Bhopal

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Tribal Museum Bhopal 3, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Taj Mahal Bhopal, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Yodhasthal (Bhopal, India) (69), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Kushabhau Thakre ISBT Bhopal (2), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

About Bhopal

Two great lakes shape Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. The Upper Lake, created according to tradition by the eleventh-century king Raja Bhoj, gave the city its old name of Bhojpal, and together with the Lower Lake it is a protected wetland that cools the hilly city in every season.

From the early eighteenth century Bhopal was a princely state, and for more than a century it was ruled by four remarkable women, the Begums. Their legacy is everywhere in the old city: Qudsia Begum's lakeside Gohar Mahal, Sikander Begum's white Moti Masjid and the vast Taj-ul-Masajid begun by Shah Jahan Begum. Busy bazaars around the Chowk sell zari embroidery, beaded purses and kebabs. The city is also remembered for the 1984 gas disaster, which still shapes life in its northern neighbourhoods.

The new city on the Shyamla Hills is a centre of museums and the arts, home to Bharat Bhavan, the Tribal Museum and an open-air museum of Indian village architecture. Bhimbetka's painted rock shelters and the stupas of Sanchi are easy day trips.

Best seasonOctober to March; the monsoon turns the lakes and hills green

Ideal stay2-3 days

ArrivingRaja Bhoj Airport; trains to Bhopal Junction and Rani Kamlapati stations

12 Unforgettable Things to Do in Bhopal

Nature 1

Upper Lake Bhopal

Known locally as Bada Talab or Bhojtal, this large lake on the western side of the city is traditionally said to have been created...

Wildlife 1

Van Vihar National Park

Stretched along the southern shore of the Upper Lake, this small national park is run more like a large open zoo, housing rescued...

Landmarks 3

Taj-ul-Masajid

Begun under Shah Jahan Begum in the late nineteenth century but only completed decades after her death, this is counted among the...

Moti Masjid Bhopal

Built in 1860 by Sikander Begum, this small but elegant mosque in the old city is often compared to the Jama Masjid of Delhi, with...

Shaurya Smarak

Opened in 2016, this war memorial on a landscaped site near the state secretariat honours Indian soldiers who died in the country'...

Museums 3

Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum

On the Shyamla Hills, this museum was built and painted by artists from the state's tribal communities, including Gond, Bhil, Baig...

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

The National Museum of Humankind spreads over a wooded hillside above the Upper Lake, with full-size traditional houses, shrines a...

Madhya Pradesh State Museum

This modern museum on the Shyamla Hills holds one of the state's richest collections, with stone sculptures from temples across Ma...

Arts 1

Bharat Bhavan

Designed by architect Charles Correa and opened in 1982, this multi-arts centre steps down a slope towards the Upper Lake in terra...

History 2

Gohar Mahal

Built around 1820 for Qudsia Begum, the first woman ruler of Bhopal, this palace on the bank of the Upper Lake blends Hindu and Mu...

Bhimbetka Rock Shelters

An hour south of Bhopal, this UNESCO World Heritage Site preserves hundreds of rock shelters in sandstone outcrops, many painted w...

Shopping 1

Chowk Bazaar Bhopal

The tangle of lanes around the Chowk in old Bhopal is the city's traditional market, crowded with shops selling silver jewellery,...

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