According to the Puranas, Vindhya Parvat worshipped and meditated upon Lord Shiva in the form of Parthiv Linga and Lord Shiva appeared and blessed them and appeared in the form of Pranava Linga. It is also said that after the prayers of the Gods, the Shivling split into two parts and one part was called Omkareshwar and the other part Mamleshwar. It is said that Jyoti Linga is located in Omkareshwar and Parthiv Linga is located in Amareshwar/Mamleshwar. According to another story, King Mandhata of the Ikshvaku dynasty performed rigorous penance here, then Lord Shiva blessed him and appeared here, since then Lord is present in Omkareshwar.Mamleshwar shivling is situated near by .It is said that the darshan to omkara shivling is incomplete without visit to mamleshwar Shivling.

Best time to visit:- The temple can be visited any time throughout the year It is 77 km away from Indore, the main city of Madhya Pradesh and can be reached by bus shared taxi .The nearest airport is Indore

5. Mallikarjuna. Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple or Srisailam Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deities Shiva and Parvati, located at Srisailam  Andhra Pradesh. Mallikārjuna, also called Śrīśaila, is located on a mountain in Kurnool District in Rayalaseema.  It is significant to the Hindu sects of both Shaivism and Shaktism as this temple is referred to as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva and as one of the eighteen Shakti Pithas, centres of the Hindu Goddess. Shiva is worshiped as Mallikarjuna, and is represented by the lingam while  Parvati is worshipped as Bhramaramba. The name “Mallikarjuna” is derived from “Mallika” (Parvati) and “Arjuna” (Shiva), referring to a legend associated with its origin:

Legend of Mallika and Arjuna: According to mythology, once lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati threw challenge before their son Ganesh and Kartikey that who so ever will first complete the round of universe first will be worshipped in the world. Kartikeya  immediately went on to complete the round to the universe while Ganesh  completed circle around his parents stating that his parents are his universe.  Ganesha was declared winner by his parents. Kartikeya on his return was enraged and went away to stay alone on Mount Krauncha in Palani in the name of Kumara brahmachari.  lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati went to pacify him  On seeing his father coming over to pacify him, he tried to move to another place, but on the request of the Devas, stayed close by. The place where Shiva and Parvati stayed came to be known as Srisailam. It is a place where Shakti Peetha and jyotirlingam are together.

Best time to visit :-The place can be visited anytime during the year. Nearest airport is Hyderabad airport Upon arriving at Hyderabad airport, one can hire a taxi or use other local transportation to reach the MGBS Bus Station (Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station. Multiple buses operate from MGBS Bus Station to Srisailam. The journey takes around 5-6 hours, covering approximately 250 kilometers.Markapur  Railway Station is the nearest railway station to Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga, situated about 85 kilometers away.

6. Baidyanath Temple :-Baidyanath Temple also known as Baba Baidyanath Dham, is one among the twelve Jyotirlingas. It  is located in Deoghar, in the Santhal Parganas division of the Indian state of Jharkhand. The temple complex comprises the central shrine of Baba Baidyanath along with 21 additional temples

Legend:-According to the legends, Ravana was performing penance in the Himalayan region to appease Shiva. He offered nine of his heads as an offering to Shiva. As he was about to sacrifice his tenth head, Shiva appeared before him and asked for a boon. Ravana expressed his desire to take Shiva from Kailash to Lanka( Kamna Linga) Shiva agreed to Ravana’s request but with a condition that  if the lingam was placed en route, it would become the permanent abode of the deity and could never be moved. Ravana departed for Lanka with the lingam. On the way in the vicinity of Deoghar  he  felt urgent need to urinate. He started looking for someone whom he could hand over the Shivlinga and release himself from pressure. The story states that Lord Vishnu took the form of a Shepherd named Baiju Gadariya and appeared before Ravana. Ravana handed over the linga to shepherd and went for urinating Ravana took a very long time to relieve himself so Baiju got angry and positioned the lingam on the ground and left the place. Upon returning, Ravana attempted to pick up the lingam, but was unsuccessful in his endeavor. Ravana became upset and after realizing that this was the doing of Lord Vishnu, he proceeded to press his thumb onto the lingam before departing which partially damaged the Shiv Lingam. The Shiva lingam was then worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu, and other deities and they constructed the Baidyanath Temple. Since then, Mahadev has taken up residence in Deoghar as the embodiment of the Kamna Linga

Best time to visit: The temple can be visited any time throughout the year but the best time to visit is between October to February. Baidyanath Dham is well-connected by road.Nearest cities are Patna and Ranchi. Deoghar has its own railway station, Baidyanathdham Deoghar Railway Station The nearest airport to Baidyanath Dham is Birsa Munda Airport  in Ranchi.

7. Kedarnath:- Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is revered as the northernmost and the closest jyotirlinga to Lord Shiva’s eternal abode of Mount Kailash.  Kedarnath, nestled in the snow-clad Himalayas, is an ancient shrine, rich in legend and tradition. This temple is the highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas. Beside being one among twelve jyotirlinga, it is also considered as one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites.

Legend:-A folk legend about  Kedarnath relates to the Pandavas. According to Hindu mythology the pandavas were looking for Lord Shiva for atone from the sins of committing fratricide and Brāhmanahatya during theKurukshetra war. Not wanting to meet pandavas lord Shiva transformed himself into bull. Bhima recognized the bull to be Shiva and caught hold of the bull by its tail and hind legs. But the bull-formed Lord Shiva disappeared into the ground to later reappear in parts, with the hump raising in Kedarnath, the arms appearing in Tungnath, the face showing up at Rudranath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar and the hair appearing in Kalpeshwar.The hump is worshipped in Kedarnath. Pure ghee is applied at Kedarnath lingam as the bull was injured.  

