After announcement of ‘Swach Bharat Abhiyan’ Indore has been named “the cleanest city in India for fifth year in a row. But Indore is not a modern town built in recent time. Indore traces its history back in 5th century copper plate inscription of Gupta King Skandgupt where this town is mentioned as ‘Indrapura’.

Indore began to develop as town post AD 1766 when Ahilyabai Holkar moved the headquarter of Malwa from Kampel to Indore.

On the first day of our trip we will visit major attractions of Indore city such as

• Holkar ki Chatri
• Seven storied Rajwada Palace , a beautiful blend of Indo-Saracenic Maratha styles of architecture
• Statue of Queen Ahilya Bai
• Kanch Mandir, a magnificent structure constructed entirely of glass and mirrors
• Lal Bagh Palace, the former residence of the Holkar Maharaja of Indore State.

Indore is known as food capital of Madhya Pradesh and also know as ‘Namkeen City of India’. Colloquially people call it ‘Chatoro ka Shehar’. So a visit to Indore is never complete without taking night food walk in city’s Sarafa bazaar & Chappan Dukan. In our food trail we will try following delicacies:

• Garadu
• Bhutte ki  Kees
• Jaleba
• Flying Dahi Vada
• Sabudana  Khichadi
• Khopra  Patties
• Batla  Kachori
• Milk Shikanji
• Dal Bafla
• Nema  Kulfi
• Rabri  Doodh

Today, we will start our road journey to Mandu early in the morning after breakfast.

Mandu or Mandavgad is an ancient city in the present-day Mandav area of the Dhar district. It is located in the Malwa and Nimar region of western MP. In the 11th century, Mandu was the sub division of the Tarangagadh or Taranga kingdom. This fortress town on a rocky outcrop about 100 km from Indore is celebrated for its architecture and heritage.

Mandu was an important military outpost and its military past can be gauged by the circuit of the battlemented wall, which is nearly 37 km and is punctuated by 12 gateways. The wall encloses a large number of palaces, mosques, Jain temples of 14th century and other buildings.

We will start exploring Mandu with JAHAZ MAHAL Complex.
Situated between two artificial lakes, this two-storied architectural marvel is so named as it appears as a ship floating in water. In this complex we will traverse through 14th century open-air theatre, Champa Baoli and Baradari and will reach Hindola Mahal – meaning Swing palace is so named due to its sloping side walls.

Roopmati’s Pavilion was Originally a large sandstone structure built as an army observation post later came to be known as Roopmati’s Pavilion. Rani Roopmati – the love interest of Baaz Bahadur lived here and is said to have gazed at Narmada river and at the Baz Bahadur’s Palace situated below.

Note : Going upto Roopmati’s Pavilion requires hiking.

While coming down we will visit Rewa Kund A reservoir constructed by Baz Bahadur for the purpose of supplying water to Rani Roopmati’s Pavilion. The reservoir is situated below the pavilion and hence is considered an architectural marvel. Then we will move to Baz Bahadur’s Palace Built by Baz Bahadur, this 16th-century structure is famous for its large courtyards encompassed by large halls and high terraces.

We will move to see architectural jewels of Mandu which is Jami Masjid Inspired by the great mosque of Damascus this enormous structure is striking in both its simplicity and architectural style-with large courtyards and grand entrances. At the front of Jaami Mosque, there are ruins of Asharfi Palace. Afterwards we will go to Hoshang Shah’s Tomb which is India’s first marble structure it is one of the most refined examples of Afghan architecture. Its unique features include the beautifully proportioned dome, intricate marble lattice work and porticoed courts and towers. It served as a template for the construction of Taj Mahal.

If time permits we will also go to seven-story winning memorial at the north-east of the palace, and also a fascinating Ram Temple nearby, which was built by Maharani Sakarwar Bai Pawar in 1769 CE.

Maheshwar is believed to be ancient town of Mahismati of
Somvanshya Shastrarjun Kshatriya, and was the capital of king
Kartavirya Arjun (Shree Shastrarjun) who is mentioned in the
Sanskrit epics Ramayan and Mahabharat.

Lately, after many years, it was the capital of the Malwa during the Maratha Holkar reign till 6 January 1818, when the capital was shifted to Indore by Malhar Rao Holkar III.

