A visit to Datia was originally not in my original itinerary. While chit-chatting with a small group of travellers at Man Mandir, they described this beautiful palace in Datia that they had just returned from.
So on my way to Orchha, about 75 kms away from Gwalior on the border of UP (Jhansi being only 25 kms away), I had my taxi stop at Datia and was glad I did that.
The main attraction of Datia town is the captivating Datia Palace, locally called Govind Mahal (or Govind Mandir) and popularly called the Jehangir Mahal (Palace). It is overlooking the Karna Sagar Lake.
My trip to Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve began on a bad note. I nearly missed the train (Taj Express from Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station); the compartment was stinking and the food awful. The resident rats of the train had worked on the carpets diligently (the designs were a little abstract though) and the seat covers, it seemed, had not been washed for years. And to top it all, the train reached Jhansi three hours late.
My luck started improving, thereafter. The four-hour drive from Jhansi (UP) to Panna (MP) was smooth and pleasant and it was nearly 7.30 pm when I reached Panna. I had booked a room at the Ken River Lodge, a charming getaway on the bank of river Ken, next to the reserve. It was pitch dark and when the driver took the dust-tracks (with wild grasses all around) to reach the hotel, I seriously thought that I was in trouble.
“Hotel yaha hain?” I asked the driver sternly. “Jungle hain aas pass, thoda ped poudhe to hoga hi,” he replied. I gathered he understood that I was tensed.
I never win freebies that are advertised tantalizingly with magazine subscriptions. But, as they say, there is always a first time. So, when I won a trip to the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, we (me and hubby) decided to hit the tiger trail, even though we knew summer months could be very uncomfortable in those areas.
We reached Umariya, the district headquarters, early one morning in May. After a refreshing cup of tea at a roadside , we managed to squeeze into an overcrowded jeep that was going towards the Bandhavgarh. We got talking to the co-passengers and the discussion started veering towards the political situation in ‘bada shaher’ (Delhi). Instinctively, I knew I had to find out a more engaging topic if I wanted to survive the bumpy 32-km drive. I steered the conversation towards tigers and their plight in the country. Suddenly politics took the backseat and our co-passengers filled us with details about the park and tiger stories. Unknowingly, we got sucked into a race with destiny: Would we be lucky enough to see at least one tiger? As my mind swung like a pendulum between expectation and probability, the jeep screeched to a halt before our hotel.
Set among the Vindhya Hills, covering 437 square kilometres, the Bandhavgarh National Park is home to a wide variety of habitats. Sal trees cover the forest interspersed with stretches of bamboo and grassland. Within the park is the ancient Bandhavgarh fort. The Maharaja of Rewa occupied the fort until it was designated as a National Park in 1968. In addition to tigers, there are chousingha (small four horned) antelope, chinkara (Indian) gazelle, nilgai (blue bull) antelope, wild boar, jackal, muntjak (barking) deer, sambar deer, chital (spotted) deer, jungle cat, striped hyena, porcupine, ratel, rheses macaque, black-faced langur monkey and more.
Read the article from point of view of a person, who loves to travel, is deeply in love with nature and enjoys serenity and solitude.
I was soon going to fall in love with the world I was entering!
This was a package tour offered by MP tourism and was gifted to us. I can assure you that it is not at all expensive especially if you do not want to spend time raking your brain every now and then for deciding on lodging, food, sights to see, local traveling, tips etc.
8th Feb It was the year 2006. The Bhopal Express reached Bhopal at 6:30 in the morning after an overnight journey from New Delhi railway station. MP tourism extension office is right at the entrance of the Bhopal station. We reported there, the package was confirmed and we were helped with our luggage by our driver (who turned out more of a chauffeur). It was Wednesday but the office crowd had not ventured out by that time. The empty roads guided us to the Palash Hotel (three star) where we freshened up in the common but more than decent restrooms. Tesu restaurant at the Hotel was where we had our breakfast (with buffet options). We started from there in our own sweet time and headed to Pachmarhi. Our chauffeur, Mr Shahvar Khan, made good conversations and knew exactly when not-to-speak. Settled in Mumbai he was well traveled and was “known” in bollywood circles. He also claimed to be personal driver to Mrs Big B for a few years. He referred to my wife as didi and never talked to her directly!
The package includes two stoppages en route to Pachmarhi. The first one is an ancient Lord Shiva temple at Bhojpur, 28 kms from Bhopal. We offered our prayers to the Lord. The Shivalingam we were told is the tallest in India.
