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Ambikapur, a small town with hills and forests

Ambikapur is a small town and a place connected with the Indian epicsRamayana and Mahabharata, situated near the Vindhyachal - Baghelkhand Mountain ranges. Ambikapur is in Surguja district in the state of Chhattisgarh.

Surguja is surrounded by various states viz., Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Orissaand Madhya Pradesh. Ambikapur is situated at an altitude of 603 meters. Surguja has a spread of over 22,237 sq. km. Most of the terrain of the district is hilly and forested.

A majority of the inhabitants in this place belong to the Pando and Korwa tribes, who regard themselves as descendants of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Agriculture is the major occupation. Paddy is the main grain grown which contributes to the major part of their income. The natural resources available here include coal and bauxite.

The rivers flowing across Surguja district are Kanhar, Rihand, Moran and Mahan. Temple carvings and archaic ruins date the history of this place to the era before Christ (BC). According to the holy books Lord Rama had visited Surguja during his fourteen years of exile and a number of places here are named after him, his brother Laxman and wife Sita, places like Ramgarh, Sita - Bhengra cave and Laxmangarh.

Ambikapur is a perfect location with temples, caves, hills, rivers, hot water springs and spectacular waterfalls. In and around Ambikapur there are many temples that spiritually enlighten their visitors. They are Mahamaya Mandir to the east of Ambikapur, the Buddha temple in Mainpat, the Shiv Mandir in Shivpur and the Nageshwar Shiv Mandir near Ambikapur. According to Dalton, these temples should have been built during the reign of the kings of Balands during the 17th century, the original rulers of Korwa state. Ancient sculptures in places like Ramgarh, Dipadih and Kudargarh are mind blowing in their artistic beauty. You can see the early inscriptions of love, the first in the world, at the Jogimara Caves. Tattapani, Rakasganda and Sitabengara are the spots famous for hot water springs while the Semarsot Kailash gufaa has a natural Shiv linga in a cave and a spectacular water fall. Among the other outdoor tourist attractions are Ramgarh hill, Deogarh, Thin-Thini Patthar, Pawai Water Fall, Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary and the Semarsot Wildlife Sanctuary.

Kudargarh, known as a hindu pilgrim center is located in Surguja district. A major tourist spot situated here is Maa Bagheshwari Devi Mandir, dedicated to Goddess Kudargarhi, on top of a hill. This temple is 98 kms away from the district headquarters of Ambikapur. This hill is connected by all weather roads. The occasion to visit this temple is during Chaitra Navaratra which falls in the month of April.

The great Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa, wrote the epic “Meghdoot”. In this poem, he imagines the passing clouds as his messengers and uses them to convey his love to his wife. In the poem, he explains to the clouds the direction and narrates the beauty of Ramgiri mountain It is clear that he had spent some time in this place. This Ramgiri mountain is one of the exotic locations to be visited near Ambikapur.

Tourists going to Ambikapur by train will have to detrain at Anuppur and from there use local transports to reach Ambikapur. Trains like the Kalinga Utkal Express, Hirakund Express and Chhattisgarh Sampark Kranti Express starting from Delhistop at Anuppur railway station. Other trains running via Bilaspur and Raipur can also be caught. From these places buses are available to reach Ambikapur.

There are plans to run trains directly between Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Ambikapur. Recently Low Fare Airlines like Deccan Airways and Karma Airlines have come forward to extend their services to cities like Ambikapur, Bilaspur and Jagdalpur.