Sagar, called the city of lakes, is a city in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. In a picturesque situation on a spur of the Vindhya Range and 1758 ft. above sea-level, Sagar is a handsomely built university town with great natural beauty and cultural heritage. Hindi is the official language of the city, while Bundelkhandi is the local dialect. Sagar is well known for its contribution to Hindi literature, and hosts a number of writers, poets and other artists leading in their respective fields.

The region is popular on India's tourism scene, due to its cultural heritage and diversity. Some places of interest in and around Sagar are Rahatgarh Waterfalls, Garhphra Mountains and Temples, and Khimlasa Forts. Sagar is developing into an industrial area with many new corporate industries setting up their plants within the city. Sagar has its own hospital and medical research centre called Bhagyoday Tirth, as well as an army cantonment unit. The city known as the Heart of Madhya Pradesh has a very good transportation network with the railway system Indian Railways and national highways National Highways Authority of India connecting it with all major cities across India. The nearest airport from the city is at Bhopal, the capital of the state of M.P.

Sagar region is served by various media networks. Regional commercial television networks such as Doordarshan (DD)operate in and around the city. The region also receives local radio networks and is home to various daily newspapers such as Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jaagran. The Pragati Shopping Mall and many commercial shops are located mainly in the Civil Lines area. Sagar has a small stadium, where different sporting events are organized. Cricket, Football and Hockey are the most popular sports.

Places of interest in Sagar District

Rahatgarh, Tehsil Sagar-Rahatgarh water fall: A small town 40 km west of Sagar on Bhopal Sagar Road renowned for its battlement ramparts, its gates and its ruins of palaces temples and mosques. It is picturesquely situated on the steep bank of the river Bina which is crossed at this point by a fine bridge of fourteen arches, completed in 1863. Close to the town stands the famous fort of Rahatgarh. It outer wall consists of 26 enormous towers, some of which were used as dwellings connected by curtain walls and enclosing a space of 66 acres. Two miles away from the fort is a waterfall nearly 50 feet high in picturesque surroundings.

Khimlasa, Tehsil Khurai: Panch Pir DargahKhimlasa is said to have been founded by a Mohammedan noble and was mahal in the sarkar of Raisen of the subah of Malwa. The town of Khimlasa is enclosed within a fortified wall built of stone rubble more or less coursed.

In the centre of the town is a bastion fort of which the gateways alone form an interesting feature. One one side of the fort is the dargah of the Panch Pirs, with an elaborately carved perforated screen work, which deserves a special mention.

Abchand, Tehsil Sagar: In the ravines of river Gadheri, ensconced in the dense growth of Abchand reserve forest, about 22 miles east of Sagar on the Sagar-Damoh road, exist about a dozen rock-cut caves with paintings of the same type as found at Singhanpur and Adamgarh. The largest cave is about 40 feet in length and its walls contain more than a dozen paintings showing activities of the pre-historic men. The hunting scenes represent individual or group of hunters. They are equipped with bows and arrows, spears and other weapons. The game animals shown in these paintings, are bison's, bulls, deer antelopes, tiger, boars etc. In one of the Shelters a fierce fight between two tigers is fitfully depicted. The primitive people seem to have amused themselves with songs and dances. At one place seven figures are shown dancing hand-in-hand in a row. In front of them are played instruments like drums, dhapli and flutes. The colours used in these paintings are yellow, green, red, black, and white. The red colour shows different shades, dark orche and pink. The super- imposition or overlapping is also clear in some cases. There are also some symbolic representations such as the swastikia, taurine, cross and the tree within railing symbols.

Baleh, Tehsil Rehli: Baleh Tehsil Rehli is a village 36 miles south-east of Sagar and 11 miles from Rehli with which it is connected by a road. A record found here mention Palvana or Yalavana Pattala and refers to a Chandika temple. Formerly the estate of Baleh consisting of 53 villages belong to a gond family of Patehra, which being driven out of Deori, settled here in 1747. It has some old tanks and betel vine gardens producing a leaf of some reputation.

Bamora, Tehsil Khurai: Bamora, Tehsil Khurai - A large village with a railway station on the Bina-Itarsi line of the Central Railway. There is a ruined temple built of stone without mortar similar to the one at Janjgir. The date of erection is not known, but it is believed to be very ancient. It contains a small stone image of a Varaha and one of a horse with rider. In one corner is an image of Shiva placed there since the temple passed out of its original use. There are also Buddhist ruins in the village.

Barodia kalan, Tehsil Khurai: Barodia Kalan, Tehsil Khurai is 30 miles north of Sagar on the Jhansi road. There is a ruined fort of the late mediaeval period in the village. On 31 January 1858, an encounter took place at Barodia Kalan between a British force and the insurgents, who had concentrated here after the fall of Rahatgarh fort. A remarkable scene of heroism was enacted in this place, as the Afghan soldiers, even when dying, killed their enemies with their broad swords. From the river Bina to the garhi the British had to fight their way step by step. The fort was surrounded and occupied, but the casualties suffered by the victors were severe.

Bhapel, Tehsil Sagar: Bhapel, Tehsil Sagar - A village is 9 miles from Sagar on the Rahatgarh road. It is also called Phular as there is a temple of Mahadeo, locally called Phulnath. During the great Uprising on 15 December 1857 Bhapel was the site of an engagement between a British detachment from Sagar and the mutineers. An annual religious fair is held on the Purnima Day after Diwali which is attended by about 3,000 persons.

