Smog-hit Delhi: Four heritage destinations to escape high pollution levels

A selection of places that are home to spectacular heritage as an escape from smog-hit Delhi.

With India’s capital enveloped in a smog that makes passive smokers of everyone, schools and offices have begun resorting to work from home as an option. Perhaps there is no better time than the current to contemplate an escape from the capital’s haze. And given the season, this is also the ideal period to explore a few interesting heritage destinations.

Presenting a selection of places that are not just home to spectacular heritage, but are also in the lap of nature:

Valley of the Neelkanth, Alwar (Rajasthan) - (232 kms from Delhi)

In the buffer zone of the Sariska Tiger Reserve lies a small valley. A visitor drives up a hill road, through a medieval gateway, and then descends. At the road’s climax, the medieval gives way to the ancient and a visitor arrives at the Neelkanth Mahadev Temple. This 10^th century shrine, built by the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, is the solitary survivor of a throbbing settlement once called Rajyapura.

The temple is magnificently sculpted and unlike many other historical shrines, prayers are still conducted here. A walk around reveals a stepwell. Further away is a tiny hamlet, filled with the remains of many more temples. These include a Jain Naugaza temple in which an idol of Shantinath is present.

It is believed that the place was once attacked by Aurangzeb’s troops and the temples razed. Except the Neelkanth. Legend has it that when attackers came to this shrine, they were themselves attacked and driven off by a swarm of bees. Today, the place is a sanctuary of peace surrounded by hills.

A ruined temple in the hamlet near the Neelkanth shrine in rural Alwar. (Photo by Arjun Kumar)

Late afternoon sees a riot of colours - verdant green fields bordered by thorny plants punctuated by dense clumps of trees. Dusk witnesses hundreds of peacocks taking over the village, competing for the loudest sound.

The Queen’s Meadow, Ranikhet (Uttarakhand) - (345 kms from Delhi)

A British era cantonment town set amidst the pine forests of the Kumaon, Ranikhet is full of surprises. Named after a seldom-remembered queen, the place became home to the Kumaon Regimental Centre (KRC) in the 1860s. Given the regiment’s stellar contribution to the military – which includes India’s first Param Vir Chakra – the museum inside the regimental centre is a must-visit.

A former church now a shawl and tweed factory run by the KRC. (Photo by Arjun Kumar)

Like most 19^th century cantonments in India, Ranikhet saw several churches coming up in the colonial era. Post Independence, the congregation collapsed, and some churches were repurposed. One of these is now a shawl and tweed factory generating employment for war widows. The retail outlet within is excellent. The Methodist Church, next to the Somnath Dwar within the training centre, still functions as a church. As do the St. Bonaventure and the St. Bridget, the latter inside a military controlled area en route to an apple orchard.

On a cold winter morning here, there is no better place to warm oneself than among devotees at either the Jhula Devi or Haidakhan temples, both outside the town. And if wandering amidst the pines is a visitor’s wish, he could drop in at the British Cemetery outside Ranikhet. Walking through a graveyard inside a pine forest, in pin drop silence is an eerie experience.

Worshipping Rama as a King, Orchha (Madhya Pradesh) - (460 kms from Delhi)

A medieval fort on the Betwa River, Orchha came into being at the beginning of the 16^th century CE, when the Bundela dynasty moved its capital here. Over centuries, the place saw structures soar and legends around them taken even higher.

The biggest story here links the towering Chaturbhuj Temple with the Ram Raja shrine. Apparently, a queen of Orchha wanted to build a Ram Temple here. A magnificent idol of Rama was brought from Ayodhya and while the Chaturbhuj Temple was being built, it was temporarily housed in the queen’s palace. However, when the time came to take the idol to the main shrine, it could not be moved. Consequently, the palace itself became a temple causing Rama to be worshipped as a king here. The cathedral-like Chaturbhuj stands empty in an eternal wait.

Cenotaphs of Bundela rulers on the banks of the Betwa River at Orchha. (Photo by Arjun Kumar)

Even more impressive are the structures with the palace complex - the stunning Jahangir Mahal, Raja Mahal, a Sheesh Mahal which is now a heritage hotel and the Rai Parveen Mahal. On the banks of the river the cenotaphs of Bundela rulers make for a great picture. Just outside the place is the Lakshminarayan Temple, its ceiling an art gallery of Bundela murals. Fittingly, Orchha is in line for UNESCO World Heritage status.

In the footsteps of the Buddha, Kaushambi (Uttar Pradesh) - (675 kms from Delhi)

For those with an appetite for long drives, Kaushambi may be a great destination. No, this isn’t the one in Ghaziabad but the original, a place that borders Prayagraj district. Home to a massive, excavated site – multiple sites, actually – Kaushambi is a history lover’s delight.

Amidst fields, a visitor comes upon the historic sites. One can see an Ashokan pillar, standing in its spot for more than two thousand years. In a sunken part of the dig, one sees a rock indicating multiple periods of habitation.

Kaushambi was one of the Mahajanapada kingdoms of Ancient India. The Yamuna flows nearby, looking far more like a river than it does in Delhi. It is believed that the Kuru tribe shifted their capital here from Hastinapur, with the latter getting frequently flooded by the Ganga. And to prevent similar destruction here, they built a huge wall as an embankment along the river. Such a wall still stands and a walk on it can seem like a time portal.

One of the excavated sites at Kaushambi. (Photo by Arjun Kumar)

Centuries ago, this thriving city was visited multiple times by the Buddha himself. A visitor looks upon the vast excavated here and ponders over the Buddha’s words being spoken here. Far from Delhi’s pollution and toxicity, this is a classic place for a pitstop before heading to the site of the upcoming Mahakumbh in January, Prayagraj.