India Travel

Accommodation and eating in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Visiting Madhya Pradesh

In addition to its historic sites, Madhya Pradesh boasts a number of wildlife reserves, of which two are amongst the finest on the subcontinent. In the sparsely populated east, remote savannah grasslands are an ideal habitat for deer and bison, while the shady sal forests and tarai swamplands that surround the maidans provide perfect cover for larger predators such as the tiger. Of the national parks hidden away in this area, Kanha is deservedly popular, though tiger sightings here are on the decline. For the big cats, trek out to Bandhavgarh national park to the north. Getting around Madhya Pradesh without

Eastern Andhra Pradesh

Perhaps India's least visited area, eastern Andhra Pradesh is sandwiched between the Bay of Bengal in the east and the red soil and high peaks of the Eastern Ghats in the north. Its one architectural attraction is the ancient Buddhist site of Amaravati, near the city of Vijayawada, whose sprinkling of historic temples is far overshadowed by impersonal, modern buildings. Some 350 km north, the major port of Vishakhapatnam is not as grim as it first seems, but it's not a place to linger long. For anyone with a strong desire to explore, however, pockets of natural beauty along the

Eastern Madhya Pradesh

On the tourist trail, Eastern Madhya Pradesh is singularly and justifiably famous for its amazing abundance of wildlife. Amid the rolling terraced plains and craggy cliffs are hidden two of the country's finest national parks. Kanha and Bandhavgarh. In the few remaining fragments of a forest that until 150 years ago extended right across central India, the reserves are among the last strongholds for many endangered species of birds and mammals, including the tiger, gaur (bison) and barasingha (swamp deer). The whole eastern area is deep in adivasi country; the villages of the Gond and Barga tribes dot the scrubby

Central Madhya Pradesh Bhopal

With well over a million inhabitants, BHOPAL, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, has a skyline of minarets jutting from tightly packed streets and sprawling from the eastern shores of a huge artificial lake. Yet to the west there are verdant hills hiding nouveau-riche suburbs and the more expensive hotels. Below them on Upper Lake, little fishing boats bob along the shore, while middle-class families get down to some serious pedalo action. In addition to the nineteenth-century mosques that bear witness to Bhopals enduring Muslim legacy, the packed bazaars of the walled old city are well worth a visit. Elsewhere, excellent archeological

Pachmarhi Accommodation in Madhya Pradesh

Finding accommodation in Pachmarhi is a problem during the melas and during May and June, when visitors flock to escape the heat of the plains. The tourist information counter at the bus stand can tell you which of the eight MPTDC hotels have vacancies; otherwise several pleasant and friendly private places in the bazaar are good alternatives. These independent establishments will all negotiate good discounts outside the October to March high season; MPTDC offers a twenty-percent "monsoon discount".

Satna at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh

Although the busy market town of SATNA, 125km east df Khajuraho, holds little or no interest for the traveller, its strategic position as the nearest railhead to Khajuraho and the awkwardness of some of the connections make it very likely that you will end up staying the night here. Adequate accommodation can be found in the vicinity of the railway station and the bus stand, 2km apart. Turn right onto the main road in front of the railway stationra reach the small, clean and friendly Hotel Paradise, five minutes' walk away cm Pannilal Chowk (07672/23666), and the nearby Hotel Pavan

Eating of Madhya Pradesh

Restaurants in Bhopal's larger hotels serve uniformly spicy north Indian food with a few Continental and Chinese dishes thrown in for good measure; the strip-light-and-formica cafes opposite the bus stand do thalis and hot platefuls of siibzi, rice and dhal for next to nothing. For breakfast try the state's favourite food, poha — a light steamed rice dish served piping hot in newspaper from every street corner, followed by their famous katchor is (a tried snack stuffed with lentils) and a chai. Stalls in New Market serve big glasses of frothy fresh juice, and there are lots oi cheap fruit

Eastern torana in Madhya Pradesh

Panels on the inner face of the pillar below the salabhanjika depict scenes from the life of the Buddha, including his conception when the bodhisattva entered the body of his mother, Maya, in the form of a white elephant, shown astride a crescent moon. The front face of the middle architrave picks up the tale some years later, when the young Buddha, represented by a riderless horse, nukes his Great Departure from the palace where he grew up to begin the life of a wandering ascetic. The reverse side shows the fully enlightened Master, now symbolized by an empty throne,

Central Madhya Pradesh

All roads through the central regions of Madhya Pradesh lead to the state's capital, and its largest and fastest growing city - Bhopal. The city itself may come as a pleasant surprise; amidst the dust and chaos of a metropolitan centre there are plentj of quiet parks around its two lakes. Bhopal is also a good place to break the long journey between south and north; within a couple of hours reach is the unmissable Buddhist stupa complex at Sanchi.and there arc other lesser monuments in the area. The prehistoric site of Bhimbetka is just 45km south of Bhopal, while

Bandhavgarh National Park in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

With Kanha becoming ever more popular, Madhya Pradesh's second national park at BANDHAVGARH, tucked away in the hilly northeast of the state, is receiving increasing attention from tourists. The draw is that the park has the highest relative density of tigers of any of India's reserves, shelters a collection of fascinating ruins, and offers the chance of trekking through the jungle on elephant-back. It's a long haul to Bandhavgarh from either Jabalpur (195km) or Khajuraho (237km), but worth it - not only to track tigers and deer but also, as all the accommodation is close to the park gates, to

