Road Trip to West MP

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Road Trip to West MP

~3000KMs Kolkata – Benaras- Orchha- Khajuraho-Panna- Bandhavgarh-Rewa- Benaras-Kolkata





24^th MARCH

It was 5.30 AM on 24thMarch when I started off for my next driving destination – Madhya Pradesh with my family on my Creta SX plus. We picked up lots of dry foods, juices and water since its end of March and temperature can go up to 40 degre. The first stop was Benaras- the holy city. It took 13.5 hrs as we planned not to take too many halts, so had packed breakfast on the way till Aurangabad. The drive was smooth one except some congestion as we passed Maithon and Nirsa. The hot and fresh food was good choice in Mansarovar, as we entered Aurangabad. The AH1 is normally high in traffic, however, this time it was a moving one – Thanks to GST which gave us some respite in the border check posts.




Surya Kaisar Palace did a warm welcome to the returning guests. Had the mouth watering Kebab Platter. I choose this hotel as it is in the cantonment area and if you are using Benaras as gateway to North /North West India, it is a better choice as you can get out from the city in no time.



There is another option of entering MP thru Aurangabad; however, we thought to adhere to the known route of Varanasi as we had 2 little kids.







25^TH MARCH

Today’s target => 563 KM => 10 hrs

Had a relaxing sleep and we were ready by 8.30 AM for our next destination Orchha, a small town adjacent to Jhansi.

I would recommend an earlier start if possible, reasons will follow.

There is huge maintenance activity going on through the entire NH19/AH1 stretch circling Varanasi and parts of UP. Better to start early to avoid the congestion. We got delayed by an hour due to this in the Aurai/ Mirzapur stretch. The respite came once you land on the Allahabad bypass. Take a toll ticket till Kosambi. You can pass 2 more tolls in the same ticket ( Kokraj and Kosambi). Now you can feel the real joy of driving and speeding up a bit with almost zero traffic and excellent roads for a stretch of 125KM.



After Kosambi there is hardly any suitable place to eat till you reach Fatehpur. So better if you are crossing Kosambi around lunch time, have lunch at Kosambi , some good Dhaba’s by the side of the expressway. We stopped at Sultanpur, Fatehpur at Shalimar Dhaba. Freshly made chapattis, Dal and fresh paneer (homestyle) recouped our strengths. Not a flashy one but very neat and clean with toilet facilities.







Freshened up, we start our next chapter, crossing Kanpur. The high way is really smooth as butter as you overpass the industrial city of Kanpur. We were expecting to reach Orchha by 6.30 pm but, we never forecasted what we experienced next. There is a thin stretch on the highway, a narrow bridge over Yamuna at Daulatpur just before Kalpi. Adding to the trouble was a RAM Nabami procession. Better to cross the place earlier in day to avoid the bottleneck. However, we enjoyed some nature and beautiful photo shoots, train coming from the distant proving an opportunity for a perfect shot.





It continued till Kalpi after which you enter MP. Though it was evening, the MP roads were a driver’s dream. No more breaks – straight to Betwa River Retreat up on the hills as you bi-pass Jhansi through the Kanpur Jhansi highway NH27. As you take a left to approach Orchha, road is under construction but if you are enthusiastic about the driving and have a supporting team, those are petty things to handle. Orchha has a unique character, and history which will attract you as you pass the narrow roads thru the remains of once the powerful kingdom of the Bundelas. This resort stands by the Betwa River which is calm at this time of the year, passing through the rocks. Very sparsely populated, Orchha is an attraction for pilgrims for the Ram Raja temple. For me it was the great history of the powerful Bundelas.









As I entered the resort, I got soaked in the fragrance of freshly bloomed flowers from the landscaped gardens of this heritage property. I chose Swiss tent at the back of the property facing the swimming pool. You have to come down a bit through the gardens to come to the reception and restaurant. The friendly and polite staff greeted us at the restaurant where we had great food. Too tired to venture out more, got onto sombre sleep.







26^th MARCH

I could hear cuckoos and other birds while still on bed. I came out of excitement to the balcony to experience the morning. It was super pleasant feeling with the sun rise up the trees across the Betwa River. You can walk through the gardens and come down to the banks of the Betwa river where you could see some pilgrims taking a holy dip. Some work out with my DSLR capturing the beautiful moment.





Realised the temperatures would rise soon; we got freshened up by 8.00 AM to enjoy the hot Aloo paranthas with curd followed by a tour of Orchha. It is the small town full of historical remains and you can actually experience the place by taking a walk. MP is warm by end March and day temperatures rise upto 35 degrees and it drops as the sun sets. I took my car up to the Orchha fort where you have adequate parking space. We were greeted by the owners, a pack of monkeys who were smart in posing for the tourists coming from other countries. We took an guide to begin our journey through the history of Orchha. It takes its name from Orch which means hidden. It is famous for its monuments – the Cenotaphs/Chattris built in the banks of river Betwa. The city was founded in the 16^th century by the Bundela Rajput -Pratap Singh.



