Kanpur is one of the major industrial centers of Uttar Pradesh, India. It has a great historical and cultural background.
Kanpur was known as ‘Kanhpur’ and was founded by King Hindu Singh. It was insignificant till 1801, when Kanhpur was handed over to British. In 1803, it was declared as a district. Many great leaders like Nana Sahib, Tantiya Tope, Azimoolah Khan and Brigadier Jwala Prasad hail from Kanpur.
Kanpur’s industrialization began with Government Harness and Saddler Factory which was started in 1860 to manufacture and supply leather material for army. Cooper Allen & Co started its operations in 1880 and Elgin Mills, the first cotton textile mill was started in 1862 followed by Moiré Mills in 1882.
Apart from Industrialization, Kanpur strives hard to provide best education. Reputed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Agricultural College, G.S.V.M. Medical College, National Sugar Institute and Government Textile Institute offer excellent courses and thousands of students aim to get admission into these reputed institutions.
Kanpur is just 80 Kms away from Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. Kanpur is at 26.4670° North and 80.3500° East and is surrounded by two main rivers of India, Ganges and Yamuna. The Kanpur city is spread over 1600 Sq. Km and is 126 meters above sea level. Kanpur has a population of 4.13 million as per the 2001 census
Best For:
Tanneries
Indian Institute of Technology
Summer in Kanpur is hot. During April-June, the temperature rises to 47 degree Centigrade and some times the dust storms and heat waves prevent people from commuting freely. Similarly, severe fog in December- January may disrupt the traffic. If not Foggy, the average temperature in January-February may be around 14 deg centigrade.
Best time to visit Kanpur is November-February
Indian Rupee is the acceptable currency to be used here. While Credit/ Debit cards are widely accepted, it is recommended to carry cash for better paying options and discounts. RBI has identified many money changers. You may check Som Dutt Builders (Prop. of The Landmark Hotel), Sarvshri Meghdoot Hotels (P) Ltd., HOM Electronics, Hassan Enterprises, Maz Trading Company who can help you to change your foreign currency to Indian Rupee
All foreign nationals need to have a valid Visa. And if they have one, they do not require any additional documents to visit Kanpur. Visitors from Bhutan staying for less than 3 months can enjoy visa exemption. Similarly, Nepalese and Maldivian visitors are also exempted who are staying for less than 3 months. However, Pakistani and Afghan nationals need to check the regulations prior to their travel
Air: Chakeri Airport is 11 Kms from the town. It is better to go to Amausi Airport of Lucknow, which is 65 kms away.
Rail: Kanpur is well connected by railways with north and eastern parts of the country. Shatabdi runs between Delhi-Kanpur.
Road: Kanpur is well connected by road with all the major cities of the country. Buses from Lucknow operate from/to the Collectorganj Bus Stand in Sadar Bazaar. Buses from Delhi, Agra, Haridwar and other western towns utilize Chunniganj bus stand services.
Kanpur Airport is owned by Indian Air Force and operated by Airport Authority of India. The runway is 9000 ft. long. Indian Airlines started its services during 1984 from Kanpur Airport and stopped operating after few months. Subsequently, Archana Airways operated between Kanpur and Delhi. But this service also stopped after a minor mishap. Air Deccan too withdrew its flights on the Delhi-Kanpur-Delhi, Lucknow-Kanpur-Lucknow sector due to lack of night landing facilities.at Kanpur.
The other two airports which occasionally operate are Chaker airporti ( Civil Enclave), which is approximately 11 Kms from Kanpur Airport and I. I. T.(Kalyanpur) which is about 23 Kms away.
Generally Amausi Airport of Lucknow, which is 65 kms away from Kanpur is well connected and the same is used to reach Kanpur by Air.
Kanpur has a long history and the visitors may visit lot of places when they are holidaying in Kanpur. The first and foremost place recommended by all is Jajmau. Jajmau was known as Siddhapuri, the kingdom of Yayati ruled by the Pauranic king. The places worth seeing are the Siddhnath and Siddha Devi temples. There is a mausoleum of Makhdum Shah Ala-eul-Haq built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1358.
Shri Radhakrishna Temple is a modern temple built by J K Trust. Another temple worth visiting is Jain Glass Temple, situated in Maheshwari Mohal.
The visitors love to visit the Kanpur Memorial Church also known as All Soul's Cathedral which was constructed in 1875. Allen Forest Zoo, Kamla Retreat, Phool Bagh, Nana Rao Park are some other tourist places
Where To Eat:
Kanpur offers a wide choice of food like vegetarian, Chinese and Pizzas. Visit Chung Fa for authentic Chinese and enjoy Dominos Pizzas at Dominos. Other good restaurants that satisfy your taste buds are Kabab Corner, Kwality, Mehak, Orient , Sarover etc.
Where To Stay:
There are many good hotels in Kanpur as many people visit Kanpur on business. Kanpur has a five star hotel - The Landmark with 123 guest rooms and 8 suites. One can select a four star Hotel Meghdoot or a three star Hotel Gaurav. There are many two star and budget hotels also There are guest houses like Seema Guest House, Ratan Guest House, Zeal Guest House, Alankar Guest House etc.
There are many interesting places around Kanpur. One of them is the ancient settlement of Bithur which is 27 kms west of Kanpur. This place has Hindu religious sentiments. Bithur hosts a colourful village fair during October-November, on the Kartik Purnima, the full moon night. Sita Kund and Sita rasoi, deep Malika Stambha may be covered in this place.
Bhitargaon is about 60 kms southwest of Kanpur. This Gupta era temple built with bricks is interesting with unique terracotta sculptures and figures of makaras.
Ancient site of Musanagar which is nearly 65 Kms from Kanpur and a large fair during Kartik Purnima, in the months of October-November at the the Muktadevi temple. One may visit Kannauj , which is 80 kms from Kanpur too.
Many Indian cities have Bird sanctuaries. The bird lovers can visit this Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary on Kanpur-Lucknow highway
Moderately recommended. It may not be
advisable to go only to Kanpur.
You may stay in Kanpur
for a day or two, cover local sight seeing and cover some places around Kanpur, before going to
other places.
