Temples in Amarkantak

Amarkantak is a small town on a forested plateau in the Maikal hills of Anuppur district, where the Narmada rises. The source is enclosed in a temple complex, and from here the river flows west across Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to the Arabian Sea. For those undertaking the Narmada parikrama — the vow of walking the river's full length on both banks — Amarkantak is the beginning and the end. The Son river also rises nearby, and the plateau holds a group of Kalachuri-period temples.

Best time to visit: October to March; the plateau is cool in winter. Narmada Jayanti and Mahashivratri are the principal occasions.