Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh, came into existence on November 1, 2000, as the 26th state of the Union. This fulfilled a long-standing demand of the tribal populations. In ancient times, the region was known as Dakshin-Kausal. This is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Between the 6th and 12th centuries, the Sarabhpuria, Panduavanshi, Somvanshi, Kalchuri, and Nagvanshi rulers dominated this region. The Kalchuris ruled over Chhattisgarh from 980 to 1791 AD. With the advent of the British in 1854, Raipur rose to prominence, displacing the capital, Ratanpur.<\/p>\n
TWO NATIONAL HIGHWAYS CONNECT CHHATTISGARH TO THE REST OF INDIA:<\/strong><\/p>\n NH 6 runs from west to east, stretching from Nagpur in Maharashtra to Orissa, where it branches off toward Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.<\/p>\n Jagdalpur is connected to Visakhapatnam by a road that winds through pristine forests, offering breathtaking views of the valley. Shimliguda\u2014Asia\u2019s highest broad-gauge railway station (at 3,628 feet above sea level, it is likely the highest in the world!)\u2014is located along this route.<\/p>\n FLIGHTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n Raipur, the state capital, is connected to Nagpur, Delhi, and Mumbai.<\/p>\n If you are traveling from Kolkata or Chennai, the nearest airport is Visakhapatnam.<\/p>\n ANCIENT CAVES<\/strong><\/p>\n The hilly terrain and forests of the pristine Kanger Valley National Park\u2014located at the epicenter of the tribal Bastar district\u2014are home to a number of ancient caves.<\/p>\n KAILASH GUFA:<\/strong><\/p>\n Buried deep within the forest near the Tiratgarh Waterfalls\u2014and situated approximately 40 km from Jagdalpur\u2014this underground cave features spectacular formations of stalactites (limestone pillars hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (pillars rising from the ground). Millions of years old, the cave is nestled at the base of a hill; it measures 200 meters in length, 35 meters in width, and 55 meters in depth. When you consider that stalactites and stalagmites form drop by drop\u2014and that it takes roughly 6,000 years for a single centimeter to form\u2014the immense pillars within the Kanger caves will leave you speechless. Some of the stalagmites bear markings indicating that they have been venerated as *Shivalingams*. KUTUMSAR CAVE, KANGER VALLEY NATIONAL PARK:<\/p>\n Access to this underground cave\u2014located near the Tiratgarh Waterfalls, approximately 38 km from Jagdalpur\u2014is gained via a narrow spiral staircase that descends about 40 feet. Upon entering, you truly grasp the meaning of the phrase “total darkness.” As your guide holds aloft a lamp, the stalactites and stalagmites come to life, appearing as the mystical creations of a master sculptor. Keep an eye out here for a unique variety of genetically blind fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh, came into existence on November 1, 2000, as the 26th state of the Union. This fulfilled a long-standing demand of the tribal populations. In ancient times, the region was known as Dakshin-Kausal. This is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Between the 6th and 12th centuries, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[80],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chhattisgarh","tag-a-journey-through-the-hidden-gem-of-central-india"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279,"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myindiadiary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}