We simply needed a break from our day to day busy life, hence we planned a short trip to Pachmarhi. Pachmarhi is widely known as “the queen of Satpura” and also called “the trekker’s paradise”. Pachmarhi is a hill station in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It has been the location of a cantonment (Pachmarhi Cantonment) since British Raj. This beautiful region in the hills was discovered by Captain James Forsyth in 1857. This most popular hill station of Madhya Pradesh is a treasure for travellers because of its ancient caves of the Buddhist era and its serene waterfalls..
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If we talk about how to reach Panchmarhi, there are multiple ways. Pachmarhi is 195 kms from the nearest airport in Bhopal. The nearest railway station is Pipariya which is 50kms from Pachmarhi. Bus services to Pachmarhi are available from Bhopal, Nagpur, Jabalpur, Chhindwara, Pipariya and other places. There are 7 buses daily to Bhopal which take just 6-7 hours. Buses are operated by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation as well as other private companies.
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After doing much needed research on this hill station I left for Pachmarhi along with two of my friends on 2nd July. It was a road trip from Bhopal to Pachmarhi. It took us around 4 to 5 hours approximately to reach Pachmarhi. Once we reached Pachmarhi we literally felt as if we are in heaven. If you are a nature lover you should totally plan a trip to Pachmarhi; it is peace to your eyes. We reached there at around 5:30PM. We stayed at The Ark resorts.
As it is a major get-away destination you’ll get a number of options to choose from for your stay. Another plus is that the food served at every point in Pachmarhi is very delicious. Don’t make the mistake of carrying your own packed food as the food joints here serve delicious food and you’ll get a major variety to choose from such as South Indian, Punjabi, and a variety of paneer dishes etc. The food joints weren’t much of an eye candy but will definitely satisfy your taste buds. The day we reached Pachmarhi we had dinner at Rasoi Dhaba and the food was simply amazing. Most of the food joints all over Pachmarhi serve only vegetarian food. We enjoyed our dinner and went back to our resort as we were too tired from the journey.
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On day two, we covered most of the scenic places in the town. Here are some guidelines for our fellow travelers –
1. You have to hire a guide.
2. You have to take permission from the authorities and get yourself registered, so do carry an Id proof.
3. You need to hire a jeep that is easily available.
Bingo! that’s all you need.
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The first place we visited was the Pandava caves, According to a legend, these caves were built by the five Pandava brothers of Mahabharatha era during their thirteen years of exile. But actually the caves are Buddhist in origin. The second destination was the Fairy pool or Apsara Vihar and Silver fall. Both the water falls are close to each other hence it saves your time. You have to walk 3km to see the Silver fall also called Rajat Prapat/Big Fall. The falls comes down from 2800+ feet roaring down the gorge creating a silver streak that gives its name. The view of dense, serene, virgin forest and the stream is simply mesmerizing. The story behind the name of Apsara Vihar or Fairy pool was quite funny as our Guide told us that the British officers used to come to this fall for picnics and when the tribal people saw their ladies swimming they started calling the fall Apsara Vihar because according to the natives, the British Ladies simply looked like Apsaras.
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Then we headed towards the Bee fall, it is named as such because from a distance the waterfall sounds like a bee. To enjoy the sight of the waterfall and to have fun in the water you need to walk 4km downhill. Well no wonder why Pachmarhi is called the trekker’s Paradise. We all enjoyed activities such as zipping, parasailing, and few water sports here.
Next we went to Dhupgarh, which is the highest point of Satpura ranges at 1352 m. It is known for sunrise and sunset view point. At night one can see the lights of the neighbouring towns such as Itarsi. During the day the lush green valley below offers a captivating view. One can reach the top either by road or by trekking. As we had very little time because it was a short trip we went by road but I’ll highly suggest that one should choose trekking. I seriously have no words to describe the amazing view from the highest peak of Dhupgarh. No picture can do justice to what you see there, you can only experience it on your own. We had dinner at Zayka hotel, the best non-vegetarian restaurant at Pachmarhi and went back to our resort.
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On our last day at Pachmarhi we went to Satpura National park. Pachmarhi is the nearest town to the national park. Its name is derived from the Satpura range. It covers an area of 524 km2 (202 sq mi). Satpura National Park, along with the adjoining Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuaries, provides 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi) of unique central Indian highland ecosystem. There are 39 tigers along with a wide range of wild animals here. You can also enjoy the safari. Give one whole day to the safari or else you’ll regret because Satpura national park has so much to offer.
I’ll highly recommend a trip to Pachmarhi, a very underrated hill station of Incredible India. And if you love nature, trekking, then travelling Pachmarhi is exactly what you’re supposed to be doing. For anyone who lives in Madhya Pradesh, a quick trip to Pachmarhi will be very fruitful. According to the local people, winter season is the best time to visit this place. So plan a trip to Pachmarhi this winter and enjoy the greenery and beautiful jungle and wildlife that Madhya Pradesh has to offer.
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If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -
- Manage your waste well and don’t litter
- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.
- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite
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