Ratapani jungle lodge will leave you awestruck by the sheer beauty of the pristine forest

Ratapani Jungle Lodge is a Jungle and Wildlife Safari Lodge, situated 30 Km from the City of Bhopal, on the fringes of Ratapani Tiger Reserve, 200 meters from the Kolar Dam. Amidst beautiful and dense teak forests, an area inhabited by Tiger,Wildcats,Sloth-bears Foxes,Hyenas,Deer’s and Languor’s. This is a quiet and quaint Jungle Lodge, spread over the edge of a cliff, overlooking the Kolar Reservoir and the beautiful Ratapani Jungles, in the valley below .Never can one imagine the beautiful view of stars living in the City,we all have those childhood memories of the spectacular astral display.This is an ideal place to be reminded of those special memories and cherish and revisit them with family and friends.

More About The Place
Ratapani Jungle Lodge is situated at the edge of one of the largest water bodies in the region along the sides of the forests . When you come for a stay here ,an early morning or evening, dusk, walk along the reservoir can pleasantly surprise you at times with the wildlife you may come across.The drive up to the Lodge gives one a semblance of no less than a Safari of sorts.The Lodge itself, presents a welcoming warmth, blending into the surrounding greens and the beautiful breeze here specially in monsoons will just take your breathe away , all way long far away from the noise of traffic , no nuisance around only peace and the sounds of birds and animals .In the premises they also have fitness club as well as a library too .

Attraction
The main attraction here the forest , the dam , the silence . The lodge also provides you with varieties of rooms to choose,offering Six Luxurious Large AC Suite Rooms, Three Wonderfully Furnished Air-conditioned Deluxe Rooms, One Large AC Cottage Room, Six RJL AC Luxury Tents, Large Verandah’s, a beautiful Large AC Club Lounge, a sprawling dining area,the Gol-Ghar,Three large Gazebos to choose from, overlooking the hill and the reservoir below, a beautiful large Sunset Deck, offering a breathtakingly scintillating sunset, almost half a Km of all season walkway within the property itself, lovely winding staircase descending through the forest, on to the Seven large Lower Decks, finally on to the Mahua Tree.

Food
They have variety of options for the Dining Spaces for people to settle down and enjoy their meals, as per their taste and preference of ambience. The Evening Point (open, seating 30), with complimentary evening Bonfire, after sunset. Ratapani Jungle Lodge have a very large deck, known as the Evening Point or the Upper Deck, which offers a panoramic view of the Kolar Reservoir and also the Jungles and Hills, in front. They also have a series of decks closer to the reservoir, connected by two stairways, known as the Lower Decks, which takes us closer to the water and also allow us to enjoy the Jungle and the Lake from closer quarters.The food is really tasty here and Variety of food is available which you could order either in your rooms or one could eat in open .

How to reach here
Kolar Dam, Adjacent to the Forest Rest-house.

if going through bhopal : -Bhopal Bhadbhada – Neelbudh – Ratibudh – Budjhidi – Jhagaria At Jhagaria you will see two petrol pumps, next to one another, on your right hand side
At that point there is a Left Turn,Take that road.
Villages you will cross along the way :- Lilakhadi – Abidabad – Jeewantal – Kolar Dam.
21 Kms on the road, right next to the Forest Rest house, only 300 meters before the Kolar Dam, is RJL, falling on your right hand side.

Dargah , Takia Island in the middle of lake attracts you to know more about it .

Bhopal , known as city of lakes , steeped in romance.It is stories within a story, set in chapters that make you want to linger and turn the page, all at the same time. It stars a king who fell terribly ill, a deep sparkling lake and a queen of incomparable beauty.In between waters , there is something which is related to faith and such religious aspects to it .Holy Mazar at Takia Island in the center of ‘Bada Talab’. Takia Island which has a tomb of Shah Ali Shah Rahamatullah Alla. The place where people go from boats at Takia Island of Ali Shah.

More about the Island

Hazrat shah Ali Shah Rahmatullah Alaih was a great sufi saint of Bhopal. He used to live on an isolated island in the Upper Lake of Bhopal in the 18th century. At that time, very few people dared to go to the island and the sufi saint used to meditate in complete solitude and isolation. After his death, people came to know about his ‘karamaat’ and started to flock the Takia island. Earlier, there was only his grave there. But during some years back, the caretaker Syed Rizwan Ali has made some good constructions at Takia Island including a domed mausoleum.

Attractions

The people get attracted to this religious place , as it is all surrounded by water . When you reach at the lake you find boats there , you have to hire one and which will take to this place . One could feel the connection between the soul and place here at Takia Island. The beauty of this place can not be expressed in words , one could feel it by reaching here . The island looks even more beautiful at night time , it is given the green lights which increases its beauty even more , when seen at night . But it is not allowed to go there at night .

Address And Timings

Address : Upper lake area , Boat club Takia Island , bhopal (462002)

timings : Before 7 pm

Nice place to visit , by the waterfront

The view from this place is something which one can never forget . By the Waterfront , Vardhaman park has a lot of visitors specially in monsoons .This is a nice , decent garden from where one can also access the boat facility to the lake .This place is really very pleasant and calm .The pathway were you can take the whole tour of the place , adoring the nature , the water front , sounds of birds .This place will definitely make you come here .

