Top Places to visit in Kanpur (Kanpur Nagar), Uttar Pradesh

Kanpur Zoological Park, Kanpur is one of the oldest Zoological Park of india. It has been established and opened for the public on 4th february, 1974. The area of the Zoological Park is about 76.56 ha. It is established in a manmade forest. The terrain of the park is undulating and resembles a high forest. It is one of those Zoological Park which have been built on modern Zoo building principles. The animals inhabited in the Zoological Park have been put in open and moated enclosures. The moated enclosures give the animal ample space for movement and help in expressing their biological and physiological expressions. The enclosures are screened by terrain in such a way that one enclosure is not visible from the other. Thus the animals inhabiting the enclosures do not feel undue psychological pressure of the animals of adjoining enclosures.

This temple is a temple of Lord Jagannath. This temple is located in the village of Benhta, three kilometers from the headquarters of the Bhiatargaon Block of Kanpur district. It is said that the typical feature of this temple is that some drops of rain begin driping on its roof seven days before rain.

Although many times efforts have been made to know this secret, even after all the surveys, the archeological scientists could not find the exact timing of the temple’s construction and mystery. It is only possible to find that the last restoration of the temple was done in the 11th century.

Formerly known as Memorial Well Garden, it is the biggest park in Kanpur and is situated in the heart of the city on the Mall Road. After Independence, it has been renamed after Nana Rao Peshwa, the hero of the first War of independence in 1857. It is very beautifully laid out and has a plant nursery.

Kanpur Memorial Church, popularly known as All Soul’s Cathedral is an impressive architectural edifice that was constructed in 1875 to commemorate the courage and valor of the British troops who surrendered their lives in the tumultuous Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Walter Granville, an erstwhile architect of East Bengal Railway, was responsible for the exquisite Lombardy Gothic architecture of the church. The building is made up of vibrant red bricks adorned in multi-colored hues. The interior of the church houses the heartbreaking memorial tables, epitaphs and monuments that pay a tribute to those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their country. They also narrate the shattered hopes and dreams of the young whose life ended even before it had properly taken off. The Kanpur Memorial Church recounts the unfortunate massacre of the Kanpur Barracks and the betrayal of patriotic Nana Sahib, nicknamed ” The Butcher of Cawnpore”. A separate enclosure in the eastern extremity of the church contains the memorial garden and separated from the main building by an exquisitely carved and striking in appearance Gothic screen. At the center of the church stands a beautiful figurine of an angel, designed by the eminent Baron Carlo Marochetti. Post – independence statue and the screen have been relocated here from Kanpur’s famous Municipal Gardens near the Bibighar well. Some of the ancient graves are intriguing with interesting inscriptions. A visit to the beautiful Kanpur Memorial Church brings visitors face-to-face with the morbid truth of India’s struggle fore independence, a battle that caused enormous bloodshed on both sides.

This beautifully constructed temple is a unique blend of ancient and modern architecture. The even-level roofs of the mandaps have been provided with adequate ventilation for sufficient light and air. Among the five shrines in the temple, the central one is dedicated to Shri Radhakrishna and the others have idols of Shri Laxminarayan, Shri Ardhanarishwar, Shri Narmadeshwar and Shri Hanuman.

The Bhitargaon Temple is a terraced brick building fronted with a terracotta panel. Built in the 6th century during the Gupta Empire, it is the oldest remaining terracotta Hindu shrine with a roof and a high Sikhara, though its upper chamber did sustain some damage in the 18th century.

The temple is built on a square plan with double-recessed corners and faces east. There tall pyramidal spire over the garbhagriha. The walls are decorated with terracotta panels depicting aquatic monsters, Shiva and Vishnu etc. When Cunningham first visited the site, the remains of the porch and of the ardhamandapa were still visible, which later collapsed.

source: https://kanpurnagar.nic.in/tourist-places/

Transport

Airways

Currently Kanpur has three airports, which is the fifth highest in India, behind only Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi and Pune. Kanpur Airport has scheduled commercial flights to Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata . The nearest International Airport is the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at Lucknow, which is around 77.1 km from Kanpur.

Railways

Kanpur Central is a major railhead and is among the busiest railway stations in the country. Rail routes connect it to all major cities in the state and the country. It is an A-1 category railway station coming under the Allahabad railway division of North Central Railway zone of Indian Railways. Around 300 trains pass through the station daily.Other railway stations serving the city and its metropolitan region include Kanpur Anwarganj, Govindpuri, Panki ,Kalyanpur and Chakeri.

Roadways

The city has had chronic problems with maintaining local roads. There are several important National Highways that pass through Kanpur.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanpur