Siddhanath Mahadev Temple

High on the crown of Mandhata island, above the swirl of pilgrim lanes and the twin Jyotirlinga shrines, stands the Siddhanath Mahadev Temple — one of the finest surviving pieces of medieval stone-carving in the Nimar–Malwa country.

• Also written Siddheshwar or Siddhnath, this hilltop Shiva temple is generally dated to the Paramara period of roughly the tenth to eleventh centuries, when the dynasty's masons filled western Madhya Pradesh with elaborately worked sanctuaries.
• Weathered by centuries and only partly intact, it is today as much a heritage monument as a shrine, yet the resident lingam still draws pilgrims who climb the hill after darshan at the main Omkareshwar temple below.
• The temple's signature is a continuous frieze of elephants carved in high relief around the base of the platform — a procession of tuskers marching trunk-to-tail, each subtly different, that has made Siddhanath a landmark in studies of central Indian architecture.
• Above the plinth rise tall, richly ornamented pillars and the remains of a spacious pillared hall, their surfaces worked with deities, dancers, floral bands and geometric lattice.
• Though the towering shikhara and parts of the mandapa have not fully survived, enough stands to convey the ambition of the original: a large, east-facing temple built to command the sacred island and the river that wraps around it. Reaching it rewards the effort.
• The climb up Mandhata's slopes opens onto some of the widest views in Omkareshwar — the Narmada braiding around the Om-shaped island, the ghats and spires far below, and, by tradition, the confluence of pilgrim paths that Adi Shankara is said to have walked.
• Come early or late: the low sun rakes across the elephant carvings and turns the sandstone warm, and the hilltop is quiet, breezy and reflective when the crowds are down at the ghats.
• Photographers, history-minded travellers and pilgrims completing the island circuit all find it worth the short ascent.
• For food, plan to eat down in Omkareshwar town rather than on the hill, where there are no proper eateries.
• The pilgrim belt near the Omkareshwar temple and the ghats is dependably pure-vegetarian, in keeping with this Narmada shrine town: look for simple bhojanalayas and thali houses serving unlimited Nimari–Malwa thalis of dal, seasonal sabzi, rotis, rice, kadhi and a sweet, alongside stalls turning out hot poha, sabudana khichdi, samosas, kachoris and sweet jalebi through the morning.
• Temple bhandaras and prasad counters offer sanctified vegetarian food on festival days, and small pure-veg cafés near the bridge serve chai, south-Indian tiffin and light meals.
• Carry water for the climb and eat before or after your ascent.