India Travel

Eating in Western Madhya Pradesh

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Accommodation and eating in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

Most of Bandhavgarh s new and established hotels, all of which are in Tala, cater for travellers on a higher budget, and offer "jungle-plan" prices - all-inclusive 24hr deals including meals and two Jeep safaris per person. However, there are also a few budget lodges and mid-priced hotels. The only option for eating outside your hotel is at one of the friendly, cheap dhabas on the main road.

The City of Ujjain in Western Madhya Pradesh

The Western Railway cuts straight through the centre of the city, forming a neat divide between the spacious and affluent residential suburbs to the south, and the more interesting, densely packed streets northwest of the station. Unless you spend all day wandering through the bazaar, sightseeing in Ujjain usually means treading the temple trail, with a brief foray south of the ghats to visit theVedha Shala observatory.

Western Madhya Pradesh

The geography of western Madhya Pradesh is dominated by the River IVnmada. which drains westwards through a wide alluvial valley, bounded in the south by the Satpura hills and the Maharashtran border, and in the north by the rugged Vindhya Range. Forming the major trade corridor between the Ganges plains and the west coast, the region - known as Malwa - was for nearly a thousand years an independent princely state ruled from the sprawling hilltop fort complex at Mandu. The former capital, now deserted, is the area's outstanding tourist attraction, with its ruined mosques, tanks and palaces, and its

The Raj Wada in Western Madhya Pradesh

The Holkars' old palace, the Raj Wada. is Indore's principal landmark, presiding over a palm-fringed square in the heart of the city. Built in the style of a western Indian town house, the eighteenth-century mansions most prominent feature is a lofty, seven-storey gateway. Its upper four floors were originally made of wood, which made it particularly prone to fire; most of the palace collapsed after the last one, in 1984. Only the facade and the family temple, immediately inside the main courtyard, survive.

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

The Nil Kanth Palace in Western Madhya Pradesh

Another idyllic spot for watching the sun set over the plains is the Nil Kanth Palace, an old Shiva temple converted by the Moghuls into a water pavilion. It clings to the top of a steep cliff at the head of a rugged ravine on the western edge of the plateau, and was used by Akbar as a royal retreat. Persian verses on the walls of one room record the emperor's military exploits in die Deccan and, in a more philosophical vein, remind readers of the transience and futility of worldly achievement. It can be reached along a track that

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

Eating for Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh

With a couple of exceptions, all the best places to eat in Gwalior are in the mid- and top-of-the-range hotels, where main dishes set you back anywhere between thirty and a hundred rupees. More basic, and much cheaper dhal, subzi and roli meals are doled out on stainless-steel plates at the row of dodgy dhabas outside the railway station. Look out too for the juice bars dotted around the station and jayaji Chowk, over in the west end of town, which serve glasses of refreshing, freshly squeezed fruit juice (ask for no ice). Banjara, High Court Lane. Very dim lighting, but

Shiv Sagar at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh

A short way south of the complex, a few hundred metres from Matangesvara, the Shiv Sagar tank is surrounded by a motley assortment of buildings and open space. The steps down to it are animated with pilgrims bathing and collecting water from the "Ocean of Shiva". Cunningham's original map of the temples showed a body of water that ran north to divide the Western Group into two sections; crossing it to the temples may have represented a symbolic transition from the finite to the celestial.

The western slope in Madhya Pradesh

A flight of steps beside Stupa 1 leads down the western slope of Sanchi Hill to the village, passing two notable monuments. The bottom portions of the thick stone walls of Vihara 51 have been carefully restored to show its floor-plan of 22 cells around a paved central courtyard. Further down, the second-century BC Stupa 2 stands on an artificial ledge, well below the main enclosure - probably because its relics were less important than those of Stupas 1 and 3. The ornamental railings and gateways around it are certainly no match for those up the hill, although the carvings

The Central Museum in Western Madhya Pradesh

Indore's Central Museum (Mon-Sac 10am-5pm) is over in the southeast of the city, near the GPO. Its large collection includes finds from nearby prehistoric sites, as well as fine Jain and Hindu sculpture from the ruined eleventh-and twelfth-century temples at Hinlajgarh. The downstairs gallery boasts a handful of priceless Harappan terracottas unearthed at Mohenjo Daro, in southern Pakistan. None of the exhibits is adequately labelled, but the museum attendants are happy to show you around.

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

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,

The City in Western Madhya Pradesh

With the exception of Indore s museum, over on AB Road near the GPO. most of the city's sights he west of the train line, in and around the bazaar.Two broad thoroughfares, MG Road and jawahar Marg, form the north and south boundaries of this cluttered and chaotic district, which is interrupted in the east by the confluence of the Saraswati and Kham rivers - little more than trickles of black slime bordered by bastees and heaps of decomposing rubbish. The surrounding suburbs, by contrast, are a much more congenial prospect of detached houses, new apartment blocks and leafy gardens

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 of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh

Ujjain suffers from a dearth of decent places to eat. Most visitors either stick to their hotel restaurant, or else chance a plate of veg curry, rice and chapalis in one of the cheap dhabas opposite the railway station. Ashnoi, University Road. Ujjain's newest and nicest place to eat, with lots of plastic flora, wicker chairs and a/c; the moderately priced menu is excellent pure vegetarian, with a few Chinese dishes thrown in for good measure. Chanakya. Subhash Marg. The best of several no-frills restaurants opposite the station. Spicy, inexpensive veg food, and chilled beer. The popular Ankur next door offers

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.

The Gopal Mandir of Ujjain in Western Madhya Pradesh

Standing at the end of a chaotic market square, in the heart of the bazaar, the picturesque Gopal Mandir was erected by one of the Scindia ranis in the early nineteenth century. With its distinctive blend of Moghul domes, Moorish arches and lofty Hindu sanctuary tower, the temple makes a fine example of late Maratha architecture. Inside, the sanctum's silver-plated doors were placed here by Mahaji Scindia, who rescued them from Lahore after they had been carried off by Muslim looters. The shrine room itself, lined with marble, silver and Mother-of-pearl, contains icons of the presiding deity, Gopal (Ganesh), together

Eating to the Bikaner in Rajasthan

Most visitors eat at their hotels or guesthouses while in Bikaner. If you fancy eating out, try Harasar Haveti, which is a popular meeting place for Western travellers and has the best rooftop views. Amber Station Road, A cleaner than average (although somewhat dingy) thali house that's popular with Westerners. Full veg menu and refreshing masala chai. Harasar Haveli, near Kami Singh Stadium. Open-air rooftop terrace restaurant with panoramic views, top landoori and non-veg Mughlai food and cold beers. Joshi, Station Road. The most salubrious of the eating places near the station. Filling, cheap rice-plate meals and arguably the town's best-value thalis,

The Western Group at Khajuraho in Madhya P radesh

Stranded like a fleet of stone ships, amid pristine lawns and flowerbeds fringed with bougainvillea, Khajuraho's Western Group of temples (daily sunrise-sunset; $10 [Rs5]) seem oddly divorced from their past. With the exception of Matangesvara, just outside the main complex, all are now virtually devoid of religious significance, and they only spring back to life during Shivratri (see above). Visitors must remove their shoes before entering individual temples. MPTDC offers Walkman tours of the Western Group (around 45min; Rs50 plus Rs500 deposit), which are available from any of their hotels, the tourist offices or at the temple booking office. There is