Kundalpur - Madhya Pradesh

Name : Shri Digamber Jain Siddha Kshetra Kundalgiri (Kundalpur)

Location : Kundalpur, Dist. – Damoh (M.P.)

Description : Here are 63 temples of various types, among them 22nd temple is famous for Bade Baba Bhagwan Adinath the principal deity and 49th is called Jal Mandir, an attractive temple situated in the middle of beautiful pond Vardhaman Sagar.

There are 40 temples on hill and remaining 23 in valley. Temples No. 41 to 47 are small in size while No. 48 to 60 are big temples with beautiful spires.

This Kshetra Kundalpur is a place full of natural attractive beauty famous for miraculous colossus of Bade Baba Bhagwan Adinath in sitting (Padmasana) posture 15 feet in height and is a place of salvation of Antim Kevali Shridhar Kevali.

Main Temple & Idol : Main temple at Kundalpur is Bade Baba Adinath’s Temple. The colossus is a piece of art rare in the world and two idols of Gomukha Yaksha and Chakreshwary Devi are carved in the back.

Website : http://www.jainteerth.com/teerth/kundalpur.asp

SONAGIRI TEMPLES

Name : Sonagiri Temples

Location : Sonagiri lies on Datia Gwalior road (Madhya Pradesh). Buses are available from Gwalior (65Kms), Datia(15kms) and Jhansi(45kms) to reach Sonagiri.

Legend : Sonagiri ( literally, the golden peak) is a place sacred to Digambar Jains. This is a place where King Nanganag Kumar achieved liberation from the cycles of death and life along with the fifteen million followers.

Description : There are seventy seven beautiful Jain temples in hills and twenty six temples in village.The temple no.fifty seven(57) on hill is the main temple. This temple has attractive artistic spire. In this temple the principal deity is Lord Chandraprabhu, eleven feet in height. Two other beautiful idols of Lord SheetalNath & Parsvnath are installed.

There is a column of dignity (Manstambh) 43 feet in height and an attractive model of Samavsharan. The samavsharan of Bhagwan Chandraprabhu came here for seventeen times. Nang, Anang, Chintagati, Pooranchand, Ashoksen, Shridatta and many other saints achieved salvation from here. This is the unique place known as Laghu Sammed Shikhar covering the area of 132 acres of two hills.

The most beautiful temple, among 77 temples, is the temple dedicated to the 8th Jain Tirthankar, Chatranatha.

This sacred place is popular among devotees & ascetic saints to practice for self discipline, austerity, and to attain Nirvana(salvation).

Annual festival ( Mela ) : From Falgun Shukla 14 to Chaitra Krishna 5

Website : http://www.datia.nic.in/sonagiri.htm

Kunti Betta

Name : Kunti Betta

Location : Pandavapura Taluk. 130 Kms from Bangalore, 4 Kms from Pandavapura, 25 Kms from Mysore

Legend : The hill is named after the mother of Pandavas/five brothers in Mahabharatha. The legend of this place narrates that Pandavas spent the last few days of their exile in the hills and named the hill after their mother Kunti whom they missed. Kunti Betta is the location where Bheema destroyed the demon Bakasura. The town nearby is called as Pandavapura after the Pandavas.

Diety : The temples are dedicated to Kunti, Mallikarjuna / Shiva and Lord Rama.

Description : The hill has twin peaks with rocks uniquely arranged with clumps of trees growing here and there. It is a perfect place to try rock climbing or to trek on the path and visit some interesting sites pertaining to the legends associated with the place

As the climb gets steeper you will be surprised to land on a flat terrain, where there is evidence of the land having been cultivated a few centuries ago. This place has a rock pond (water collects in the rock like a pond) known as Kunti Kola and a footprint of Bheema is present on the rock.

The hill was also popularly known as French rocks as the French troops had camped in this region in the 18th century to help Tipu Sultan in his war against the British. From the top of the hill the expanse of Tonnur Kere/lake can be viewed.

