Pura Mahadev village in Baghpat draws lakhs of devotees to Sawan Mela
Lucknow, July 22 -- Just a year after being named India's 'Best Heritage Tourist Village' by the Ministry of Tourism, Pura Mahadev in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district is now proving why it earned that honour - with an extraordinary surge in pilgrim footfall this Sawan.
Once a quiet rural site, the village is now welcoming over one lakh visitors every day, and on Mondays the figure surges between six to seven lakh. This year tourists from the UK, Canada and Mauritius have arrived in the village to see the Mela of Sawan.
Officials estimate that around 40 lakh pilgrims will participate in the Sawan Mela, which concludes on July 24, transforming the village into a buzzing centre of devotion and rural enterprise.
The village is home to the ancient Parshurameshwar Mahadev Temple, believed to have been established by sage Parshuram. Pilgrims - many of them barefoot Kanwariyas carrying Ganga water from Haridwar - queue up here from the early hours for Jalabhishek rituals.
With the expected surge, authorities have stepped up arrangements. The district administration has installed LED floodlighting, barricades, drinking water stations, mobile toilets, and first-aid booths. Special zones for Kanwariya rest stops have been created to handle the mass movement of devotees.
"This year, we've had visitors from across India and abroad - the UK, Mauritius, Canada," said Sanjeev Sharma, secretary of the temple committee. "The recognition as a heritage village gave us visibility. Sawan has taken it to another level."
Declared the Best Heritage Tourist Village in 2024, Pura Mahadev's transformation didn't happen overnight. The state government's targeted investment - part of its rural-religious tourism revival strategy - has led to upgraded roads, sanitation facilities, homestays, and cultural programmes designed to bring India's spiritual heartlands back to prominence. "This isn't just a case of an old temple attracting visitors," said an official of the department of tourism. "It's a story of rural pride, devotion, and a heritage village finally getting its due. What we see in Pura Mahadev is the impact of focused tourism planning backed by faith."
What's also drawing attention is how rural tourism is flourishing alongside faith-based travel. At least 10 local homestays, including Pinki Homestay, Ram Homestay and Malik Homestay, are fully booked. Thanks to domestic and international guests looking for immersive village experiences.
"We had guests from London who stayed for the rituals but stayed longer for the experience - early morning aartis, helping in the kitchen, visiting sugarcane farms," said Pinki Malik, a homestay operator.
The state's tourism roadmap includes turning the area around Pura Mahadev into a multi-site spiritual belt, linking nearby temples like Patleshwar Mahadev and Shri Padm Madhav Temple. The goal is to balance heritage preservation with economic opportunity, a strategy officials say is now being closely studied by other states.
"Tourism today is not just about numbers. It's about reconnecting with roots while building futures," said minister of Tourism and Culture Jaiveer Singh. "That's exactly what Pura Mahadev represents."...
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