Nagpur
Nagpur is a city in Maharashtra State, India famous for its Nagpur oranges. It is the headquarters of the Vidarbha division. It is also the "second capital" of Maharashtra state, which means that some administrative functions are carried out here, and one of three sessions of the Legislative Assembly in a year occur here.
Get in
By train
Nagpur can be considered the centre of India as the zero milestone of India is in the city. It is almost equidistant from all the major metros. Nagpur is connected with all major cities with trains several times a day. Trains run through the day to all parts of the country. All metros are more or less an overnight journey.
By plane
- 🌍
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport (NAG IATA) (7 km from the city centre). It is connected to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Raipur, Nashik, Bangalore, Ahemadabad, Indore, Pune, Bangkok (Thailand), Sharjah (UAE), Doha(Qatar) and Dubai(UAE). Many airlines fly into Nagpur. Air India operates twice daily from Mumbai and once daily from Delhi. Air Deccan operates daily a direct flight from Mumbai with the Airbus A320 flight. Also there are flights from Mumbai to Kolkata which has a stop at Nagpur.
Get around
By rickshaw
The best way to get around are the yellow and black 3-wheeled autorickshaws, commonly called autos. Hollering 'auto' at a passing one should be enough to catch the driver's attention. In most cases the drivers would be able to understand Hindi and maybe even a few words of English. They are normally quite helpful but some are known to cheat tourists so bargain hard and it might be a good idea to ask a pedestrian to get an idea about how much it costs normally to reach your destination by auto.
By car
Ride-hailing apps like Ola and Uber can be used to quickly and efficiently travel around the city. These are accessible from and to almost any part of the city. (However, as of February 2018 there was ongoing protest from autorickshaw drivers against these cabs picking people from the Nagpur Railway Station, which they consider blows their earnings. For pickups, the cabs halt some distance away from the station to which one can walk. For drops at the station, there is no such issue.)
Other than these, there are taxis (cabs) available at the Airport and Railway Station. You can also rent a "Qualis" (a slang for a SUV-taxi named after the common Toyota Qualis, which now includes many other brands, such as the Chevy and India's own luxury brand, Mahindra). Normally they are offered with a driver, and they will stay with you all day, week, or even month if you'd like. This chauffeur can normally understand English, and knows the city very well.
By bus
For using the local buses, you will need to know the routes and numbers. You can take help from people standing on bus stops (usually people are helpful and may be able to communicate in English). Besides, buses are the most common transport facility for the common people in the city and hence they are overcrowded at times. Star Bus service operates here also. Bus mainly go to Buldi station from there you can get to other places. Frequency of city buses are quite good enough to reach local destinations and suburbs area.
By metro
Nagpur's metro serves several important destinations. It runs from Sitabuldi to Khapri, serving Sitabuldi Fort, Nagpur Junction, Khapri railway station and the airport.
Talk
The local language is Marathi. Hindi is understood by almost everyone and English is prevalent to educated people. Nagpur city had a literacy rate of 89.3% in 2001, which is quite high by Indian standards, as Nagpur is a major education centre in Central India that attracts students from all over the country. English is at least partially understood by most people in the tourist industry.
See
- 🌍 Ambazari Lake and Ambazari Garden.
- 🌍 Bohra Masjid, Itwari. It is very big and beautiful mosque.
- 🌍 The Botanical gardens (Satpuda Botanical Garden).
- Bhure Buwa Ganesh Mandir, Near RSS H.Q.Mahal.
- 🌍 Cricket Stadium (Vidarbha Cricket Association Cricket Stadium). A world-class cricket statium controlled by Vidarbha Cricket Association, popularly known as "VCA".
- 🌍 Dhamma Chakra stupa (Diksha Bhumi or Deekshabhumi). Buddhist temple.
- Dragon Temple, Kamptee.
- Futala lake Side. Evening host for food in exotic lake view.
- 🌍 Gajanan Temple (Shree Gajanan Maharaj Mandir), Nagalwadi Hingna.
- 🌍 Japanese Garden (Japanese Rose Garden).
