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Bhopal Day Trips© Biswarup Ganguly · CC BY 3.0

Bhopal Day Trips

Three days out of the state capital: Mauryan stupas, thirty-thousand-year-old rock art, an unfinished eleventh-century temple with its architects' drawings still on the rock, and a Gond fort that almost nobody in Bhopal has climbed.

Duration
3 days
Distance
268 km
Check-in points
360 pts

The route

Stops, in order

  1. 1Sanchi StupaRaisen · Madhya PradeshThe oldest stone structure in India, commissioned by Ashoka in the third century BCE and gated by four of the finest carved toranas anywhere.30 pts
  2. 2Udayagiri CavesVidisha · Madhya PradeshTwenty rock-cut shrines from the Gupta period, including the Varaha panel — arguably the single greatest piece of sculpture in Indian art.75 pts
  3. 3Bhimbetka Rock SheltersRaisen · Madhya PradeshA UNESCO site of over 750 sandstone shelters holding painting that runs unbroken from the Mesolithic to the medieval period.30 pts
  4. 4Bhojeshwar Temple, BhojpurRaisen · Madhya PradeshAn eleventh-century temple abandoned mid-construction around the largest single-stone Shiva lingam in India — with the architects' setting-out drawings still on the rock outside.75 pts
  5. 5Ginnorgarh FortSehore · Madhya PradeshA Gond hill fort on a sandstone outcrop inside the Ratapani reserve, reached by a two-hour trek, with the plateau of Bhopal laid out below.150 pts

Each stop in detail

Sanchi Stupa© Biswarup Ganguly · CC BY 3.0
T2
30 pts

Sanchi Stupa

Raisen, Madhya Pradesh

The oldest stone structure in India, commissioned by Ashoka in the third century BCE and gated by four of the finest carved toranas anywhere.

4 hrs4.7(1420)EasyModerate crowds
Udayagiri Caves© Asitjain · CC BY-SA 3.0
T3
75 pts

Udayagiri Caves

Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh

Twenty rock-cut shrines from the Gupta period, including the Varaha panel — arguably the single greatest piece of sculpture in Indian art.

3 hrs4.8(210)EasyRarely crowded
Bhimbetka Rock Shelters© Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
T2
30 pts

Bhimbetka Rock Shelters

Raisen, Madhya Pradesh

A UNESCO site of over 750 sandstone shelters holding painting that runs unbroken from the Mesolithic to the medieval period.

4 hrs4.6(980)EasyModerate crowds
Bhojeshwar Temple, Bhojpur© Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
T3
75 pts

Bhojeshwar Temple, Bhojpur

Raisen, Madhya Pradesh

An eleventh-century temple abandoned mid-construction around the largest single-stone Shiva lingam in India — with the architects' setting-out drawings still on the rock outside.

2 hr 30 min4.7(340)EasyRarely crowded
Ginnorgarh Fort© Shirazibustan · CC BY-SA 4.0
T4
150 pts

Ginnorgarh Fort

Sehore, Madhya Pradesh

A Gond hill fort on a sandstone outcrop inside the Ratapani reserve, reached by a two-hour trek, with the plateau of Bhopal laid out below.

7 hrs4.7(110)ChallengingRarely crowded