Nandi Hills

Name : Nandi Hills or Nandidurg

Location : It is situated in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state. It is located just 16 km (till base) 24 km (top of the hill) from Chickballapur town and approximately 60 km from the city of Bangalore.

Description : Nandidurg hill, known commonly as Nandi Hills, gets its name from an ancient Nandi temple situated on this hill. This temple has a thousand year old sculpture of Nandi. Nandi is the bull in Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu. He is the sacred abode or Vahana to Lord Shiva. An ancient lord Shiva and Parvati temple also adorns this hill. During the Chola reign, Nandi Hills was known as Ananda Giri, Hill of Happiness. There is an ancient temple of Yoga Nandeeswara atop the hill.

Batu Caves - Murugan Temple

Name : Batu Caves - Murugan Temple

Location : Batu caves is a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples, located in Gombak district, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. Batu Caves is also the name of the nearby village.

Description : The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to Lord Murugan. Batu Caves was promoted as a place of worship by K. Thamboosamy Pillai, an Indian trader. He was inspired by the 'vel'-shaped entrance of the main cave and was inspired to dedicate a temple to Lord Muruga within the caves.

Wooden steps up to the Temple Cave were built in 1920 and have since been replaced by 272 concrete steps. Of the various cave temples that comprise the site, the largest and best known is the Temple or Cathedral Cave, so named because it houses several Hindu shrines beneath its 100 m vaulted ceiling.

Rising almost 100 m above the ground, Batu Caves temple complex consists of three main caves and a few smaller ones. The biggest, referred to as Cathedral Cave or Temple Cave, has a 100 m-high ceiling, and features ornate Hindu shrines. To reach it, visitors have to climb a steep flight of 272 steps.

At the base of the hill are two more cave temples, Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave, both of which are full of Hindu statues and paintings. This complex was renovated and opened as the Cave Villa in 2008. Many of the shrines relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over demon Soorapadam. An audio tour is available to visitors.

The Ramayana Cave is situated to the extreme left as one faces the sheer wall of the hill. On the way to the Ramayana Cave, there is a 50-foot (15 m) tall murti of Hanuman and a temple dedicated to Hanuman, the noble monkey devotee and aide of Lord Rama.

A 42.7m (130 feet high) high statue of Lord Muruga was unveiled in January 2006, having taken 3 years to construct. It is the tallest Lord Muruga statue in the world.

Festivals : It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia which attracts over 1.5 million pilgrims yearly, making it one of the largest annual gatherings anywhere in the world.

Manki Point - Kasauli

Name : Manki Point, kasauli

Location : Manki Point is just 4 km from Kasauli bus stand. Kasauli is located 77 km from Shimla, 65 km from Chandigarh and 50 km from Panchkula.

Legend : According to legend Kasauli came into being when Lord Hanuman, on his way to getting the Sanjeevani herb (Magical Herb) touch the hill by his foot thus top of hill is in foot shape. Description : This Hanuman Mandir is situated atop the 300 m high hillock, called Manki Point, where Lord Hanuman is supposed to have rested his feet. There is about more than 200 plus upstairs for the main temple from the main gate of the temple. This temple lies within the confines of an air force radar station and base and is subject to security restrictions (no cameras or bags allowed). This temple is located in the middle of the Air-Force base camp, so the whole area is protected by the air force.

You have to bring with yourself ID proof like Voter Card, Driving License, PAN Card, Adhaar Card etc. if you want to visit the Hanuman temple. On a clear day, one can get views of nearby cities like Chandigarh. One can reach this point by road or on foot. On foot, it takes nearly two hours from Kasauli town but the scenery and harmony you enjoy makes the walk worth the effort.

Other Attractions : 

You can visit the Air Force base camp where you can see dummy model of aircraft, weapons and other instruments which are used by the Air Force. You can also visit famous Kasauli Market , Kasauli Christ Church and open area of Kasauli forest with your family/friends. You can also visit Baba Balak Nath Temple at Garkhal which is about 3KM from Kasauli bus stand.