Jammu

Jammu

Jammu is the winter capital and the largest city in Jammu District of the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Lying on the banks of river Tawi, the city of Jammu with an area of 26.64 km²  (10.29 sq mi ) is surrounded by the Himalayas in northern plains in the south. Jammu is the second most populous city of the union territory.

Places to visit in Jammu:

   

• Here are the top 10 tourist attractions to see in Jammu.

1. Bahu fort.
2. Mubarak Mandi Palace.
3. Mansar Lake.
4. Shivkhori.
5. Raghunath Bazaar.
6. Amar Mahal Museum.
7. Peer Baba Dargah.
8. Raghunath Temple.
9. Akhnoor fort.
10. Dogra Art Museum.

Now let's know these places in detail:

1. Bahu fort:

The Bahu fort is a historic fort in the city of Jammu,  Constructed on the banks of Tawi river , the ancient fort is believed to be constructed by Raja Bahulochan around 3000 years ago. It is believed that the first renovation of this fort was undertaken by Maharaja Ranjit Singh during Sikh rule in 18th century. The fort is a religious place , and within its presincts has a temple dedicated to the Hindu  goddess Kali. The temple is known locally as the "Bhawe wali Mata temple".

History:

The building of the city of Jammu and the Bahu fort are linked to a Legend. Raja Jambu Lochan, when on a hunting trip , witnessed a curious scene of a tiger and a goat drinking water side by side at the same location in the Tawi river, without the tiger attacking. The Raja considered this a divine direction to establish his new capital here, as the scene he witnessed at this site represented peaceful coexistence.
     The earliest historical recorded link to the fort is that of Raja Jambu Lochan and his brother Bahu Lochan , sons of a powerful ruler Agnigarbha|| of the Jammu Dynesty of Suryavanshi kings.
Bahu, the eldest of Agnigarbha's 18 sons , is credited with establishing the Jammu city cand building the fort . The earlier fort structure was modified over the years to a stronger fortified structure. 
       The present fort was rebuilt , probably at the same location as the ancient fort ,Autor Dev, the grandson of King Kapoor Dev in 1585. Over the years the fort underwent demolition and reconstruction from time to time, until during Sikh empire  the Governor/Raja of Jammu Maharaja Gulab Singh reconstructed the present fort in the 19th century, which was further refurbished during the rule of Maharaja Ranbir Singh. They first established temples for their tutelary deities ; the image of Mahakali deity in the temple in the fort was brought from Ayodhya.

2. Mubarak Mandi Palace:

Mubarak Mandi is a palace in Jammu, India. The palace was the royal residence of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir from the Dogra Dynesty. It was their main seat till 1925 When maharaja Harisingh moved to the Hari Niwas palace in the northern part of Jammu. The palace is located in the heart of the old walled city of Jammu and overlooks the Tawi river. 

The beautiful architecture of Mubarak Mandi Palace is a mixture of Rajasthani architecture and European baroque and Mughal styles.
     The complex is grouped around several courtyards and includes various buildings and palaces like the Darbar Hall complex , the pink palace , Royal courts building, Gol ghar complex, Nawa Mahal, Rani Charak palace, Hawa Mahal , the Toshkhana palace and the Sheesh Mahal. The halls and galleries of the palace were used for official functions and ceremonies.

Some Amazing facts about Mubarak Mandi Palace:

1. The massive Mubarak Mandi Palace was built over a span of 150 years by Dogra Dynesty.

2. The Mubarak Mandi complex , spreads over 14 acres of prime land and the oldest building in the palace complex dates back to 1824.

3. Mubarak Mandi Palace was the main seat of the kingdom until 1925.

4. It is also prone to Earthquake and Fires.

5. The Pink hall inside the palace has now been converted to a museum .

6. This museum holds several miniature paintings and emperor Shah Jahans golden bow vand arrow , among other interesting things.

3. Mansar Lake:

The Mansar Lake located 60 km from the main city is a rare beauty . Mansar Lake is no ordinary lake but a blessed site where god's live . It is believed that the sanctity of this lake is equivalent to that of Mansarovar Lake of Tibet because it's water has the power to absolve a person of his or her sins.
   The location of this lake is in the middle of a dense forest , hills and small gardens. Although the lake is believed to be more than a mile long and half a mile wide , legend has it that there is no such end to the dimensions of this mystic lake. 
    Mansar Lake is one of the biggest fresh water lake in the Shivalik mountains.

Some activities which can be performed in Mansar Lake:

1. Beside being a popular excursion spot in Jammu it is also a holy place.

2. People perform a holy dip in the water of the on the festive occasion.

3. Newly wedded couples consider auspicious to undertake three parikrama ( cicum - ambulation) around the lake to get blessings of Lord Sheshnaag.

