Siyadevi temple in Balod, Chhattisgarh is an interesting destination. Surrounded with natural beautiful landscapes, this temple was once visited by lord Rama. Do you know why?
Siyadevi temple is 2 hours 40 mins drive from Raipur on Durg-Bhilai road that further leads to Balod via Gunderdehi. The roads are well constructed and there’s hardly any hassle in reaching this place on a hatchback. We took a break in Gunderdehi for tea and snacks, not bad but don’t expect a lot. The plains of Raipur area will slowly fade away near to Balod. The landscape here is a village view with terrains passing by every now and then on highway. Keep Google Maps handy soon after taking a turn on right to Balod crossing the welcoming gate.
Keep a track on signboard that points towards Siyadevi temple. People have been friendly to us and cooperative, to our guess asking for little help is no harm. The drive on this narrow lane to Siyadevi temple is about 25 mins long and might offer a few mud roads or cemented roads. Now that’s when you know that the temple is near.
We planned to visit Siyadevi temple on 1st January. There was a huge footfall this day, must be owing to celebration. This place is an amazing picnic area for friends, family and neighbours. So there were some random arrangements for car parking, even the buses and SUVs shared the same space. As we head towards the temple, there were temporary shop set ups and carts selling snacks, some decorative items and a few sculptures that if planning to by, do hard negotiations.
The temple premise is located on hilly area, but there are no steps or climbing required. The temple is built on the memory of goddess Sita and there’s a story behind it. People in the region tells the tale of Rama visiting this place during abduction of goddess Sita. Now, goddess Parvati tested lord Rama as she incarnates in form of Sita. Lord Rama immediately recognized and addressed her as Maa (mother). As Parvati illustrates this incidence to lord Shiva, he directed Parvati to stay at this place in the form of Sita forever. Hence the name Siyadevi. We didn’t dig deeper into facts but it’s these beautiful stories that grabs you by the memories.
Alright, after the blessings of goddess Sita, goddess Parvati and finally our favourite god Hanuman, we wandered about the premise. So here’s the exciting part. There’s what called as Kund at this place. It’s a small crater sort area that turns into natural waterfall during rains. So, the best time to visit this place is during September. The area is rocky and very green. Feeling of antioxidants in the air and the view gives a feeling of happiness collects back the gone energy. This place is the best to spend a few hours. If you really love water, don’t hesitate to take a bath but get some additional clothes.
Now there’s a possibility of tiny adventure here. There’s a very short but very narrow cave which has formed naturally. Challenge is to cross it. Now inside is absolutely dark and suffocating. For some seconds, you’ll have no idea where you’re going. But then there’ll be light. Not like accomplished something great, but definitely it’ll add a moment of fun.We highly suggest to get your own food and beverages packed from the city. The place will not offer much and sometimes nothing at all. The development of this area is still under progress. But nonetheless, it’s definitely a place to visit on one of your weekends in Chhattisgarh.
Nearby
There are a few places worth visiting in Balod. Although tourism is far away from this place, a weekend getaway is not a bad idea at all. We would like to thank the Instagram account @balodct helping us out on this list. Consider visiting these places on a single drive:
- Tandula Dam
- Ganga Mayya Temple
- Karkabhat Stoneage Place