We will begin our tour with Ahilya Fort, which sits high above the
sacred river Narmada. Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar ruled here from
1765 to 1796 and built Ahilya Wada, her personal residences, offices, and darbaar audience hall, within the fort.

It’s an amazing feeling exploring Rajwada of Rani Ahilya Bai, seeing her statute on throne or visiting swarn jhula which was her personal prayer chamber.

Rani Ahilya Bai promoted local handloom weavers and her
patronage and efforts of weavers resulted into popularity of
Maheshwari Sarees. We will visit Rewa society where you find
authentic Maheshwari Sarees.

Towards the evening we will visit most scenic point of Maheshwar – ‘The Ahilya Ghat’ which you have seen in movies like Manikarnika, Padman, Dabang, Bajirao Mastani and many others.

Here we can sit on ghat and enjoy the view of River Narmada or we can take boat ride to Baneshwar Temple and Sahastradhara.

Omkareshwar is one of the 12 revered Jyotirling shrines of Shiva.
centuries ago the Bhil tribe settled people on this place and now this place is famous for its grandeur and history. It is on an island called Mandhata, The shape of the island is said to be like the
OM symbol.

There are two main temples of Lord Shiva here, one to Omkareshwar (whose name means “Lord of Omkara or the Lord of the Om sound”) located in the island and one to Mamleshwar (Amaleshwar) (whose name means “Immortal Lord” or “lord of
the Immortals or Devas”) located on the south bank of Narmada River on the mainland.

Madhya Pradesh has two Jyotirlingas, the second one, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, is situated about 140 km north of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga. So in the afternoon we will start our onwards journey to Ujjain.

Upon reaching Ujjain, we will visit the Harsiddhi mata temple that is one of 51 Shaktipeeths and is also considered to be the Shakti of Mahakaal.

An ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Shipra river. It
emerged as the political centre of central India around 600 BCE. It
was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom, one of the sixteen
Mahajanapadas. During the reign of his father Bindusara, Ashoka
served as the viceroy of Ujjain.

Ujjain remained as an important city of the Guptas during the 4th
and the 5th centuries. Kalidasa, the great Indian classical poet of
the 5th century who lived in the times of the Gupta king Vikramaditya wrote his epic work Meghadūta in which he
describes the richness of Ujjain and its people.

We will first visit Sandipani Ashram, legend has it that Lord
Krishna and Balaram did their schooling from this place.

Then we will visit Mangalnath temple and Kal Bhairav temple
both of which are the oldest temples in Ujjain.

The Shri Ram Ghat on the Shipra river is the most ancient bathing
ghat. The world’s largest religious gathering, Kumbh Mela, is held
on the banks of the Shipra river once every 12 years.

We will also go to Vedh Shala or Jantar-Mantar in the afternoon
built by same king who built jantar mantar in Delhi.

Finally we will Visit the most important temple of the city and one of the most important pilgrimage in India – Shri Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga. It is one of the 12 jyotirlingas and pilgrims from all over India come in innumerable numbers everyday to pay a visit to Mahakal.

We will also Experience the grandeur of the newly innaugurated Ujjain Mahakaal corridor known as Mahakal Lok.

We will end our day with a visit to the Chintaman Ganesh Temple, a historic monument constructed in the 12th century. The pillars in the assembly hall that lead to the main temple are intricately carved and date to the 11th century.

Note: If interested, you can participate in Lord Mahakaleshwar’s “Bhasmaarti” and “Jalabhishek,”. It is held every day from 4:00
am to 6:00 am, before sunrise. Everybody who is interested should arrive at the temple no later than 2:30 AM and queue up
in a very orderly fashion. Transport to the temple would be arranged. Please notify us to reserve Bhasma Aarti tickets in advance and payment for the same should be done separately.

Post breakfast we will leave for the Indore Airport with fond memories.

• Group transfers by Coach
• Accommodation on twin sharing basis
• Services of a Tour Manager from Karevoyage
• 05 Breakfasts/ 05 Lunches and 05 Dinners
• All entrances as mentioned in itinerary
• Sightseeing- As mentioned in the itinerary
• 5 % GST

• Tips, Laundry etc.
• Airfares or railway tickets
• Expenses of personal nature
• Anything which is not mentioned in the inclusions