4. Certain sects of people perform mundan ceremony of boys.

5. With several beliefs and heritage behind the Mansar Lake , this place is also gaining popularity as a famous tourist destination.

Mansar Lake fishes:

There are 207 species of Algae , 15 species of waterfowl, and 7 varieties of fishes living in the lake. 
   For those who wish to explore the lake on a boat , there is a good set up for that too . 
           Feeding the friendly fishes is one of the popular past times of tourists visiting Mansar Lake.

4.Shivkhori: 

The Holy cave abode of Lord Shiva is situated at a distance of  70 kms. from Karta. The cave is a real wonder to be seen and measures nearly half a kilometre in length with a 4 feet high naturally formed Shiv- Lingam at the Sanctum Sanctorum. 

    The  cave is in the shape of Lord Shiva's Damroo i.e. wide at the two ends while very congested at the center. The width of the cave is so less at certain place that a person can barely crawl through whereas at places it over a hundred feet wide and quite high too. 

    There are a lots of features which can be observed in the cave, however the best of them is the natural milky water dripping from the top to the Shiv-Ling symbolising the eternity of the holy river Ganga. The place hosts a major fair of Shivaratri . The Shiv - Khori Shrine is well connected to Katra / Jammu by road. The devotees can visit the place by taxi / car. Few bus services from Katra are also available.

5. Raghunath Bazaar:

Located in the heart of Jammu , Raghunath Bazaar is a must visit marketplaces. Known to be more than 150 years old , this market is a symbol of Jammu's affluent cultural heritage. From  traditional Dogra jewellery to Ladakhi and Kashmiri handicrafts , Basholi items, footwear, sweets , fashion accessories and more, you can find seemingly endless , numbers of products here are on sale.

One of the specialities of Raghunath Bazaar is Pashima Shawl which is decorative ,good in quality and not overly expensive. These Shawls are woven by the finest of Cashmere wool , dyed in vibrant colours and designed with precision. The intricate embroidery on this fabric is s work of excellent artistry . The market also has age old dry fruits stores where you can step in to collect walnuts and almonds.

6.Amar Mahal Museum:

The Amar Mahal Palace Museum was once the residence of Raja Amar Singh . This place made of red sandstone is a beautiful Palace at a great location between the Shivalik's and Tawi river. The palace has a magnificent golden throne made of 120 kilograms of gold placed in a hexagonal room and bears the design of golden lions on it. The palace now converted into the museum also has an art gallery and a heritage hotel adjacent to it.

The architecture is planned and designed by a French architect , the architectural marvel was converted into a museum exhibiting a rich collection of paintings, books, inscriptions and artifact's . The structure of the building is identical to European castles , as there are sloping roofs with turrets and tall towers . There are extended passengers on three sides of the monument, covered by sloping corrugated tin roofs .

Alongwith wooden framework , the highlight of the first storey of the palace building is the French windows. These windows illustrate classic Greek architectural style in triangular projections fitted over ornate false columns. 

                To the delight of historians , the museum houses over twenty five thousand books on history, among which volumes associated with Raja Amar Singh are noteworthy.

7.Peer Baba Dargah:

Sayyid Ali-Tirmizi more commonly known as Pir Baba was a Sufi who settled in Buner (present-day Khyber Pathunkhwa, Pakistan ) among the Yusufzai Pashtuns. He was probably known born in 908 AH (1502 CE ) in Ferguna ( Present-day Uzbekistan ) of Sayyid descent , died in AH 991 (1583 CE ) . He was a supporter of the Mughal Emperor Babar , and was an opponent of Bayazid Pir Roshan. 

Dedicated to an Islam Saint , Peer Budhan Ali Shah , this Dargah , attracts devotees across religions . The Saint was said to have lived for 500 years only on milk. He also shared connections to Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. 

Visit on Thursday to this unique Dargah , which shares spirituality across religions  and legends.

8. Raghunath Temple , Jammu :

Raghunath Temple is a Hindu temple located in Jammu in the Indian Union Territory vof Jammu and Kashmir. It consists of a complex of seven hindu Shrines. Raghunath temple was constructed by the first Dogra ruler Maharaja Gulab Singh in the year 1835 and later his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh got it completed in the year 1860 during Dogra rule.

The temple has many gods in its complex of Shrines , but the presiding  is Rama also known as Raghunath , an Avtar of Vishnu spires. The niches in the walls of the shrines are decorated with 300 well crafted icons of god's god goddesses including those of Surya and Shiva , but  most are particularly related to the life stories of Rama and Krishna. The paintings in the 15 panels of the main Shrine are based on themes from Ramayana , Mahabharata and Bhagvadgeeta. The temple premises include a school and a library that preserves over 6000 manuscripts in many Indian languages , with a notable collection of Sarada script Sanskrit manuscripts. 

