Prayagraj Tourism

About Prayagraj Tourism

Prayagraj lies at Sangam or the Confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers. It is believed to be the second oldest city in India and plays a central role in Hindu scriptures.

The Mughal Emperor Akbar named it Illahabad, or the city of God, which the British changed to Allahabad. Mark Twain, the American author, referred to it as Godville. Recently, Allahabad has been officially renamed as Prayagraj. It became the capital of the North-Western Provinces in 1858 and was the capital of India for a day.

It is during the Kumbh/Ardh Kumbh that the Sangam truly comes alive, attracting the devout from all across the country. The city played an important role in the Revolt of 1857. Subsequently, it played a pivotal role in the freedom movement. The 1888 session of the Indian National Congress was held in the city, and by the turn of the 90th Century Prayagraj became a revolutionary Centre.

How to Reach Varanasi

By Air	By Rail	By Bus
Bamrauli Airport, Tel No: 2581370 Air India Office Tel: 2581380 (10.00am to 5.00 pm)	Prayagraj Junction Station Tel: 138, 139 Prayagraj City Station (Rambagh) Tel: 0532-2557978	UPSRTC Bus Stand, Civil Lines Tel: 0532-2407257 UPSRTC Bus Stand, Zero Road Tel: 07525022574, 576

Public Library

The Allahabad Public Library was founded by the Government of North-Western Frontier Provinces. The present institution, the Rajkiya (Government) Public Library is housed in the Thornhill-Mayne Memorial Building. It was erected in the memory of C.B. Thronhill and F.O. Mayne, as a testament of their enduring friendship and ascription to the values of scholarship.

The Library provides wide range of books, magazine, newspaper, gazettes and other reading materials, in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Bangla and French; some notable ones include the Majama-ul-Bahrain, the Shahnama of Firdausi, Jyotish-Shastra and Ganesh Puran.

It is the oldest library in Prayagraj. The library has almost 75000 books apart from government publications and parliamentary papers, old manuscripts and journals.

Allahabad Museum

Allahabad Museum is located at Kamla Nehru Road inside the picturesque Chandrashekhar Park (Company Bagh) about 2.5 kms from Prayagraj railway junction. The museum was opened to the public in 1954 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The collections of the museum have been displayed in the sixteen galleries of the museum including one gallery for temporary exhibitions. These galleries are Introductory Gallery; Decorative Art Gallery; Arms; Armours and Bronze Gallery; Textile Gallery; Modern Indian Painting Gallery; Freedom Struggle Gallery etc.

All the galleries of Allahabad museum are known for their remarkable exhibits. The museum has got a vast collection of terracotta’s from the important archaeological sites of Kaushambi, Manuscripts in Sanskrit and Persian. The Gandhi gallery depicting the life and achievements of Mahatma Gandhi through photographs houses some rare postal tickets, coins etc. issued by different countries in the honor of the Mahatma.

Explore Prayagraj Through Heritage Walk

Bhardwaj Rishi also spelled Bhardwaj was one of the greatest Hindu sages (Maharshi) descendant of Rishi Angirasa, Whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. He is one of the Saptarshis (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra, Gautama, Jamdagni, Kashyapa.

Brahaspatya is the progenitor of the Bharadwaj Family and the family is attributed as the Bharadwaj Family book as all its 75 hymns are composed by a member of this family over several centuries. He is belived to be a contemporary of King Bharta. Bhardwaj and his descendants were respected and powerful priests/rishis of several clans/dynasties of the Puru tribe, such as the Bharatas and the Panchalas. Bhardwaj Maharishi was saga of the Vedic times. He was the son of Brihaspati. He attained extraordinary scholarship. He had the great power of meditation. He is also the author of Ayurveda. His Ashram still exists at the holy Prayagraj.

Important Telephone Numbers

D.M. Prayagraj	Tel: 2250300, 2440515
S.S.P. Prayagraj	Tel: 2440700, 2641902
Kumbh Mela	Office Tel: 0532-2504011, 2504361