As we covered West, South, North and East India, the central part got left out. Madhya Pradesh deserves a separate visit given there are so many attractions here than even 2 weeks seemed short. My aunt used to stay in Bhopal- we had once planned a trip from here. However, they got transferred just before out visit and that trip had to be cancelled. We tried again this time through independent customized tour from Adigas Yatra
Madhya Pradesh has a lot to offer, there is something for everyone. Places to visit in Madhya Pradesh include Forts of Gwalior, Orccha, Maheshwar, temples at Ujjain, architecture of Khajuraho, stupa at Sanchi, falls at Bhedaghat, caves at Bhimbetka, National Parks at Pench, Pachmarhi, cities like Indore, Bhopal
Places to visit in Madhya Pradesh
Gwalior
Our starting entry point into Madhya Pradesh. While Gwalior has a good airport, it is only 3.5 hours away from Agra in case you are there to visit Taj Mahal and want to take a road trip.
The fort here is impressive- built by Raja Suraj Sen in the 6th century and expanded to current state by Man Singh Tomar in the 15th century. Man Mandir and Gujari Mahal are prominent palaces inside. A temple inside the fort is known to have second largest inscription of “Zero“
Teli Ka Mandir: Another architectural masterpiece built by king Mihira Bhoja
The Sun temple: Built from red sand stone is similar to to the one in Konark, Odisha
Jain temples: You can also see many rock cut Jain temples nearby on Siddhachal and Gopachal mountains
Saas Bahu temples: Twin temples, one slightly larger than the other and dedicated to Lord Shiva and Vishnu
Jai Vilas Palace: Was home to the Scindias of Gwalior. Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Union minister belonged to this family. One section of the palace is open as a museum today. You can see silver train used on a long table to transport food!
Orchha
A nice town on the banks of river Betwa, close to Jhansi, only an hour away. The fort is the most important attraction. You can see many palaces like Raj Mahal, Jehangir Mahal, Rai Parveen Mahal
Raja Ram temple is the most important temple in the region. While the idols here were meant to be installed in Chaturbhuj temple, they couldn’t be moved, so continued here. This is the only temple where Lord Rama is worshipped as a king in a palace. There is guard of honor ceremony each day, where the police give gun salute to the king
Chaturbhuj temple: Old temple built by Bundela Rajputs, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple mandap is conical in shape. There are hidden set of stairs from where you can view the region
Khajuraho
About 3 hours from Orchha, Khajuraho is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Jhansi, Gwalior are nearest airports. You can see beautiful temples with carvings near Vindhya mountains. The famous Kamasutra is beleived to have come from here
The temples were built in the 10th century by Chandela kings. Rediscovered in the 18th century, only about 20 temples have survived among the 80+ temples that were originally constructed
Chausat Yogini temples is built entirely from granite. There are many more temples like Kandariya Mahadeo Temple- the largest, Jain Temple and Chitragupta Temple. You can spend days admiring the carvings in each and every temple
Bhedaghat- Jabalpur
River Narmada flows through marble rocks near Bhedaghat, 25 km from Jabalpur. The Dhuadhar falls (smoky falls) is one of the largest in the region. The marble rocks are quite majestic with varied colors- white, yellow, green and black. You can take a boat for INR 100-200 per head to see the falls much closer. The boat riders are quite entertaining if you can understand Hindi
You can see balancing rock nearby, about 5 km from Jabalpur where a large oval stone rests magically on a mountain in balance.
Pachmarhi
A hill station to relax rather than find places to see inside the park. Pandav Gufa, Bee falls, Reechgarh cave, Eco point, Bhavya drashya, Dhoopgarh sunset points are some of the stops if you take a jeep to go around inside the forest area
Bhopal
The capital of Madhya Pradesh, with a large lake in the middle of the city
Sanchi Stupa
An hour away from the capital Bhopal, built by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd Century in Satavahana style, Sanchi Stupa is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ashoka married Devi from Vidisha here, who was mother to Mahendra and Sanghamitra
There are three main stupas here, with first one being the most famous one, featuring on INR 200 note. The Ashoka Pillar featuring in Indian emblem and the Wheel of Dharma featuring in Indian flag, come from here
Bhimbekta caves
Houses pre historic cave art dating 40k+ years ago. The wall art made from natural pigments include animals, human figures that show social life, dancing, hunting.
Indore
One of the better planned cities in India, known to be the cleanest. While there are many temples if you want to visit, Indore is most famous for street food. Chappen Dukan (56 shops) is a line that is active even at night. Try out Indori Sev Poha made from beaten rice, Gardu ki chaat made from yam Butte ki kees made from grated corn, Dal Bafla and many more local delicacies
Mandu
Lesser known jewels of India, the Jazal Mahal at Mandu is a must visit. It was built to house travelers from international countries by Sultan Ghiya-ud-din Khilji in the 15th century. The palace is shaped like a ship and surrounded by water, was built for the women as a harem. The water system within the palace is quite amazing, showing architectural prowess of ancient times
Mandu has many more historic sites like Baz Bahadur’s Palace, Jami Masjid and Rani Roopmati Pavilion- do stay for 1-2 days and visit them
Ujjain
Home to Mahakaleshwar Temple on the banks of river Kshipra, Jyotirlinga of Mahakaleshwar which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The famous Bhasma-aarti, worship with ashes of cemetry happens at 4 AM in the morning. The entirely new corridor built in 2002 has more than 100 pillars, 200 statues across 1 km stretch
There are many other temples in the town like Kal Bhairav temple, Harsiddhi Mata Temple – a 13th century temple dedicated to goddess Annapurna ashrams of Ramghat, Mangalnath and Sandeepani
Maheshwar
About 3 hours from Ujjain, Maheshwar was home to the famous queen Ahilya Bai. You can see Ahilya fort, Ahilyamata’s cenotaph, Baneshwar Mahadev Temple, Raja Rajeshwari Temple, Ek Mukhi Datta Temple here. Narmada ghat is revered here, almost like river Ganga.
Maheshwar is also famous for its sarees in case you want to shop authentic fabrics from the region
Pench
We visited this National Park on a separate trip. Pench is 2 hours from Nagpur airport. You can take prebooked Jeep safaris to try your luck in seeing tigers in their natural habitat. Although not rare, we couldn’t see any tiger here, just sheer bad luck. You can still spot deers, langurs, peacocks, gaurs.
The forest inspired Rudyard Kipling to write Jungle Book. You will have to stay for long to maximize your chances like 2-3 days. We saw the best starry night here at Pench Jungle Camp and shooting stars thanks to minimal light pollution
You can book jeep safaris through government portal or agents like these