The Raghunath Temple is a prominent temple and tourists spot that is located in Jammu , in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The temple is also one of the biggest complexes in entire northern India and is brimming with devotees all year round. The temple which is located in the old part of the Jammu city and to the north of Tawi river provides the onlooker with an idea of the influence of the Mughal style of the architecture on temple. However , the tower that can be found over the main Shrine is said to be built in the Sikh architectural style.

9. Akhnoor fort:

The present name Akhnoor was given during Mughal rule . The word Akhnoor is derived from Ankh and Noor , meaning eyes and vision respectively. It is said that at this place , some emperors wife got her eyesight back and hence the place got such a name.

History:

The Akhnoor Fort which lies towards east of the town , on the bank of the Chenab river holds great significance and is extremely important for reconstruction of the past history . The fort was built by Raja Alam Singh in 1802. Work on the fort , actually began in 1762 at the behest of Raja Tegh Singh and was completed by his son Raja Alam Singh in 1802. This two storeyed fort which is perched on a cliff overlooking river Chenab is under the Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI ) since 1982 and has been declared a national monument.

        There are two-storeyd watchtowers at corners . The fort also has also has an access through the river side . This fort , where excavation is still in progress in a phased manner , is perched upon an ancient site depicting three periods of history. The first period is represented by the Harrapan red and grey earthern ware that include jars , beakers and goblets . The second period is marked by the presence of early historic pottery and the third period is represented by Kushana objects and an impressive wall of rubble diaper masonry flanked on both sides by a 3 metre wide street.

Just as Akhnoor finds a place of pride in history for its antiquity and historical importance, the Jia Pota Ghat on the right bank of Chandrabhaga i.e. today's Chenab at Akhnoor is the crowning glory of this ancient town. Any old timer of Akhnoor will reveal that Jia Pota Ghat is one of the main ghats situated on the right bank of Chenab , the other being Pehra, Gurgi Pattan and Harmandar ( named after Hari Mandir ) situated downstream.

     Interestingly the Jia Pota Ghat got its name from the Jia Pota tree whose botanical name is Putranjiva roxburghii of Euphorbiaceae family under whose shade the Raj Tilak ceremony of Maharaja Gulab Singh took place. The coronation at the ghat would always remain etched in the collective psyche of the people of this state and more particularly the Dogras as the first concrete step towards the foundation of the modern state of Jammu and Kashmir.

      It was on 17th of June 1822 A.D. that the magnanimous Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the most powerful King as Raja of Jammu region at Jia Pota in the backdrop of Akhnoor Fort and lapped by the coronation day of Maharaja Gulab Singh , a commemorative tablet has been installed at the ghat depicting the scene of Raj Tilak . It is believed that original tree got uprooted and ultimately washed away in the floods of 1957 . However solace can be sought in the fact that a few specimen of healthy Jia Pota tree are flourishing in the adjoining Jia Pota park which was developed in 1999.

The earliest mention of Akhnoor is found in Mahabharata , in which it is said that Pandavas stayed here for some period during their Agyatvas.

    At that time , it was called as Virat Nagar , Pandav Gufa or cave of the Pandavas , is still visited by people with great reverence. A beautiful Durga temple has also been built around the Pandava Gufa.

10. Dogra Art Museum:

A famous repository located within Pink hall in Mubarak Mandi, the Dogra Art Museum is a treasure trove of over 800 rare paintings and products of historic significance.

Among the more celebrated works , are the galleries dedicated to paintings from the Basholi , kangra and Jammu schools of arts , a gold painted bow and arrow belonging the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan , a stunning collection of Krishna- Sudama paintings from the 18th century , and handwritten Persian manuscripts from Sikandarnama and Shahnama . Which was once a display space for works of art originating from the Dogra community back in 1960 , has today grown to become a mammoth collection of their rich heritage housing more than 5000 ancient item. The space occupied by the museum was once the royal residence of Dogra Kings - offering panoramic views of the Tawi river on one side , and the city of Jammu on the other ,it is one of the best properties in the city.

Terracotta heads from Akhnoor , sculptures , manuscripts, Dogra costumes Jewellery, arms and armours , metal objects and artifact's related to decorative arts .The intricately decorated marble Jharokhas with inlaid work of semi precious strones in the marble hall further embillishes the charishma of the museum is known all over for the Pahari miniature painting from Basholi.

Timings:

The museum is open from 10.00 am. in the morning till 5.00 pm.  It remains closed on Mondays . Minimal entry fee is required to enter the museum premises.

Visit Jammu ; Visit India!