Best time to visit Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open to the general public only between the months of April (Akshaya Tritiya) and November (Kartik Purnima, the autumn full moon). During the winters, the vigraha (deity) of the temple is carried down to Ukhimath to be worshipped for the next six months. The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 22 kilometres  uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony, mule and manchan service is available to reach the temple.

8. Kashi Vishwanath:- The Kashi Vishwanath (Vishweshwar) Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh is home to the Vishwanath Jyotirlinga shrine, which is perhaps the most sacred of Hindu shrines. The temple is situated in Varanasi, the holiest city for Hindus, where a Hindu is expected to make a pilgrimage at least once in his life, and if possible, also pour the remains of cremated ancestors on the River Ganges. The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganges, and is one of the twelve jyotirlingas. In fact, it is a place where Shakti peeta and jyotirlingam are together. It is the holiest of all Shiva temples. The main deity is known by the name Vishwanath or Vishweshwara meaning Ruler of the universe. The temple town, is considered the oldest living city in the world, with 3500 years of documented history, is also called Kashi. It is believed that Varanasi is the first Jyotirlinga to manifest itself.

Legend:-According to the legend, it was at this place that  Lord Shiva manifested as an infinite column of light (Jyotirlinga) in front of Lord Brahma  and Lord Vishnu  when they had an argument about their supremacy. In order to discover the origin of the luminous column, Vishnu took the form of a boar (Varaha) and tracked the column beneath the ground, while Brahma, who assumed the shape of a swan, scoured the heavens in an attempt to locate the apex of the column. However, both of them were unsuccessful in identifying the source of the luminous column. Yet, Brahma deceitfully asserted that he had discovered the summit of the column, while Vishnu humbly admitted his inability to find the starting point of the radiant column. Due to Brahma’s deceit over the discovery of the origin of the luminous column, Shiva penalized him by cutting his fifth head and placing a curse upon him. This curse entailed that Brahma would no longer receive reverence, whereas Vishnu, being truthful, would be equally venerated alongside Shiva and have dedicated temples for eternity.

Hindu scriptures describe Vishweshwara as the sacred deity of Varanasi, holding the position of king over all the other deities as well as over all the inhabitants of the city and the extended circuit of the Panchkoshi, an area (the sacred boundary of Varanasi) spreading over 50 miles.

Best time to visit:- The temple can be visited any time throughout the year. The city is well connected through roads to all the major cities across India. Varanasi is an important and major rail junction. There is direct daily flight connection between Varanasi to all major cities.

9. Rameshwaram:- The Ramanathaswamy Temple located on Rameswaram island in Tamil Nadu is home to the vast Ramalingeswarar Jyotirlinga temple and is revered as the southernmost of the twelve jyotirlinga. Besides being one among twelve jyotirlinga, it is also considered as one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites.

Legend:-According to legend, the lingam  of the Ramanathaswamy Temple was established and worshipped by Lord Rama before he crossed the bridge called Rama Setu to the island kingdom  Lanka of Demon king Ravana. Another legend says that the Lord Rama,  prayed to Lord Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the  Ravana who was a brahmin. To worship Lord Shiva, Rama directed  Hanuman to bring Shivling from Himalayas. Since it took him longer to bring the lingam, Mata Sita built a lingam made of sand from the nearby seashore. It is believed that this Shiva Linga, known as Ramalingam, is now worshipped at the Ramanathaswamy temple. The lingam brought by Hanuman from Kailash is called Vishwalingam. There are 22 Theerthams (holy water bodies) inside the temple where devotees bathe to atone for their sins. There is also an idol of Nandi, which is a massive statue, about 17.5 feet tall.

Best time to visit:-The temple can be visited anytime during the year however the best time to explore Rameswaram is from October to March as the temperature is at its best during this period. One can reach their either by bus as  Rameswaram Bus Station is about 2 km away or by train as Rameswaram Railway Station, about 1 km away. Madurai International Airport, is about 179 km away from Rameshwaram.

10. Tryambakeshwar, The Tryambakeshwar Temple, near Nashik in Maharashtra, is a jyotirlinga shrine associated with the origin of the Godavari River. Tryambakeshwar town is an ancient Hindu Pilgrim centre located at the source of the Godavari River, the longest river in peninsular India. The Godavari River originates near Trimbak. There are three hills surrounding this temple – Brahmagiri, Nilagiri and Kalagiri. Tryambakeshwar is abode of one of the twelve Jyotirlingas

Legend:-It is said that Gautama rishi lived on the Brahmagiri hills along with his wife, Ahalya. While there was famine everywhere else on the land, the rishi’s ashram, was blessed with abundant rain and food grains. The other rishis felt jealous of him and sent a cow into his fields. When Gautama rishi tried to frighten the cow away from his fields, it died. To get free from the sin of killing a cow, Gautama worshipped Lord Shiva and prayed to release the Ganga River and let her flow into his ashram to purify it. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Shiva released Ganga and told her to stay there. The Kushavarta or sacred pond that exists now is the source of the Godavari. (People worship the Godavari as Ganga.) The sage requested Lord Shiva also to make the site his abode, which the Lord did in the form of the jyotirlinga. The extraordinary feature of the Jyotirlinga located here is the Linga in the temple is in the form of a three faced embodying Tridev, Lord Bramha, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.

Best time to visit: The temple can be visited any time throughout the year but the best time to visit is between October to February. Tryambakeshwar Temple is located at a distance of 36 km from Nasik, one of the most prominent cities in Maharashtra. The place is well connected by roads. The nearest city Shirdi is 76 km. The nearest railway station from Tryambakeshwar is Nasik. The nearest major airport to Tryambakeshwar is  Nashik Airport which is approximately 40 kilometers away.