The fort is magnificent as we entered the Raja Mahal through a Diwan e Aam. Unlike other forts the king’s seat was in the corner of the hall. It is a belief that the king will do justice if he is not in the eye contact of his subjects.



We passed through the historical remains till we entered the Sheesh Mahal which has been converted to heritage hotel. The fort was once decorated with precious stones imported from Afghanistan and Persia, however, the wind erosion has taken away all of it. You can get some beautiful photographs of Luxmi Narayan temple from the upper floors of the Jahangir Mahal.







By then it was 12 o clock and we planned to go back to the resort for a break. After spending some kiddy time in the pool we were ready for the second tour of the city. With sun at 30 degres we short visit to the laxmi temple up in the hills from where you can actually get to see the entire city of Orchha. At the approach of the dusk we were in the Kanchana ghat of Betwa experiencing the beautiful architecture of the Cenotaphs, the tombs built by the royal family in memory of each passing ruler. By then we were engrossed in the history of the once powerful kingdom. We took a walk to the other side of the river to capture the moment. The Cenotaphs look mesmerizing as the sun set at the background. To get this shot, you have actually entered the forest area and take a ticket to go to the river side.



One should not miss the Sound and Light show in the Diwan e Khas of the Raja Mahal from 7.30PM onwards which is in english. There is another show in hindi from 8.30pm. This is very interesting and will keep you totally engrossed to the powerful storyline.

The day ends with total satisfaction as I set my mind in preparation of the next destination.







27^th MARCH

It was time to leave Orchha and we promised ourselves to come back again to enjoy the river rafting in the Betwa River. We started at 9.00 as Khajuraho was just a 4 hours drive. Some congestion as expected when you pass the railway crossing near Orchha station. It was end March, hence the sun was bit scorching as you pass the dry terrains as leave Orchha and turn right to Jhansi Mirzapur highway. After about 45 minutes of driving you see the river Betwa has spread across the land with many distributaries. There is an alligator and crocodile breeding spot over here but you are crossing the area over the bridge.





You will mostly go through NH39 which has both ways traffic but the road condition is quite decent which helped to reach Hotel Payel smoothly by 1PM after crossing the Darshan river. MP tourism has very recently renovated most of their properties and Hotel Payel is no exception. The mercury level was around 43 degrees, so we chose to stay indoors for some time.

By 4.00 PM were ready to venture out the great old temples of Khajuraho which was just 5 mins from the hotel. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments are segregated as east, west and Southern group with western, the part where most discoveries happened. Most Khajuraho temples were built by the Chandela’s of Bundelkhand as they propagated art and culture between 950 and 1050.These temples were being visited by the Chandela’s before Qutubuddin Aibak seized their kingdom. One remains amazed by these great discoveries and each of the 19 temples had their own intricate artwork. It was almost sunset when we had to come back to reality as the temple complex gets closed at sundown.





We planned for the Sound and Light show, hence waited in the terrace of Raja Cafe just adjacent to the complex. It was great to see the temple complex from this place as you still continue to wonder how great these excavations were.

The Sound and Light show started exactly at 7.30 pm and once again you soak into the ancient history associated with the construction of the temples. The voice over in the Sound and Light was done by none other than Mr Bacchan which is an additional attraction.







28^th MARCH

We were all excited about the next destination – Bandhavgarh National Park. The kids were ready in no time and we started the journey by 8.30 AM. As we pass through the nicely and naturally decorated road of Khajuraho, we had little idea about what is coming over. Filling up the fuel tank, we took a left from Panpatha Amarpur road. The road was smooth but undulated and in no time approached the Ken River bridge which itself is very picturesque. Once you cross the bridge you enter the Panna Forest zone with all its greenery. It was a beautiful road amidst the forest and you will meet up occasionally with the monkeys and one or 2 deer’s crossing this road. The only challenge was to be at a speed of 20Km per hour but we really enjoyed the moment. As we were driving pass through the Pandav Falls we thought to take a look. You have to get the entry formalities done at the gate. You can easily take your car to the side of the Falls. The water fall is narrow at this time of the year which expands during monsoon months. The greenery soothes the eye as you enter the trail build by the side of the falls to reach the plunge pool which is quite steep.