- 🌍 Kasturchand Park.
- Khindsi Watersports, Ramtek, khindsi, ☎ +91 9860840000. Khindsi is a picturesque lake 40 km from Nagpur city and is famous for the natural beauty and water-sports. The lake is in a valley covered by thick forest and is a very popular tourist destination of Central India. There are cottages for accommodation too.
- Lake garden Sakkardara.
- 🌍 Maharaj Bagh (Maharaj Bagh Garden).
- Mata Mandir, Koradi (near from Nagpur).
- 🌍 Parsi Cemetery.
- 🌍 Pavnar (about 50 km west of Nagpur). Located near the Dham River
- 🌍 Raman Science Center (Raman Science Center & Planetarium).
- Ramdham temple (near Nagpur).
- 🌍 Ramtek fort.
- RSS headquarter at Reshimbagh.
- 🌍 Sadar.
- Seminary Hills & Air Force Station.
- Shiv Mandir, HB Estate (South). 400-year-old Shiv Mandir.
- Shri Ganesha Temple (near Railway station).
- Shri Shantinath Jain Temple, Ramtek.
- 🌍 Shukrawari Lake (Gandhisagar Lake).
- 🌍 Sonegaon Lake, Khamla Road (South). Migratory birds can be seen in winters.
- 🌍 Taj Bagh.
- Telankadi (Futala Lake).
- 🌍 Telankhedi Hanuman Temple & Garden.
- Telankhedi Shiv Mandir.
- 🌍 Zero Mile. Monument marking the geographical centre of colonial India.
Do
Come for morning walk at seminary hills garden walking track, and spend your evenings along Futala lake.
- 🌍 Bishop Cotton School, sadar nagpur. Bishop Cotton School is an heritage building from the British era it is in the heart of city and pride of Nagpur
- 🌍 Gajanan Mandir Nagalwadi (near Hingna).
- 🌍 Narrow Gauge Rail Museum, Kadbi Chowk, Kamptee Road. A railway museum with old & heritage articles from Indian Railways: old steam engines, coaches, saloons and many more things related to narrow gauge Indian Railway. A very good garden with a toy train.
- 🌍 Ramdham, Ramtek (national Highway 7), ☎ +91 9860840000. Central India's largest spiritual - cultural tourism park which houses all Hindu deities under one roof. There are cultural shows like folk dances, magic and puppet shows every evening and tourists can look forward for a comfortable stay at the resort.
- Shiv Mandir, HB Estate, Sonegaon (South). 1,000-year-old Sonegaon Lake and Shiv Mandir.
Buy
During summers don't forget to buy oranges. Nagpur is sometimes called the "Orange City" of India. If you visit during another season, then try orange burfi, a milk-based sweet with orange flavor.
Itwari, Sitabuldi, Sadar and Dharampeth areas are especially known as shopping areas due to the large number of shops and pavement hawkers in these areas. Bargaining is a must. Sunday Foot Path Market is a very good market at Sitabuldi for shopping household things.
Nagpur is also famous for cotton articles. Various handicrafts, most of them cotton-based, can be purchased from Sitabuldi, Itwari.
Eat
Nagpur has a lot of good places to eat.
During summers the best place is Khindsi lake with huts around the lake and serving veg and non veg food.
For Non-Veg, many restaurants in Momin pura (this neighbourhood is a must visit during month of Ramzan) serve specialities like Biryani and other eats in places like M.L Canteen, Tanveer Hotel, Babbu's Hotel at old VCA Ground Sadar, Hotel Al-Zam-Zam on CA Road, Babbu's Hotel in Dharampeth. Many of these restaurants have branches in other places within Nagpur.
The best continental can be savoured at 10 Downing Street in Ramdas Peth while Fountain Sizzlers & Bistro serves amazing sizzlers.
Mount Road near Sadar is the best hang-out for foodies. Ashoka for continental or Indian, Nanking for Chinese, Barbecue for Punjabi (Indian Tandoori), Veeraswamy's and Kamat for South-Indian Food.