Bilhera, Tehsil Sagar: Bilhera, Tehsil Sagar - A village is 17 miles South of Sagar. It was founded in about 1659 A.D. by a Rajput chief called Pargal Shah, brother of Udan Shah, the founder of Sagar who built the small fort which still stands. Later it was assigned, along with other villages as a grant for the maintenance of the old Dangi rulers of Sagar.

Bina, Tehsil Sagar: Bina, Tehsil Khurai - A town at an elevation of 1352 feet is an important Railway Junction on the Central Railway 47 miles from Sagar by Rail and adjoining the town of Etawa. The Station having been named after the Bina River to avoid confusion with another Etawa in Uttar Pradesh. It is connected with Katni Junction on the Central Railway by a branch line through Sagar and Damoh.

Binaika, Tehsil Banda: Binaika, Tehsil Banda - A large village is 24 miles north of Sagar. It is supposed to have been populated in the 15th Century and was held by the Gond rulers of Garh Mandla from whom it was taken by Raja Beer Singh Deo of Orchha and was ceded to the Marathas in 1730 by Chhatrasal Later the Maratha Governor Vinayakrao built a fort here. In 1842 it was plundered by the Bundela Thakur from Narhut and Chandrapur and thereafter in 1857 was held by the Raja of Shahgarh on the 18th July 1857 a company of soldiers with two European Officers sent from Sagar to Binaika on the 21st the insurgents, having been reinforce from Shahgarh attacked this detachment with a gun and in the action that followed Major Legard was defeated and had to return to Sagar.

Deori, Tehsil Rehli: Deori, Tehsil Deori - A municipal town at an elevation of 1409 feet on the Sukhchain river is 40 miles from Sagar on the Narsinghpur road. It was formerly called Ramgarh or Ujargarh but following the erection of a temple it was renamed as Deori meaning the "abode of God". The town is believed to have been founded about 400 years ago by a Chandel Raja to whom local tradition ascribes the present fort. In the kingdom of Garh Mandla the Garh of Deori contained 750 mouzas. Later it became the capital of a tract known as Panch Mahal comprising Naharmau, Gourjhamer Chawarpatha and Tendukheda and was in possession of Durga Singh, the Gond ruler of Gourjhamer who is known to have rebuilt the fort. In 1767 Deori and the attached tract of Panchmahal were given rent free by the Peshwa to Dhondu Dattatreya a deshastha Maratha Brahman.

Dhamoni, Tehsil Banda: Dhamoni, Tehsil Banda - A village 29 miles North of Sagar on the Jhansi road has a rich historical past. Though know deserted it was a place of sufficient importance to be a Garh in the Kingdom of Garh Mandla and has 750 mouzas. Dhamoni is undoubtedly a place of archaeological interest on account of old ruins. The fortress stands on an eminence and has a triangular ground plan enclosing a space of 52 acres.

Gadpahra, Tehsil Sagar: It is also called old Sagar, was the capital of the Dangi Kingdom. It is situated six miles north of Sagar on Jhansi road. Gadphara still has some historical remains. The fort build on a low range of hills, is approached by a steep road leading to bastion, a rough gateway and a white washed temple on a platform. There are remains of a summer residence called a Shish Mahal or Glass palace of the Dangi Rular. It is a square building very much like a Muslim tomb consisting of two stores, each room having a veranda all around. The glassed tiles of various colors are fixed alternatively in the panel of the battlement and in the ribbing of the domes. It is attributed to Raja Jaisingh who is supposed to have live about 200 years ago. In the neighbour hood is a tomb which is treated as an object of worship. Below the hill toward the north is small lake called Motital.

Eran, Tehsil Khurai: An ancient site lying at the junction of Bina and Reuta rivers, 6 miles from Bamora station on the central railways. By its natural situation, Eran is at the gate of Bundelkhand on one side and Malwa at the other. The name is derived from the abundant growth of Eraka, a sort of grass of emollient and diligent properties. The village of Eran has a most interesting collection of archaeological relics. There is a fort in rulings attributed to the Dangis, who formerly dominated over this region. The site had a number of Vishnu shrines but nothing now remains except some of the lower courses of masonry, four standing columns with their architrave and some beams and part of door ways. The principal statue is a colossal Varaha about 10 feet high. The excavation conducted by the Department of Archeology of the University of Sagar have yielded relics similar to those found at Maheshwar and Tripuri showing that Eran formed the Northern most limit of the Chalcolithic culture in Madhya Pradesh.

Rangir, Tehsil Rehli: Harsiddi Devi of Rangira village situated 10 miles from Rehli and 21 miles from Sagar on Sagar Rehli Road on the bank of the Dahar river. It was site of an engagement between Chatrasak Bundela and Khaliq, the Mugal Fauzdar of Damoni. On the adjoining Hill stands a temple of Harsiddi Devi in whose honour fairs are held in the months of Asvina and Chaitra.

Makronia, Sagar: Makronia Bujurg the makronia is conved by the name of Bujurg Hazrat Sayyed Makraan Saha Wali Rahmatulla Alleh a Dargha Sarif Situated in 10th Batalion SAF and Near By Dargha There is a hill called OSHO Hill Acharya Rajnish was done his Amrit Sadhna in This hill. A former Dr H S Gour University started from Makronia's SAF Campus so many Historic event is connected through makronia,This region is developing as the sub urban region near Sagar city. It is just 5 km away from city. It has its separate railway station. It has the biggest hotel of Sagar the 3 star Paradise hotel, many CBSE and MP board schools as well as government engineering collage.