Amarkantak

Amarkantak, a serene pilgrim and hill town at about 1,048 metres in the Anuppur district of eastern Madhya Pradesh, holds a place of deep reverence in Hindu geography as the source of the Narmada — the holiest river of central India and one of the most sacred in the country. Set on a forested plateau in the Maikal hills, at the very point where the Vindhya and Satpura ranges meet, Amarkantak is revered as "Teerthraj," the king of pilgrimage places, for it is the birthplace not only of the Narmada but also of the Son and Johilla rivers. The spiritual heart of the town is the Narmada Kund, a sacred tank surrounded by a cluster of intricately carved temples, from which the great river — which will flow westward for over 1,300 km to the Arabian Sea — emerges as a modest trickle; pilgrims begin the epic Narmada Parikrama circumambulation here. A short way out of town, the Narmada plunges over a gorge to form the beautiful Kapildhara Falls, where the sage Kapil Muni is said to have meditated, and the nearby Dugdhdhara Falls and Sonmuda (the source of the Son) complete the sacred-water circuit. The town's ancient Kalachuri-period temples (10th-11th century), the modern Shri Yantra Mandir and Mai ki Bagiya garden, and the surrounding sal forests of the Achanakmar biosphere give Amarkantak a tranquil, contemplative air. As a sacred Narmada pilgrimage town, it maintains a pure-vegetarian, sattvic atmosphere throughout. The Kalachuri-era group of ancient stone temples behind the Narmada Kund, the Sonmuda viewpoint at the source of the Son river, and the Mai ki Bagiya sacred grove complete a tranquil two-day pilgrimage. For vegetarian travellers it is entirely easy: temple prasad, sattvic Baghelkhandi and Bundeli vegetarian thali, dal-bafla, poha-jalebi, and milk sweets at the pilgrim eateries. The best season is October to March, with the monsoon turning the plateau lush and the waterfalls full.