After a beautiful Saturday , set the alarm for 5 AM. Bit difficult for me being an evening person but once done- worth the trouble. Checked the time for sunrise- which was about 6:30 AM. Nice cup of hot tea made by hubby and I was all set for the day. The target for morning was to capture some sunrise shot...but alas the sun played hide and seek as it was cloudy..so was able to capture some shots only much later. Sharing the morning shots :
So sunrise photography out of the way, the plan was to visit the following in the day:
1. Arjuna's Pennance
2. Krishna's butterball
3. Light house and cave temple
4. Five Rathas
First three are in the same vicinity and can be visited together and later you could target the 5 Rathas.
There is no ticket for first three, but i think the same ticket is usable for both 5 Rathas and Shore temple.
Arjuna's Pennance :
This is an enormous relief made on 2 huge boulders. This qualifies for the biggest open air bas relief in the world. and it is truly mesmerizing. This is 31 m long and 9 m high. The carvings show the most amazing and natural renditions of animals. It depicts one of the scenes from Mahabharta- Arjuna doing penance to obtain a special weapon for the Kurukshetra war.
Next we headed to Krishna's Butter ball..which for me was surely a photo-op. The butter ball surely defies gravity but if it decides otherwise I would be crushed to a pulp. Reminding me of those toons which show smashed flat on the surface :).
Area around the butter ball :
This is Krishna Mandapam. It has the figure of cow being milked.
From here we headed for the caves and the Lighthouse area:
There are 9 rock cut temples. This cave contrasts the Goddess fighting a demon on one side and Lord Vishnu's sleep on the other.
Last but not the least on the route were the 5 Rathas, Here there are 5 monolithic chariots dedicated to Hindu gods. The five rathas are actually a set of temples or vimanas devoted to the 5 Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi, each built out of single rock.
The 5 Rathas are set in a sea of sand..adding to the charm of the place. Beautiful journey came to and end and we headed back home.
So sunrise photography out of the way, the plan was to visit the following in the day:
1. Arjuna's Pennance
2. Krishna's butterball
3. Light house and cave temple
4. Five Rathas
First three are in the same vicinity and can be visited together and later you could target the 5 Rathas.
There is no ticket for first three, but i think the same ticket is usable for both 5 Rathas and Shore temple.
Arjuna's Pennance :
This is an enormous relief made on 2 huge boulders. This qualifies for the biggest open air bas relief in the world. and it is truly mesmerizing. This is 31 m long and 9 m high. The carvings show the most amazing and natural renditions of animals. It depicts one of the scenes from Mahabharta- Arjuna doing penance to obtain a special weapon for the Kurukshetra war.
Next we headed to Krishna's Butter ball..which for me was surely a photo-op. The butter ball surely defies gravity but if it decides otherwise I would be crushed to a pulp. Reminding me of those toons which show smashed flat on the surface :).
Area around the butter ball :
This is Krishna Mandapam. It has the figure of cow being milked.
From here we headed for the caves and the Lighthouse area:
There are 9 rock cut temples. This cave contrasts the Goddess fighting a demon on one side and Lord Vishnu's sleep on the other.
Last but not the least on the route were the 5 Rathas, Here there are 5 monolithic chariots dedicated to Hindu gods. The five rathas are actually a set of temples or vimanas devoted to the 5 Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi, each built out of single rock.
The 5 Rathas are set in a sea of sand..adding to the charm of the place. Beautiful journey came to and end and we headed back home.
