52 miles) W of Lonar, then bus. @ 70 tigers, the reserve is home to Gond tribals, until it was
from Aurangabad, taxis also available. about 50 leopards, chausingha captured by the Maratha Bhonsles
(four-horned antelope), dhole (see p472) in 1743, and finally,
The tiny village of Lonar, is famous (Indian wild dog), jungle cats, by the British in 1861.
for its remarkable meteorite hyenas and a rich variety of birds. In October 1956, the city
crater. Thought to be the only The sanctuary also supports witnessed an event of great
hypervelocity impact crater in the state’s largest concentration social importance, when Dr BR
basaltic rock in the world, the of gaur, the endangered Ambedkar, writer of the Indian
mammoth crater, 2 km (1 mile) Indian bison. Constitution and a freedom
in diameter and 700 m (2,297 ft) The best time to visit is fighter born into a lower-caste
deep, is estimated to be about from December to May, when Hindu family, converted to
50,000 years old. Scientists the park is pleasantly cool. Buddhism in a stand against the
believe that the meteorite is still Its five rivers, the Khandu, rigid Hindu caste system. Nearly
buried beneath the southeastern Khapra, Sipna, Garga and 200,000 people followed him,
edge of the crater. A lake fills the Dolar, dry out in summer, and and the movement gathered
bottom, and the ruins of some the few remaining pools of great momentum, resulting in
Hindu temples stand on its shores. rainwater are highly prized about three million conversions.
The crater is rich in birdlife, and as watering holes. Nagpur town is built around
monkeys and herds of deer can Sitabaldi Fort. In the eastern
also be seen. There are a few rest Environs part of the city are the remains
houses that offer rooms and the Chikhaldhara, lying 25 km of the Bhonsle Palace, which
village has some eateries as well. (16 miles) northeast of Melghat, was destroyed by fire in the
is a quaint hill station estab- 19th century. South of the old
y Melghat Tiger lished by the British in 1839. city lie the Chhatris, or memorials
of the Bhonsle kings, while a
Reserve number of colonial buildings
Amravati district. 326 km (203 miles) are situated in the western part
NE of Aurangabad. £ Amravati, of Nagpur. Among them are the
100 km (62 miles) SE of entry point. High Court and the Anglican
Maharashtra Tourism organizes buses Cathedral of All Saints (1851).
or jeeps from Amravati to the park.
n For bookings contact the Field Environs
Director, (0721) 266 2792. Ramtek, 40 km (25 miles)
Open daily. & north east of Nagpur, is
associated with the 14-year
The Project Tiger Reserve of exile of Rama, Sita and
Melghat, which means “Meeting Lakshman, as told in the
Place of the Ghats”, spreads epic Ramayana (see p31).
across the Gawilgarh Hills in the It was the capital of the
southern part of the Satpura Vakataka dynasty between the
Mountains. Its highest altitudes 4th and the 6th centuries, and
are approx imately 1,178 m the fort on the Hill of Rama
(3,865 ft) above sea level. These dates to this period. Its walls,
hills have a dense canopy of the however, were built in 1740,
country’s finest deciduous teak A tiger resting in a tree at the Melghat by the founder of Nagpur’s
and bamboo forests, which Tiger Reserve Bhonsle dynasty, Raghoji I.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp700–701 and p715

486-487_EW_India.indd 486 26/04/17 11:47 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm