Ramtek Dam:

It is an earthfill dam on Sur, Maharashtra (river) near Ramtek, Nagpur district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The height of the dam above the lowest foundation is 22.2 m (73 ft) while the length is 229 m (751 ft). The volume content is 1,300 km3 (310 cu mi) and gross storage capacity is 105,130.00 km3 (25,222.03 cu mi). Sur River: The start stream of Sur originates at forest Hills near Maharapeth in Ramtek Taluka of Nagpur district. The Sur river flows through Ramtek and Mauda Taluka of Nagpur district and Mohadi and Bhandara Taluka of Bhandara district respectively. This river irrigates lands where rice is cultivated as the main crop which is part of Bhandara cluster.

Kamthi-khairy Dam,

also called Pench Dam, is on the Pench river near Parshivni in the state of Maharashtra, India. The dam was constructed for irrigation, and supplies water to two districts of Maharashtra, Nagpur and Bhandara. The dam is located in the West Pench National Park Range, surrounded by forested hills, and is 54 km north of Nagpur. The height of the dam above its lowest foundation is 32 m (105 ft), and its length is 1,876 m (6,155 ft). The volume content is 4,928 km3 (1,182 cu mi) and gross storage capacity is 230,000 km3 (55,000 cu mi).

Totladoh dam:

Totladoh dam, is a gravity dam on the Pench river near Ramtek in Nagpur district in the state of Maharashtra and adjoining Madhya Pradesh in India. Totladoh dam is 80 km. from Nagpur on N.H. No.-7. This dam, a part of the Pench River hydroelectric project. The height of the dam above the lowest foundation is 74.5 m (244 ft) while the length is 680 m (2,230 ft). The volume content is 972×103 m3 (34.3×106 cu ft) and live storage capacity is 1.091 km3 (0.262 cu mi). A 160 MW hydroelectric plant called Pench Hydro power station is located at the foot of the dam.

PENCH National Park:

This tiger reserve in central India, which takes its name from the Pench River flowing through it, is shared by Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Sillari is the most convenient gate to enter the Maharashtra side of the forest. Located where the Satpura Range meets the Maikal Range, this park consists of diverse topography and forest types, which make it an ideal home for a large variety of fauna, from insects to mammals. Besides the tiger, you are likely to see leopards, gaur, wild dogs, and a variety of deer as well as a large number of birds. The Pench Reservoir and other large water bodies inside the park are visited by migratory birds in winter. You may also visit the Ambakhori waterfalls.

Pench provides a great opportunity of coming close to carnivores like the tiger, leopard, jungle cat, wild dog, hyena, jackal and the civet. During the safaris, visitors often come across pugmarks, strong smells of territory markings, and even direct sightings of these majestic beasts. The park is also the home ground of a large number of herbivores, including the sambar, spotted deer, Indian gaur, neelgai, four-horned antelope, barking deer, wild boar and the absolutely elusive ratel, not to forget the lumbering sloth bear.
You will also find here birds of prey including the Serpent Eagle, Hawk Eagle, Grey-Headed Fish Eagle, White-Eyed Buzzard and Honey Buzzard. Barred Jungle Owlet, Collared Scops Owl and the rather weird looking Mottled Wood Owl keep watch during the nights. Malabar Pied Hornbill, Scarlet Minivet, Painted Francolin, Oriole, Barbets, Kingfisher and other colourful feathered bipeds bring up the bird list to over 225 species. The forest is also rich in its variety of flora and the eco-system is a mix of dry and moist tropical deciduous forest with teak and bamboo being the dominant species.
Distance from Nagpur: Sillari is 67.6 km or 1 hour 38 minute drive.

Ambakhori waterfall:

Ambakhori, situated around 70kms north of Nagpur on the bank of the Pench river is an important picnic spot. Main attractions here are the Ambakhori waterfalls and forests. Winter is the best time to visit this place.

Khindsi Lake:

Khindsi, a large lake surrounded by verdant forests on all sides is located about 3.5kms from Ramtek and 53 kms from Nagpur. It has been the favourite tourist destination of Vidarbhites for several years. Tourists can enjoy boating in Khindsi lake in motorboats, pedal boats, rowing boats, water scooters etc. Nearby the lake, there is an adventure park for the children. For the adventure seekers, jungle trekking is also available.
This is a large water reservoir situated within the Satpura hill ranges. It was originally built during the Vakataka period and was known as Sudarshana Tadaga. A contemporary Vakataka inscription found on the wall of the Kevala Narasimha temple at Ramtek suggests this. Today it is a very popular spot for water sports and attracts a good number of tourists.

