Madhya Pradesh

This was my first experience of any kind of excursion. It was a nine day trip to Madhya Pradesh. Well I had been to all the places before with family but this trip proved to be a lot different from my earlier trip to the same places. How, I will explain it to you in details.

In this excursion we were to visit Panchmarhi - the queen of Satpura ranges, Jabalpur - the marble rock beauty & Kanha National Park - the heaven for wildlife lovers from 22nd – 30th Oct 2004. Let’s go through the excursion in details.

On 22nd Oct we boarded the Howra Mail via Allahabad from C.S.T at around 9:45pm. The next day i.e. on 23rd we reached Pipariya station (47kms from Panchmarhi) at around 11:40am. From there we headed towards Panchmarhi by jypsys. Panchmarhi is MP’s only hill-station situated at an altitude of 1067kms. It is a place where nature has found wonderful expressions in numerous captivating ways. It is said that the whole of Panchmarhi was once submerged under water but slowly it emerged out with beautiful crevices.

We were put up at Holiday Homes which was a dream come true place to stay as it was surrounded by lush green trees. After lunch at Misty Meadows we went for some sight-seeing.

We started with the most sacred cave, the Jatashankar cave. Jatashankar cave temple is 2kms away from the main bus stop. Situated under loose massive boulders & surrounded by luxuriant hills & forests, this temple is the miracle of nature worth-seeing. The Jambu Dweep stream has its source from this hillock. According to the legend, Lord Shiva reached the place by tunnel from Tilak Sindur to save himself from the demon-king, Bhasmasur. Natural Shivalingam in the shade of huge Naga, formed by a rock by nature, is a site to be seen. According to some natives, Gupt-ganga appeared here.

Next we went to Panchmarhi Lake. This lake is artificially made by stopping a natural water-stream by constructing a small dam. Like other places of Pachmarhi it is surrounded by lush green trees and has a panoramic view. This is a nice place for enjoying evenings with boating.

In the late evening we visited Rajendra Prasad Udyan, after which we returned back to our cottages.

On 24th Oct we started our day by visiting an emporium for buying souvenir. Later we headed for Roman Catholic Church. The church was built in 1892 by the British. The Catholic Church is a blend of French and Irish architecture. Its Belgium stained-glass windows add rare attraction and beauty to the building. The Church has a cemetery attached to it and graves date from 1859, World War I and II.

Next in line was the Pandav Caves. It is said that Panchmarhi got its name from these caves, one of the dwelling place of Pandavas during their exile. The caves have been carved out of a low hillock. The cleanest, most airy of the caves is known as ‘Draupadi Kuti’ the darkest one is known as ‘Bhim Kuti’. Though archaeologist have later claimed that these caves must have been constructed by Buddhist monks during the Gupta period, in the 9th or 10th century A.D., but the popular belief, that the Pandavas had lived here, still continues, having hardly suffered any damage.

The next place was the Bison Lodge & Museum. The discoverer of Panchmarhi, Capt. Forsyth built this lodge in 1862 as his residence which is now a museum. Bison Lodge & Museum displays an interesting range of pictures, models, maps, graphs and samples of the flora and fauna of this ecologically rich region- the Satpura Hills. It also has an open-air theatre that shows films documentaries and presentations on wildlife.

From here we moved onto Reechgadh. It is a wonderful natural amphitheatre in the rock and can be approached through a cave-like entrance on the south-side. As the name suggests, it is the dwelling place of the bears. Occasionally one can see or at least hear the bear. But we couldn’t.

Next in line was the Bee’s falls. It is about 3kms from Panchmarhi and is a source of drinking water for Panchmarhi. Falling from a height of 150 feet, these falls provide an ultimate sanctuary to the body & mind. The droplets from this tranquil fall giving milky appearance lives one awestruck. The nearby place has scenic beauty and in trees squirrels play on the branches and various kinds of birds provide soothing music.

The last destination before heading towards cottage was Dhoopgarh. Dhoopgarh is the highest peak of Satpura ranges at the altitude of 4,429 ft. above mean sea level. The way is steep and the jeeps and other vehicles plying here are to follow a tortuous route. MPTDC jeeps go up to the peak on package tours for a view of the sunset. The highest peak is known as 'Elephant' or 'Hathi Shikhar'. This is a place from where one can watch beautiful views, depthness of nature, greenery of dense forests & serpent-shaped jungle paths. From the top of Dhoopgarh, one can observe sunrise & sunset. One can have unbelievable moods of nature, all scenic beauty & cool breeze with aroma in its purest form. Two hours stay at evening, will definitely show so many shades of nature, which are beyond description in words and can only be felt.

The next day i.e. on 25th we boarded a train from Pipariya for Jabalpur. Jabalpur lies north of river Narmada in a rocky basin surrounded by low hills. In 1781, the city of Jabalpur was selected as the Maratha Headquarters. At present it is the military headquarters.

