Ambikapur is the northern city of Chhattisgarh. It is also the headquarters of Surguja District and Surguja Division.

Understand

It is one of the oldest cities in the state. From 1613 to 1948 when it acceded to the Indian Union, Ambikapur was the capital of the princely state of Surguja.

In 2011, it had a population of 115,000 people.

Get in

By train

Ambikapur is connected to the Anuppur railway junction, a bordering town in Madhya Pradesh. Trains reach Ambikapur from Katni, Satna, Jabalpur, Durg, Bhopal and the state capital Raipur. More destinations, such as New Delhi, can be reached from Anuppur railway junction.

By car

Ambikapur is well connected by road to the other major cities of Chhattisgarh such as Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh. Daily bus services also run for Varanasi and Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh (170 km), Raipur (337 km) and Garhwa in Jharkhand (160 km).

By bus

Bus services from Anuppur to Ambikapur operate via Manendragarh and Surajpur. The bus journeys from Bilaspur and Anuppur take between five and six hours.

By plane

Ambikapur Airport is in Darima, 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Ambikapur. The air strip is mostly used by small aircraft and helicopters. It is the nearest airport with regular scheduled flights to Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state.

See

• Raghunath Palace (Surguja Palace). It is a white, two-storey palace. This palace is open for public only on the day of Dussehra every year. Its an old tradition that the heir of royal family of Surguja meets and greets the visitors on Dussehra and the festival is celebrated in a pompous manner. (updated Jun 2018)