Khekranala Lake:

Khekranala, situated 65 km north of Nagpur in Khapa range is a beautiful dam site. Nestled on the Chhindwara Road near Khapa, Khekranala is an ideal spot for adventure seekers, especially for trekking. The major attraction here is the tranquil lake around the Khekranala Dam, surrounded by a dense forest with a wide variety of flora and fauna. The lush greenery, healthy climate and fascinating environment attracts tourists from different parts of the state. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has developed lodging facilities for the visitors.

MANSAR:

A town in the Ramtek tehsil of Nagpur district, Mansar is one of the prime archaeological sites in the country, known for many interesting excavations that have resulted in the discovery of various shrines, a palace complex identified as Pravarapura which was the capital of the Vakataka king Pravarasena II and an extensive temple complex. It’s a place that beckons historians, the curious and the tourists in equally large numbers. Located 45 kilometers northeast of Nagpur city, Mansar shot into prominence when in 1972 an image of a deity, later identified as Shiva Vamana, was found from a hillock in this area, locally known as Hidimba Tekri. Important excavations were carried out at the ancient sites of Mansar since 1997-98 and so far five sites have been excavated that have yielded significant 5th century sculptures of Hindu deities, artefacts and some coins. The water reservoir around the site and findings of ancient tools and other objects point to the fact that a large population inhabited the area 1,600 years ago.

The site of Mansar has been excavated by Nagpur University, thereafter the Archaeological Survey of India and the Bodhisattva Nagarjuna Smarak Sansthava Anusandhan Kendra, Nagpur. The excavation revealed four cultural periods: Period I – Maurya-Sunga (300 BC to 200 BCE), Period II – Satavahana (200 BCE to 250 CE), Period III – Gupta-Vakataka (275 to 550 CE) and Period IV designated as the rule of Vishnu Kundin. The main dominating feature of the remains at Mansar is a huge palace complex built on a high raised solid brick platform with entrance from the west. It consists of many large and small rooms, surrounded by a lobby (corridor) between the inner and outer main walls of the palace. The outer walls of the palace and the ‘adhisthana’ (moulded platform) are embellished with pilaster mouldings which were lime-plastered with red and white colour alternately. The ‘kapota’ level was decorated with brick ‘makara’ figures at regular intervals. The palace was fortified by a massive brick wall on all four sides.

The fortification wall in the east and south had a moat whereas the north and west were surrounded by a huge tank. The most striking feature of the structures here is its intriguing terraced arrangement with a number of straight and curving steps, arrays of round brick projections of various heights and sizes. Frequently, brick surfaces have been reshaped through patterns of incuse lozenges devised by means of moulded bricks. The excavations have further revealed evidence of symbolic human sacrifice. Sites on the hill within the same complex called Hadimba Tekdi have revealed a Buddhist ‘stupa’ built on solid bedrock with rammed earth and 38 raised courses. The staircases were provided on the eastern side to approach the stupa. Another box pattern brick stupa was built over the original one and has rectangular boxes filled up with small boulders, bricks and earth. The base and knob of a limestone relic casket was found in the stupa. The stupa and ‘chaitya griha’ belong to the Maurya-Sunga period of about 300 BC to 200 BC.

A Shiva temple was found built in bricks on one of the hillocks that consists of an octagonal sanctum provided with black granite ‘linga’, ‘antarala’ and ‘mandapa’ with approach steps. The Shiva temple belongs to the Vakataka period. On the western and southern side of the main complex a row of 16 brick-built Shiva shrines were found placed on three terraces approached by a flight of steps. Out of these, six have ‘shiva lingas’. The excavations here have revealed a number of beautiful sculptures like Vaman-Shiva (now in the National Museum), ‘trinetra’ Parvati, a turbaned male head, Shiva-Parvati with bull, a Narshimha riding on Garuda and Kartikeya riding a peacock, etc.

