Madhya Pradesh, India · Asia
Bhopal sits on the route: 20 minutes from Kolar, 41km from Bhimbetka Rock Shelters.
Bhopal is in Madhya Pradesh, India, with about 1.8 million people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Kolar, about 10 km away.
Bhopal (Hindi: Bhōpāl, pronounced [bʱoːpaːl] ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the City of Lakes, due to presence of various natural and artificial lakes near the city boundary. It is also one ofRead more
the greenest cities in India. It is the 16th largest city in India and 131st in the world. After the formation of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal was part of the Sehore district. It was bifurcated in 1972 and a new district, Bhopal, was formed. Flourishing around 1707, the city was the capital of the former Bhopal State, a princely state of the British ruled by the Nawabs of Bhopal until India's independence in 1947. India achieved independence on 15 August 1947. Bhopal was one of the last states to sign the ‘Instrument of Accession’. The ruler of Bhopal acceded to the Indian government, and Bhopal became an Indian state on 1 May 1949. Sindhi refugees from Pakistan were accommodated in Bairagarh, a western suburb of Bhopal.
Bhopal has a strong economic base with many large and medium industries. Bhopal, along with Indore, is one of the central financial and economic pillars of Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal's GDP (nominal) was estimated at INR 44,175 crores (2020–21) by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Madhya Pradesh.
A Y-class city, Bhopal houses various educational and research institutions and installations of national importance, including ISRO's Master Control Facility, BHEL and AMPRI. Bhopal is home to a large number of institutes of National Importance in India, namely, IISER, MANIT, SPA, AIIMS, NLIU, IIFM, NIFT, NIDMP and IIIT (currently functioning from a temporary campus inside MANIT).
Bhopal city also has Regional Science Centre, Bhopal, one of the constituent units of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM).
The city attracted international attention in December 1984 after the Bhopal disaster, when a Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant (now owned by Dow Chemical Company) leaked a mixture of deadly gases composed mainly of methyl isocyanate, leading to the worst industrial disaster in history. The Bhopal disaster continues to be a part of the socio-political debate and a logistical challenge for the people of Bhopal.
Bhopal was selected as one of the first twenty Indian cities (the first phase) to be developed as a smart city the Smart Cities Mission. Bhopal was also rated as the cleanest state capital city in India for three consecutive years, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Bhopal has also been awarded a 5-star Garbage Free City (GFC) rating, making it the cleanest State capital in the country in 2023.
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Within an hour or so of Bhopal: Bhimbetka Rock Shelters (41 km), Sanchi Stupa (42 km).
Bhopal is in Madhya Pradesh, India, about 10 km from Kolar.
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Places within a drive of Bhopal. Keep the ones you like and add them to your trip.
2 notable places within an hour's drive.
ancient ruins
Sandstone shelters in the Vindhya hills holding painted panels spanning some 30,000 years, from Mesolithic hunting scenes to medieval horsemen, the oldest known rock art in the subcontinent.
41 km · about 50 min drive
ancient ruins
The oldest surviving stone structure in India, a hemispherical Buddhist stupa commissioned by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.
42 km · about 50 min drive
Year-round
Tropical latitude: plan around the wet season rather than temperature.
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