The location of Omkareshwar is very impressive. Almost picture postcard like with river Narmada creating the Mandhata island on which the Jyotirlinga temple is located. While Omkareshwar is very popular with devotees of Lord Shiva, there is nothing much for a casual tourist. But there is no doubt Omkareshwar impresses at first sight.
Jyotirlinga temple
Among the holiest shrines in India, the Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga temple is located on the island of Mandhata. Architecturally not very unique but its location high above the Narmada river makes it very attractive. And it looks beautiful when lit in the evenings.
Jyotirlinga temple, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh
Entry and timings
The temple can be reached by walk across the suspension bridge(or Jhula bridge as it called locally) or by taking a boat to Omkar Ghat that will require a climb over ramps and steps. It is open from early morning 5AM till 9.30PM, give or take half an hour. It is closed for cleaning purposes for upto 30 minutes 2-3 times during the course of the day. Entry is free but there is an option for VIP darshan(entry) that costs INR 300 person.
Mobiles can be carried though photography is prohibited inside the shrine. There is no specific dress code. There is small parking lot created for Jyotirlinga temple, just above Brahmpuri Ghat.
The inner shrine is very small
The actual inner shrine is very small with 2 entrances, general and VIP. Once inside, it was a familiar scene – extremely crowded with lot of pushing and jostling. I had about 30 seconds in front of the Jyotirlinga before I was asked to move and literally pushed out by the few priests standing on either side. Overall, for a 30 second darshan, a minimum of 1 hour is needed!
The views from the suspension bridge and the ramps outside the temple are excellent.
Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga temple, Madhya Pradesh View from Jyotirlinga temple, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Suspension bridge, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Shops lining the path to the temples, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh
Should one engage local priests?
Few local priests appeared from nowhere as soon as I alighted from the car, pestering me for quick darshan. I engaged one such person. He initially asked for INR 200 per person plus ticket charges. What I liked about him was his jovial nature and his genuine interest in narrating the history behind the Jyotirlinga, not only to me but to every other devotee in the queue, whoever cared to listen and ask questions. He did not buy the VIP tickets at the ticket counter but the security let us in, implying a sharing arrangement. Eventually he pestered me, in a nice way, for INR 1500 but I did not oblige. And paid INR 1000 only.
It is an individual choice to engage these local priests but it is not necessary. One can buy the tickets directly at the counter. Or join the longer general queue.
What else to see and do in Omkareshwar
Other temples to visit
There are lot of other small temples in Omkareshwar. Mamleshwar is the more famous one and there are many more on the mainland. On the Mandhata island too, there are several temples, most on the Parikrama route such as Kedareshwar, Gouri Somnath, Radha Krishna, Rin Mukteshwar, Siddhant and so on. There is also a large statue of Lord Shiva that is visible from the other side. Unless you have come specifically for the temples, they can all be skipped though many suggest that visit to Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga is not complete without visiting Mamleshwar temple that is believed to contain part of the Jyotirlinga.
Gouri Somnath temple, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Shiva statue, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh
The ghats of Omkareshwar
Before setting my foot in Omkareshwar, I was looking forward to quiet contemplation on one of the ghats on the banks of river Narmada. Reality was quite the opposite. The crowds, the constant noise of the boats running in the river, lack of clean spaces made it impossible to sit down peacefully! I did manage few quite moments though but well after 8pm. The Jyotirlinga temple, suspension bridge, elevated path on the Gaumukh ghat and the dam are lit in the night and looked great.
Also, aartis are not performed on the banks of the river except on some every special occasions.
Gaumukh ghat, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Nagar ghat, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh
Take a dip at Brahmapuri ghat if you must
The Narmada river exiting from the nearby dam flows at a fair clip through Omkareshwar and the river appeared quite clean. While there were many taking a dip at various ghats, I was not too inclined because I did notice road side drains carrying sewage and flowing into the river. There is an STP on Mandhata island and the treated water was being let into the river. If you must take a dip, try Brahmpuri ghat which is the first one just after the dam.
Some of the well known ghats are Brahmpuri, Gaumukh, Nagar and Abhay on the mainland and Omkar ghat on Mandhata island. I liked the Narmada ghat at Maheswari more than the ones at Omkareshwar.
Boating
This is a very enjoyable but short experience. While the boats can be used to cross over, many take a leisure ride from one end to the other. From the dam at one end where the current was pretty strong to Abhay Ghat at the other end. Boats are anchored at every ghat and hence quite convenient. Average cost is INR 200 per person but you can rent the entire boat. I rented a 10 seater for INR 1500, a discount of 500 and the trip barely lasted 15 minutes.
The boats are quite noisy and run till late in the evening. Even at 8pm, there were few boats plying.
Bridges over Narmada, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Omkareshwar dam, Madhya Pradesh
Parikrama(walk around)
The parikrama route on the Mandhata island is about 7kms long with several ups and downs but not hard. The locals say it takes about 3 hours to complete the entire parikrama. I went across the Narmada bridge with the intention of walking towards the Rin Mukteshwar Temple at one end of the island and had reached Kedareshwar temple before changing my mind, walking back and taking the steps to the top. It took me less than 30 minutes but it was a bit hard as there were surely over 200 steps of uneven stone blocks with many steps 2-3 times the height of a normal step.
The steps led directly to Gouri Somnath temple. The Shiva statue is also nearby. The twilight views from the top were quite nice.
View from Mandhata island, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh
When I visited, construction work was happening on the hill, with roads being laid. It appears that the State Government intends to built a 108 ft. tall statue of Adi Shankacharya, at a cost of INR 2000 crores. This decision has been stayed by the High Court. To an untrained eye, the area certainly cannot take the load of such a huge statue. But even if it is built, I hope authorities won’t find a way to allow vehicles to drive to Mandhata Island.
Zero point
This is a viewpoint above the Dam that provides a panaromic view of Omkareshwar. Don’t think this is a popular place as there is not much of a road to get here. Also, several trees here have grown that block the view and require trimming. Sailani Island, the dam and the Narmada river upstream are clearly visible.
How many days?
The general preference is to do a day trip though many, who come on a pilgrimage, wish to visit most of the temples and also do the parikrama. An overnight stay helps in that case.
Where to stay?
Almost all accommodation in Omkareshwar is budget accommodation. There are quite a few dormitories to accommodate larger families and groups of pilgrims. Rates can be as low as INR 200 per day. The only one that looked remotely like a 3 star hotel was MPT Temple view. Located on a hill, it has great views of the Jyotirlinga temple. Rooms are quite decent, the toilet so so and food was quite good. The windows in the restaurant are always shut to prevent monkeys from coming in and sharing food. Costs about 4k per night. Non peak times.
There is another nice resort, MPT Sailani Island Resort on the eastern side of the dam. Access is only by boat which means no movement between sunrise and sunset. There are two boating points, on either side of River Narmada and it can take 45 minutes or more to get to Omkareshwar.