Zinq for Italian food, Masala for Indian, China for Chinese. V5, a group of 5 different restaurants including a bar, a family restaurant and a disco is a neat establishment. Village Tadka on outer ring road serves excellent Saoji cuisine and Saoji Chicken is a must try. And if you like Saoji taste, you can take home Saoji Curry of Actchawa, which can be used in easy one-step preparation of Saoji food. Pintu Saoji near Vidhan bhavan is also good.
Haldiram's is also a good place to eat it also provides packed food for Air/Railway Passengers.
Some of the restaurants of the hotels also offer a great dinner opportunity like Tuli's 'Frontier Post' for Afghani food (peshawari naan and frontier dal recommended) and LB's 'Drums of Heaven'. The Pride Hotel, a favourite amongst air-travelers due to its proximity to the airport, holds numerous food festivals throughout the year for food conneussiers.
For food on the run The Kathi Crossing near VCA Ground, Poonam Chambers Byramji Town, Pratap Nagar and LAD Collge offer amazing rolls which are a meal in themselves.
For street food, roadside carts are lined up with pani puri, Chat, Pav Bhaji and the Indianised version of Chinese noodles and Manchurian at Bajaj nagar and Yeshwant Stadium.You can also find them near Traffic Park and Futala Lake.
It has one of the biggest Grocery market in Central India near Shaheed Chowk. Shaheed chowk(square) is also very famous in the night for variety of street foods.
There is also a place for people who are on tight on budget namely " Calcutta Rolls " it is located in Sadar and one near Shankar Nagar Square.
- Indian Coffee House, West High Court Road.
Drink
There are numerous places in Nagpur for variety of drinks. Almost, all the hotels in City are fully licensed.
Sleep
Since its a booming economy for Nagpur, many of the good hotels have set up their businesses here. There are many hotels ranging from budget to luxury. MTDC counters at Railway Station And Airport will be able to help you find a good place to sleep. Below are few good hotels where a good bargain can be obtained.
- Hotel Siddhartha Inn, 90 Central Avenue, Near Agrasen Square, Gandhibagh (industrial market area, 2 km from railway station), ☎ +91 712 2727488. Each of 25 rooms is centrally air conditioned & elegantly furnished. Restaurant serving North and South Indian and Chinese cuisines.
- Radisson Blu Hotel Nagpur, 7 Wardha Road. Nagpur 440015, Maharashtra India, ☎ +91 712 6665888.
- Vits Hotel Nagpur (near railway station), 7 Dhantoli, Warda Road, ☎ +91 712-2452891, +91 712 61517555. Check-in: noon, check-out: 11:30AM. ₹4000.
Go next
- Bandhavgarh National Park — 465 km from Nagpur in Umaria district, M.P., Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve which has a population of about 59 tigers. Bandhavgarh is very well connected to Nagpur and Jabalpur.
- Mansar — 35 km from Nagpur. Has archeological excavations and temples. The best one is Ramdham.
- Pench Tiger Forest — 90 km from Nagpur. Nearer to Ram mandir Ramtek. Very good forest reserved for tigers.
- Ramtek — a temple town50 km from nagpur. Has wonderful temples on top of Satpuda hills and covered by greenery. Watersports are operated in Khindsi lake with water zorbing, water scooter, paddle boat, speed boat, banana boat and rain dance and cultural tourism park Ramdham is nearby.
- Tadoba — 180 km south of Nagpur in Chandrapur district, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve which has a population of 55-60 tiger and in addition about 25 cubs are spotted in 2009-2010 aged from 4 months to 18 months. Tadoba is very well connected to Nagpur, Chandrapur, Wardha and Ballarshah.
- Wardha — 70 km south west to Nagpur, this place has great importance in the history of independent India. Mahatma Gandhi's Ashram at Sewagram and Vinoba Bhave's Paramdham Ashram at Pawnar are 6 km and 9 km from Wardha. This place is also famous for its Khadi cloths. Ramtek is about 40 km from Nagpur a Hill where Lord Rama Visited.