As you come down you see the green pool with lots of local fish and on the other side there are the old caves supposedly from the Mahabharata ages. Those were rebuilt with stones at later years and local kings used the place as shelter when they came for hunting. The caves are naturally ventilated and the temperature was very cool probably because of the continuous flow of water through the rock crevices. You will get filtered water throughout the year and no one knows the source. Bears and deer were frequent visitors in the place, especially after dark. The guide was very helpful and explained the history in lucid manner.





An hour later we resumed our journey towards Bandhavgarh. The sun was on top with high temperature outside and our car AC started failing. As you take the Maihar- Barhi Road and pass through the amazing landscapes and water bodies near Kuteshwar. The expressway cuts through the wide water bodies of Barhi and Kuteshwar.







Fortunately on our way we found Car Xpert who cleaned up the AC filter in no time. They took extra care when they heard that we were driving from Kolkata and have another 4 days of the trip left.

There are couple of confusing turns but you will get a second chance after you cross Maiher town. Finally we reached White Tiger Resort in the Tala region after crossing the Bandhavgarh buffer zone. While you enter the buffer zone, you have to register your vehicle and personal details at the check post.







Finally we made our way to White tiger resort into Tala zone. It’s adjacent to the forest. Couple of important things, 1) you should book your safari ahead of time, specially the canter safari. 2) You should carry a set of warm clothes which will be required in the early morning safari. We were lucky to get a safari since it was not a rush time but during the peak seasons without advance booking one will not get a booking.



The food arrangements are adequate and upto the mark. You will get breakfast, lunch and dinner along with evening tea, nothing to venture outside the property but within the premises there is enough space to roam around. We took 2 safari’s one in morning and afternoon to enjoy the serenity of forest.







30^th MARCH

We checked out on 30^th morning around 8.30AM and planned to venture out little more before we head home. So we included Mukundpur White tiger sanctuary on our way back to Varanasi. It was actually going backwards – but the MP roads were awesome – hence moved on. You will have to take the state highways 9 and 10 cutting through Manpur. You will love the bright yellow Mahua flowers and reddish orange colours of the Polash (Butea Menosperma). You will find the villagers collecting Mohua fruits. You will also love to switch off the AC and smell the fragrance of the Mahua flower.

Sooner we crossed the Bansagar Dam again over Bansagar River. The state highway actually passes through the time. It is a huge dam and the vastness will definitely catch your eyes. If you love adventure sports, you can stay over to the river rafting here.



In no time we encountered with elevation of Western Ghats from where you will love the wide horizon through the rough terrains of the western Madhya Pradesh. There are around 5 very sharp hair pin bends; otherwise everything other turn was pretty smooth. We reached the Sanctuary by 12.00. The main attraction of Mukundpur was the healthy white tigers and watching them from proximity was real excitement.

We thought of wasting no time and head back towards Varanasi as Google map was showing 5.30 mins. We came downhill, took the NH39 from the state highway and passed through the Rewa Hanumana toll road. This was the first time we paid any toll tax in MP. We took a short lunch break in the Ralhi restaurant just before the toll plaza. They served good and fresh food. Now it is the turn to enter UP from MP through Mirzapur. There is sharp difference in the condition of roads and you pass through the border and at that point only we realized that we should have followed the Kanpur Allahabad expressway though distance wise the route we had taken was shorter.





There was a stretch where there was no asphalt road and it pretty unexpected that there exists national highway where there is no road at all. The place is Bahisoor Bhalay and it was a poverty stricken place. It is highly recommended not to use this route. The route is through Mirzapur and Vindyachal and pretty congested. Here we experienced a dust storm and visibility was very poor. Our plight continued till we landed in the Grand Trunk road through the Aurai crossing and finally to Surya Kaisar palace again. The amazing Kebab platter awaited the hungry monsters and we decided to call it a day.









31^st MARCH

The trip would not be completed without taking the blessings of Baba Viswanath and a view of the Ganga early in the morning. The holy city has its own charm which is why it has dictated the hearts of millions through its narrow lanes, the unruly traffic, and the commossion and off course the kachoris and pedas, not forgetting the wide range of Banarasi textiles. We were relaxed and soaking in the city’s warmth and started around 11.30. The route was known and after having lunch at Mountain View resort, at sasaram, we reached Durgapur for dinner around 9.30PM. Without having the lancha’s from Shaktigarh, it’s like dinner without desert. So after having a satisfied desert with lancha’s we reached home around 12.15.

It doesn’t seem that the journey has come to an end, but it has just started now and ready for the next venture...

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Photos

The entrace gate of Orchha
History unfolds as you pass through each historical monument

Comments

[Sumanta Lahiri]

Excellent planning and nice trip
Great photos specially white tiger resort and pandav caves.

[D MJ Binkley]

Welcome to Travel blog
Eager to read more of your adventures.