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Raipur is the capital and most populous city of Chhattisgarh, India, a major trading and steel-making hub of central India and the gateway to the state's ancient temples. Its top sights are the Mahamaya Temple, the Vivekananda Sarovar lake, the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum and the huge cricket stadium in Nava Raipur.
The Raipur plain was once part of Dakshina Kosala. A Gupta inscription at nearby Arang dates from the 6th century, and later kings ruled the region from Sirpur, whose temples and Buddhist monasteries still stand by the Mahanadi. Raipur was part of Madhya Pradesh until Chhattisgarh became a separate state on 1 November 2000.
Modern Raipur is among India's biggest producers of steel and iron and has more than 800 rice mills, while the planned city of Nava Raipur, about 17 km to the southeast, holds the state government, the Nandan Van jungle safari and the stadium. Day trips lead to the Rajiv Lochan Temple at Rajim, the Kaushalya temple at Chandkhuri and the Barnawapara forests.
Mahamaya Temple is a Hindu temple to the goddess Mahamaya in the Purani Basti area of old Raipur. Counted among the 36 Shaktipeeths of Chhattisgarh, it was renovated in the 17th and 18th centuries under Maratha rulers, and legend links its idol to King Mordhwaj and the Kharun River.
Dudhadhari Math is a Hindu temple and monastery in the Mathpara area of Raipur, founded by Swami Balabhadradas, a 16th-century monk said to have lived only on milk, which gave it its name. It later received royal patronage from Maharaja Raghuraoji Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur.
Vivekananda Sarovar, popularly called Budha Talab, is a 30-hectare lake in the Budhapara area of central Raipur. It is named after Swami Vivekananda, who by popular belief bathed here during his stay in the city, and it is a favourite picnic spot with a statue of Vivekananda.
Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum is an archaeological museum near Ghadi Chowk in the heart of Raipur and one of the oldest in Chhattisgarh. Founded in 1875 by Mahant Raja Ghasi Das, it moved to a new building opened by Rajendra Prasad, and it displays ancient sculptures from across the region.
Nandan Van Zoo and Jungle Safari is an 800-acre wildlife park on the banks of the Kharun River in Raipur. Begun in 1979 as a rescue shelter for animals, it added a jungle safari in Nava Raipur that opened in 2016, and its animals include tigers, lions, bears, blackbuck and wild buffalo.
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Nava Raipur is a 65,000-seat ground and one of the largest cricket stadiums in India. Opened in 2008 and named after a leader of the 1857 rebellion in Chhattisgarh, it hosted its first international match in 2023.
Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary is a 245 square km reserve of dry deciduous forest and bamboo in Mahasamund district, about 100 km from Raipur. Set up in 1976 and named after the forest villages of Bar and Nawapara, it is home to leopards, sloth bears, gaur and blackbuck reintroduced in 2018.
Mata Kaushalya Temple at Chandkhuri, about 27 km from Raipur, is said to be the only temple in the world dedicated to Kaushalya, the mother of Lord Rama. It stands in the middle of a lake, reached by the Hanuman Pul bridge, and its idol shows Kaushalya holding the infant Rama.
Rajiv Lochan Temple in Rajim, about 45 km from Raipur, is an 8th-century Hindu temple to a four-armed form of Vishnu. It stands in a courtyard with four corner shrines, is noted for its carved doorways and pillars, and lies in the town known as the Prayag of Chhattisgarh.
Kuleshwar Mahadev Temple is an ancient Shiva temple in Rajim, about 45 km from Raipur, standing at the Triveni Sangam where the Mahanadi meets the Pairi and Sondur rivers. Pilgrims visit it during the Rajim Kumbh Mela, a 15-day festival each February and March when devotees bathe at the confluence.
The Arang Jain Temples are a group of three Jain temples in Arang, an ancient town in Raipur district, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries. The best known is the Bhand Dewal, a late 11th-century temple in the Bhumija style with a star-shaped plan and walls covered in carved figures.
The Sirpur Group of Monuments, 78 km east of Raipur on the Mahanadi River, holds Hindu, Jain and Buddhist remains from the 5th to the 12th centuries. Once a capital of Dakshina Kosala and visited by the pilgrim Xuanzang, it includes the brick Lakshmana Temple and 12 Buddhist viharas.
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