bareilly

Devotees of Shiva are spread over several faiths, orders, sects or akharas. Members of the akharas are generally known as babas. These akharas are generally found in Northern India. There are four such akharas in Bareilly. One of these is called Naga Sanyasis of the Anand order. This akhara serves as the headquarters of the Naga sadhus. They have built a temple devoted to God Shiva, also called Alakhnath, in its premises. The name of the temple is Alakhnath temple. Besides the main temple, there are several other temples as well in the premises. These are dedicated to other gods, goddesses and deities. There are several buildings around the temple where the sanyasis or the babas live. The sadhus or the babas accept offerings from the devotees and smear holy ash on their forehead as a mark of blessings.
 

Chunne Miyan’s Lakshmi Narayan Temple is situated in Koharapeer locality in Katra Maamrai region of Bareilly. It stands close to Budhwari Masjid. This is the area where the migrants from Pakistan settled after the partition of India. They built a temple at a piece of land that belonged to a Muslim, popularly addressed as Chunne Miyan. His actual name was Fazal-ul-Rahman. Chunne Miyan filed a case against the encroachers, but one day he heard the sermon of Shri Harmilapi Ji Maharaj who came from Haridwar. He was so much enchanted by the sermon that he not only gave up his suit against the temple people, but also started supporting it financially. Since then, the name of the temple is tagged with that of Chunne Miyan and is called Chunne Miyan’s Lakshmi Narayan Temple or just Chunne Miyan’s mandir. His name is engraved on the top of the list of donors for the temple. 
 

The site where Doopeshwarnath temple is located has great historical and religious importance. It is the place where, Draupadi, the central character of Mahabharata and Dhristadyumna were born with the blessings of Lord Shiva. According to scriptures, the site of the temple was consecrated when Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a Shiv Ling before Rishi Dhoom, a disciple of Rishi Arti, who meditated and worshipped Lord Shiv here for a long time. Doopeshwarnath Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is built in the cantonment area of the city. The temple features an ancient tunnel or a goofa that leads to the idol of Doopeshwarnath. Although a short tunnel, it is filled with knee deep water, and the devotees have to wade through it in order to have the darshan of the revered god. The temple complex also houses a huge water body whose water is known to cure skin diseases.
 

Shri Trivati Nath Temple is one of six ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located on the outskirts of the city of Bareilly. Lord Shiva is also called Trivati Nath. According to legends, Lord Shiva or Trivati Nath prophesied that he would appear in the dream of a shepherd under the three banyan trees located in the dense forest in the panchal area. True to the prophecy, the shepherd who was lying asleep under the banyan trees saw a shiv ling in his dream. When he woke up he found a shivling lying near the roots of the trees. It is widely believed by the devotees that whosoever worships Shri Tivati Nath with full faith and devotion gets all his desires fulfilled. The temple, therefore, draws huge crowds of devotees every day.
 

There are several amusement parks by the name of Fun City in India, but the one in Bareilly is claimed to be the largest in Northern India. Fun City Park is filled with a host of amusement facilities for people of all ages. It is, therefore, a popular leisure and get-together destination not only for the residents of Bareilly but for the tourists also. The amusement park was setup over an area of 13 acres of prime land in the city in 2000. Fun City offers an exciting range of activities such as water sports, car, bus and train rides, seashore experience and playing machines for children, and many more. The popular features of Fun City are a water park named Boond that offers exciting adventure rides, a roller coaster, a discotheque and an amphitheatre.
 

One shrine that has earned the city of Bareilly an international fame is Dargah-e-Ala-Hazrat. Located in the narrow lanes of mohalla Saudagran in the city, the shrine was constructed in reverence to a Muslim saint and scholar, Alahazrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan. Born on 14th June, 1856 the great scholar was given the reverential title of Ala Hazrt the great wise man because he was a personification of knowledge and a bright star of the literary world. He was an authority on Muslim religion. He created an Islamic centre of knowledge at this place, and it became a centre of pilgrimage for people around the world. They came in large numbers to study his monumental literary creations in Urdu, Arabic and Persian.