After reaching Jabalpur we checked in Hotel Surya. After lunch we headed to Shaheed Smarak, built in the memory of jawans who laid down their lives defending our country. The architectural design of the smarak was visualized by Brig. S.S.Ahluwalia (President of cantonment board, Jabalpur) & J.S.Mahi (Cantonment Executive Officer). From there on our way to some garden we saw C-60 Canon which was used in war against Pakistan.

After coming back to our hotel Surya we packed our bags for the 2 day stay at Kanha National Park .

On 26th we started by 7am for Kanha by bus. It is around 160kms from Jabalpur, takes around 3 hrs by bus. The bus stops at Kisli gate. We stayed there in dorms. After lunch we decided to explore the permitted areas. We spotted some a herd of Chital and a small family of langur.

That day we didn’t have much to do so few of us decided to play carom till dinner time. After dinner we gathered in the open in front of our canteen and played. It was really thrilling to sit in the jungle where darkness surrounded us. The only light was of moon & the only sound other than ours was animal calls. Before going off to sleep our guide gave us some information about the national park. Let me brief you with some of the information.

The park is located in Mandla district of MP. The central valley was 

declared as Sanctuary in 1935. That time Kanha area was divided into two sanctuaries, Hallon and Banjar, of 250 and 300 km² each. Later in 1955 it gor the status of being declared as a National Park & in 1973 it was declared as Tiger Reserve under the act of Project Tiger. Today the total area of the park is 1945 sq.kms of which 1005 sq.kms is the buffer zone & the remaining 940 sq.kms is the core zone. The terrain consists of sal and bamboo forests, plateaus, meadows and meandering streams. Shravantal is the main water body in the central meadows. The park remains closed from July to September. The visiting hrs is from sunrise till 11am & 4:30pm till sunset.

There is a large tiger population in the park. One can also find leopards, the sloth bear and Indian wild dog. Very rarely seen are the Indian wolves which live in the far east of the park. It comes out after dark which is not a visiting hour. The most abundant prey species for the large predators is the chital. The second largest population of deer is that of Sambar which constitutes an important prey base of the tiger. Other commonly observed mammals include the common grey langur, wild boar, gaur, barasingha. The chousingha and the nilgai (blue bull), though rare, can also be found in Kanha. Other larger mammal species of the park are rhesus macaque, golden jackal, bengal fox, smooth-coated otter, honey badger, small indian civet, indian gray mongoose, ruddy mongoose, striped hyena, jungle cat, leopard cat, indian spotted chevrotain, indian pangolin, indian porcupine & indian hare The Indian jungle fowl, which is the ancestor of domestic hens, is common.

Next day i.e. 27th, early morning we went for safari. Our guide’s name was Mr. Ashok Kumar Bairagi. We could spot chital, peacocks, langur, barasingha, wild dog, banded krait & various birds. We visited Kanha Museum where we could see paw marks of various animals, antlers of deers, skeletons of animals etc.

Post - lunch we went to see the tigress's den & then to Aranyak Emporium. In the night we were shown a small documentary about tigers of Kanha & Ranthambore. We really enjoyed our day.

On 28th we returned back to Jabalpur. We roamed about a bit before going off for shopping at Chudi bazaar. After dinner at Panchvati hotel we returned to our hotel we played truth n dare, antakshari and had a small dance party. It proved to be a fun n frolic night.

On our last day i.e. on 29th, before breakfast we finished packing our bags as we were to leave the very same day for Mumbai. After breakfast we headed towards Marble Rocks at Bhedaghat and Dhuandhar falls. Soaring in glitzy splendor, the Marble Rocks at Bhedaghat rises to a hundred feet on either side of the Narmada. The Narmada, making its way through the Marble Rocks narrows down and then plunges in a waterfall known as Dhuandhar or the smoke cascade. The holy river flows by serenely flanked by the towering cliffs which reflect in it like a mirror the changing moods of nature. So powerful is the plunge that its roar is heard from a far distance. The whole scene of the falls and the thundering sound of it is a breathtaking spectacle of Nature's power.

From the falls we went for boating at the Marble Rocks of Bhedaghat. The crystal clear calm water of Narmada, fringed by the perpendicular magnesium limestone rocks provides a fascinating site. The calm loveliness of the scene is one of cool quiet, the sunlight sparkling on the marble-white pinnacles and casting spotted shadows on the tranquil waters. These white rocks with tinges of various colours due to some impurities are truly majestic. In the narrow channel of the mighty river, there is a place approached so closely from the opposite banks that the local people have aptly named it the "Monkey's Leap”. After boating we bought some souvenirs for my friends we returned to our hotel.

Around 8pm we left for the station to board Mahanagari Express scheduled on 9:50pm. The train was late by an hour so we all sat down on the platform and clicked some snaps & sang songs.

This is how we ended our excursion. I never thought that I would enjoy my trip so much that I will go on talking about it in the coming days. The most exciting, fun-filled trip came to an end.