Tourism in Marathwada


Tourism in Marathwada refers to tourism in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state of India. Aurangabad city is a regional headquarter of Marathwada and tourism capital of Maharashtra state. Out of 4 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Maharashtra, 2 of them are in Marathwada. Also there are 110 monuments in Marathwada which are protected by Government of Maharashtra and recognized by Archaeological Survey of India. Marathwada is also important region for Religious tourism, out of 12 Jyotirlingas of Hindu God Shiva, 3 are in Marathwada. Hazur Sahib Nanded is the second holiest place in Sikhism after Harminder Sahib of Amritsir. There are also sufi shrines in Marathwada, most famous among them is Turabul Haq Dargah at Parbhani where thousands of people of all religion visits dargah annually. Pathri in Parbhani district is birthplace of Sai Baba of Shirdi and Sai Baba Birth Temple in Pathri is one of major religious tourism place in Marathwada.

Caves

Pitalkhora Caves: This colorful Buddhist caves are 17 Km away Kannad Town. It is carved in 1 century and is first cave in Asia.

Hindu temples

s are known as "Sign of God Shiva". These are mentioned in Shiva Purana. It is believed that Shiva first manifested himself as a Jyotirlinga on the night of the Aridra Nakshatra, thus the special reverence for the Jyotirlinga. There is nothing to distinguish the appearance, but it is believed that a person can see these lingas as columns of fire piercing through the earth after he reaches a higher level of spiritual attainment. Though contested with other claimants elsewhere for each of these, there are the following Jyotirlingas in Marathwada.
other two Jyothirlings, Bhimashankar and Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple are in Maharashtra state, close to Marathwada.
Other major temples
on Angaraki Chaturthi most of devotees visit the temple.
Marathwada has been the 2nd most visited region by Sikhs in India after Punjab. Central Gurudwara in Marathwada is Hazur Sahib Nanded. Nanded has been associated with the first and the last of the Sikh Gurus. While Guru Nanak Dev passed through it during his extensive travels which took him as far south as Sri Lanka, Guru Gobind Singh spent his last years in Nanded. Bhai Daya Singh who is among Panj Pyare of Sikhism, lived in Aurangabad and Gurdwara named Gurdwara Bhai Daya Singh is established in Aurangabad which is visited by large number of Sikhs.
Following are the major Gurdwaras in Marathwada:
In history Marathwada was part of Mughal empire and Nizam of Hyderabad. Marathwada has its own Islamic heritage in the form of art and culture.
Following are some of important Sufism and Muslim leaders related places in Marathwada.

Monuments and forts

There are 110 state protected monuments in Marathwada out of total 244 state protected monuments in Maharashtra state.
Following are some of monuments.

Outline of tourism in india