Van Vihar: Weekend Getaway

Bhopal, the city of lakes, is the capital of Madhya Pradesh. It is one of the greenest cities in the country, and is dotted with natural and artificial lakes. According to folklore, Bhopal’s name is derived from the name of King Bhoja of the Paramara dynasty, who is said to have founded the city. It is a city that is home to many prestigious institutions as well as educational centres, ISRO’s master control facility and National Institute of Fashion Technology, to name a few. 

In the heart of the city is Van Vihar, a national park that was declared so in 1983. It is approximately four and a half kilometres square in terms of area. Although a national park, Van Vihar resembles a zoo because it was developed and managed as a modern zoological park, following the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority. Animals that have been brought from other zoos or orphaned are kept in their near natural habitat. There is a road that passes through the park that visitors are allowed to take to see various animals. Walls have been built and trenches have been dug around the habitat of the animals to keep poachers at bay. 

While carnivores are kept within enclosures, herbivores are allowed to roam free within the park, as they don’t pose as a threat to visitors. The carnivores include tigers, panthers, lions, bears, hyenas, gharial and snakes. Herbivores in Van Vihar national park include cheetal, sambhar, black buck, blue bull and so on. Van Vihar is also known to help preserve animals that are considered endangered species. Besides mammals, there are also about a hundred species of birds that can be found in this national park. 

Alligator at Van Vihar (Photo Courtesy: WikiMedia Commons)

Cheetal (spotted deer) at Van Vihar National Park (Photo Courtesy: WikiMedia Commons)

An ideal time to visit the park is at about four thirty in the evening, when the animals get fed, so there is more chance of seeing them in full view.

Bhopal Flights are easily available for the most part, so you should fly to Bhopal and visit Van Vihar national park for a great time with family or even a day of adventure with friends.  

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From the land of Mughals

While Bhopal is said to have been founded by the king Bhoja of the Paramara dynasty, the modern city of Bhopal was established by Dost Mohammad Khan in the late 1600s. Dost Mohammed Khan was an Afghan soldier in the Mughal army who later went on to become Nawab. Unfortunately, most Indians remember or relate to Bhopal as the city that saw the gas tragedy in the ‘80s, but forget that this is a city with a rich past, and that it was set up by the Mughals. As it happens, during the British Raj, Bhopal was the second largest Muslim state in India, after Hyderabad. The remains of the Mughal kingdom can be found at Islam Nagar, near Bhopal.

While in Bhopal, make sure to visit the following places, which tell the stories of the Mutual rule here:

The mosques:

Taj-ul-masjid (Photo Courtesy: islamicgalleryonline)

Moti Masjid (Photo Courtesy:beautifulmosques)

- Taj-ul-masjid - This is one of Asia's largest mosques, built by Nawab Shah Jahan Begum.
- Jama masjid - Built by Kudsia Begum.
- Moti masjid - Built by Sikander Jahan, daughter of Kudsia Begum.

Other architectural marvels:

- Shaukat mahal
- Sadar manzil
- Gohar mahal

Gohar Mahal, Bhopal (Photo Courtesy: Flickr)

Visit the Chowk for a walk down history lane. You can also shop here for jewellery and trinkets of silver.

There are also many museums, lakes, safari sports and other sightseeing opportunities in Bhopal. Some of them are the Bharat Bhavan, the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya museum, the Regional science centre, Van Vihar and also the aquarium. Make sure to visit the museums as they host a lot of interesting historical tales of Bhopal.

A Langur Drinking water at van vihar National Park (Photo Courtesy: Telegraph)

It’s a beautiful place to spend some quality to one from the land of the Mughals. Take a Bhopal Flights and take in the beauty of a city that is literally one from the land of the Mughals.

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