RAMTEK:

Ramtek is a fine confluence of devotion, literature and history. Shri Ram, Seeta maai and Laxman who were living in self-imposed exile in the forest, had halted at Ramtek for a while for rest. Ramtek has an air of devotion. In ‘Meghadoota’, the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa’s play, the protagonist of the play – the Angel or the Yaksha was living a lonely life away from his dear wife here. The Yaksha invited a cloud as his messenger – a ‘meghdoot’ – to convey his sad state of mind to his estranged wife. That great epic play is said to have taken place in the Marathi region of Varhad. Kalidasa’s ‘Meghadoota’ occupied a prominent place in Sanskrit literature. The region then witnessed the glorious dynasty of the Vakatakas, the remarkable tenure of Rajamata Prabhavati Gupta, and later, the historic dynasty of Nagpurkar Bhosale. The region of Ramtek, which is around 57 kilometers from Nagpur, the central city of India, is replete with ancient tradition and exploits of bravery. The Ramgiri hill is of just moderate height (113 m) perhaps in its attempt to compete a little with the ranges of the Satpudas. The temple of Shri Ram, Laxman and Seeta which is located on the hill-top is a pride of perch of the entire Vidarbha.

Historical evidence from the 4th century CE are found at Ramtek and the surrounding regions. After the Mauryas, Shungas, Satavahanas and Kushanas, the Vakatakas ruled over the region. The Vakataka king. Rudrasen II married Prabhavati Gupta, the daughter of Vikrmaditya Chandragupta, a king from the Gupta dynasty. After the untimely demise of Rudrasen, Prabhavati coroneted her young son as the king and ably handled the reigns of the kingdom. She constructed a Rudra temple in memory of Rudrasen. This dynasty was certainly influenced by the Vaishnav faith. Here, you see an image of a boar – the Varaha – which stands on its four legs and has been sculpted out of a single rock. It was believed that a sinful person could never walk across beneath the stomach of this boar. Additionally, the Trivikram, Bhogram and Kapatram temples which stand there prove the influence of the Vaishnava sect in the region. In addition to these, Prabhavati Gupta also built a temple of Dhoomreshwar – Lord Shiva – who was a family deity of the Gupta dynasty. Architectural remains of the Vakataka period from 4th to 6th century CE can be seen here.

The Yadavas who came here thereafter, constructed edifices such as the Ram-Laxman temple and Kapur Bawli. All these temples are of Hemadpanthi type. Nagpurkar Bhosales renovated all these temples which were lying in ruins over the years. Hence, they are believed to have been constructed by Nagpurkar Bhosale. In fact, they built a few temples at the foot of the hill near the lake Ambala. These temples, built in 18th and 19th centuries, clearly exhibit a combined influence of the Hindu, Muslim and Orissan architecture. On Chaitra Shuddha Pratipada, Shri Ram’s Navratri festival and on Ashwin Shuddha Pratipada the Navratri festival of the goddess’ is celebrated in the hill-top temple. The temple looks dazzling – decorated with thousands of lamps on all five days of Diwali – the festival of lights. On the Tripuri Purnima that follows, a yellow holy cloth – peetambar – sent by Nagpurkar Bhosales – is wrapped around the dome – kalash of the temple, and it is lit up as ‘Tripur’. Thousands of devotees throng the place every year to experience the festival of Trpuri Pournima. Their attention is captivated by the natural lake of Ambala which is distinctly visible at the foot of Ramgiri, while climbing up and down the hill. The red and white lotuses blooming on its surface enhance the beauty of the spot. As it is believed that Shri Ram had performed the ritual of Tarpan here, devotees also perform post-death rituals of their relatives here.
The attractive edifice of the great poet Kalidasa’s memorial looks charming due to the series of paintings based on Kalidasa’s play Meghadoot, which adorn the walls. The memorial is simplistic, proportionate and fascinating. The memorial and Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University – famous for being a seat of learning and research – serve as a strong bond between the ancient past and the modern times.
In addition to this, the natural lake of Khindsi, its charming surroundings and flora and fauna enhance the beauty of Ramtek. Tourists can enjoy boat-rides in various types of boats here. The specially created tourist spots nearby are beautiful. They house pleasant gardens, games and sports for kids, and restaurants which serve special Nagpuri cuisine.
Deolapar is a place near Ramtek, famous for its Cow Research Institute which is dedicated to the conservation, preservation and growth of the cow race through nurturing and research of cows. The ancient cow-breeding science has been given a modern touch here. It is a ‘must-see’ institution. Researchers have developed various medicinal products, cosmetics,etc. through their research on cows.

Deolapar is a place near Ramtek, famous for its Cow Research Institute which is dedicated to the conservation, preservation and growth of the cow race through nurturing and research of cows. The ancient cow-breeding science has been given a modern touch here. It is a ‘must-see’ institution. Researchers have developed various medicinal products, cosmetics,etc. through their research on cows.