Ambiance

At Vaerdhaman Park , one could feel the peacefulness of the place along with the view of beautiful nature around it . The trees , the lake , boats , fountains , sound of birds this all will make your soul satisfied and you will feel like you should for some more time there .

Attractions

The Park has a waterfront here , which is the main attracting part of this park and also the sunset looks really beautiful from here . Apart from this people come here for jog or walk here in early morning or evening time . Apart from the part, when you walk out of the place you have so many things to explore here , like horse riding , boating , van vihar if you are a animal lover and many more things are there to explore here .When you walk out of the park there is a small waterfall too which looks very beautiful and near by are two temples also .

Food

There are a lot of options of food here . Many people come here with there families , friends , partners on a picnic , so mostly they carry there own stuff . Apart from this when you come out the park you get a hotel known as hotel ranjeet , then going a head you have tea pot , cafe coffee day, winds and waves , lehar , zauk any more food options here .

Address

Address :Lake View Walk Path, near Kamla Park, Krishna Nagar, Shymala Hills, Bhopal

In Monsoon ,this place is a must visit

Bhopal , city of lakes has so many places to explore . Places which would take your breathe away . There are so many reason that you should visit Bhopal, being in central India, the heart of India it has a lot of greenery here and we can’t get off this fact that it has really beautiful lakes here . One such place to visit here , specially in monsoon is Bhadbhada Dam

About Bhadbhada Dam

The Dam is set of 11 sluice gates at south east corner of Upper Lake. It was constructed in 1965 .The gates are used to control the outflow of water from the lake to Kaliasot river. The gates get usually opened only when the city receives heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. It has a full tank level of 1666.80 feet. People love to go there throughout the year with family and friends to have outing and picnics, but it becomes picturesque during rains. Locals wait for the news of opening of its gates when lake is overflowing and rush to see its beauty.

Attractions

The main attractions when people get to come at any cost is when after heavy rainfall the gates of the dam gets opened. Then in from of the main pathway there is Bridge of Sair Sapata , when visited at night time will sooth you from inside out after seeing the lights of the bridge . Going ahead on this road, in front is National Judicial academy . There is a Hindu temple near the sluice gates. It’s a free visit place. People love to come here at Bhadbhada Dam throughout the year with family and friends to have outing and picnics, but it becomes picturesque during rains. Locals wait for the news of opening of its gates when lake is overflowing and rush to see its beauty.

Food

There are lots of options of snacking here . The most common in monsoon season is Bhutta (corn), all types of corns are here . Then you got options in ice creams , pop corns are there and many more things . If want to have proper dine out with your family and friends you could visit near by places Like JehNuma Retreat , Sayajee, Sair Sapata have food options , or about 1 or 2 km away there are many options which may also be feasible .

Address

South east corner , Upper Lake near by Nehru Nagar

Here are the reasons why you must visit the upper lake of Bhopal

Bhojtal is formally known as upper lake as it resides on the western side of Bhopal. Bhojtal lake is also comes under Ramsar site, as it is famous for its wetland. Specially for a tourist perspective if you haven’t visited at this place in Bhopal so definitely your tour would be still incomplete in Bhopal. This lake is famous for its sun set, charismatic view from the side line of the lake, magnificent roads, scenic beauty, nearby resorts, hotels etc.

History of Bhopal Lake

According to the local folklore, Bhojtal is said to have been built by the Paramara Raja Bhoj during his tenure as a king of Malwa (1005–1055). He is also said to have established the city of Bhopal (also named after him, then as Bhojpal) to secure the eastern frontier of his kingdom. once a king suffered from the skin disease and all vaidyas(doctors) failed to cured him. Then one day a saint gave him an advice to build a tank and take a bath in it to wipe out your skin disease. Later on, the lake was constructed and today what we know as upper lake or Bhojtal.

Activities

Beauty of majestic hills and lush forest, one can enjoy relaxing time with friends and family. Many sports related activity are also available here. One can enjoy various recreational activities like boating, canoeing and kayaking. The beautiful ‘Kamla Park’ adjoining the lakes is a favorite haunt for locals to spend lovely evenings, soaking themselves in the tranquil settings of the place. It will give you a chance to rejuvenate and refresh yourself after visiting this mesmerizing place. It would also bolster you in pacifying your soul.

Bhopal Sunset and Roads

Smooth long road driving with the beautiful scenic sunset next to the track would take you up to the cloud nine. Indeed, whosoever come at this place this natural beauty would feed into your memory which is difficult to vanish from your mind.

View more points on the eastern part of Bhopal’s upper lake

Sri Dadaji Dhuniwala Darbar- Temple

Sudarshan Chakra- Symbol of the strike corps

Tea Pot Cafe

Lehar gym

Food point – Zauq Mughlai restaurant

Timings- 6 am to 10 am

1.30 pm to 11 pm

Foodie restaurant
Lehar restaurant
Music and karaoke nights (evening time)

Garden- Jeevan Vatika Lokarpan

Street Vendors – Street eateries such as Sandwiches, Bhel, Samose etc.