Practicalities in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

Getting to Bheraghat under your own steam from Jabalpur involves picking up a tempo (Rs10). from the bus stand next to the museum. The 45-mmute Stop-and-start trip on a tempo can be excruciating; you need to clamber off when you see a row of cold drink and souvenir stalls lining a sharp left-hand bend in the main street. Auto rickshaws (Rs350 return) can be negotiated anywhere in Jabalpur, or a private taxi can be arranged in any of the hotels, at a rate of Rs500 for up to five people. The only other alternative is a tedious bicycle ride along

Details of Southern UP: Bundelkhand

BUNDELKHAND - the area defined by the craggy Vindhya Mountains, which stretch across southern UP - was carved by the ninth-century Chandella Rajputs into a mighty kingdom that included Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh (see p.468).Today, it abounds in relics of the past - the colossal astrologically aligned fortress at Kalinjar that was the Chandella capital of Mahoba, the Vaishnavite pilgrimage centre of Chitrakut, and the fortified town of Jhansi, scene of epic nineteenth-century resistance to the British. However, the sheer harshness of the terrain, and the all but unbearable heat in the summer, make this the most difficult, if intriguing,

Accommodation and eating Eastern Madhya Pradesh

MPTDC has two lodges in Kisli, both situated in an atmospheric location inside the park proper. Private hotels outside the west gate, in and around the village of Khatia, range from walk-in budget lodges to high-style resorts that should be booked at least five working days before arrival. It's almost always worth enquiring about a possible discount in any standard of hotel here; if the hotel is having a lean patch they will negotiate a good reduction. MP'I DC accommodation can be booked in advance either by calling into a regional MPTDC tourist office (in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Jhansi, Jabalpur (or

Details of Jhansi in Southern UP

Unless you harbour a passion for seventeenth-century forts, you'll find the rail-and road-junction town of JHANSI. located in an anomalous promontory of UP that thrusts south into Madhya Pradesh, unremittingly dull. Most visitors only stop long enough to catch a connecting bus to Khajuraho, 175km further southeast in Madhya Pradesh. Until 1742, Jhansi was a sleepy satellite village of the Bundela capital at nearby Orchha, 18km southeast. When the local raja died without a male heir in 1853, the British enacted the controversial Principle of Lapse to wrest control of the town from his widow. Four years later, resentment at this

Eating in Mumbai

In keeping with its cosmopolitan credentials, Mumbai (and Colaba above all) is crammed with interesting eating places, whether you fancy splashing out on a buffet lunch-with-a-view from a flashy five-star revolving restaurant, or simply tucking into piping-hot roti kebab by gaslight in the street.

From Jabalpur towards Kanha in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

From Jabalpur, the four-hour bone-shaking bus ride to Kanha takes you into some of eastern Madhya Pradesh's most isolated rural districts. When Captain J Forsyth and his Bengal Lancers pushed through en route to the uncharted interior at the end of the nineteenth century, this landscape was a virtually unbroken tract of sal forest teeming with Indian bison, deer and tigers. Since then, the local Barga tribals have taken up the plough, and all but a few patches of forest clinging to the ridges of nearby hillsides have been logged, cleared for farmland or simply burned as firewood by the

Eating in Western Madhya Pradesh

Eating out is popular among Indore's middle classes, so there are plenty of quality restaurants around the city centre to choose from. Most are located in the larger hotels, such as the Shreemaya and President, and serve the usual Indian and Chinese dishes. Thanks to the current "health food" craze, there are a couple of excellent pure-veg places as well, the classiest being Woodlands in the President. Cheaper food is available at the dingy dhabas and canteens around Sarawate bus stand. Stick to the ones doing a brisk trade, and you shouldn't go far wrong. Apsara, RNT Road. Popular, inexpensive family

Central Madhya Pradesh Accommodation

Visitors not too bothered by the roar of traffic and its accompanying pollution need look no further than Hamidia Road for a place to stay. Bhopal's busy main thoroughfare, within easy walking distance of the bus and railway stations (leave the latter via platforms 4 and 5), is crammed with hotels. These range from grim, men-only fleapits to modern Western-style establishments with porters and glitzy reception desks; we have only included the cleanest and safest hotels in the area. Bargains are thin on the ground: all, even the dingiest dives, will slap a ten-percent '"luxury" tax and an equally stiff'service

Jabalpur and around in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

After running in tandem across an endless expanse of wheat fields and tribal villages, the main Calcutta to Mumbai road and train line converge on eastern Madhya Pradesh's largest city. Though an important provincial capital. JABALPUR. 330km east of Bhopal, harbours little of interest beyond a halt-decent museum, some stalwart Rajera buildings and the marble rocks gouged by the River Narmada nearby. It's only really worth visiting en route to the national parks and tiger reserves, Kanha and Bandhavgarh, both half a day's journey to the east. The city as it stands today is of comparatively recent origin. Formerly, access to

Accommodation and eating in North Bengal

Kalimpong's acute water shortages are likely to influence your choice of accommodation - few of the lower-range options have running water. The market area (Tenth Mile) and the area around the Motor Stand are where you will find most budget hotels. The best restaurants are in the hotels - the Kalimpong Park, Crown and China Garden. Other options include the legendary Gompu's bar and restaurant a: Dambar Chowk which serves great momos; the Mandarin, a Chinese restaurant at the Motor Stand; and the basic but friendly Kelsang, tucked around the corner from the Motor Stand servmg curd and Tibetan food.