Although this was the third time I was visiting Pachmarhi, every trip here come with a new experience. It was an un-planned road trip from my hometown Nagpur (Maharashtra) to Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh) in the month of monsoon. Pachmarhi is a hill station located in the satpura range in the Hindustan Ka dil wala state.
The Distance from Nagpur to Pachmarhi is 260 KM approx, and the roads are quite good, except for a patch of 30 KM near Chindwara, the route was almost bump free. We started from Nagpur at 11:00 AM, and reached the destination by 7:00 PM, but this was due to many stoppages, we took for Photography, Food or just to enjoy the weather.
After reaching Pachmarhi we started looking for hotels, and being an off season we got a decent hotel for 1000 Rs per night. Below are the places we visited during our stay 3 nights and 2 days of stay.
1) Chauragarh - As the name suggest there are four mountains to climb, and the reward after reaching the zenith of the fourth mountain is a beautiful Shiva temple overlooking the entire Pachmarhi village and surrounding areas. Once you reach the temple, you are at peace with yourself, and a feeling of oneness with god and nature replaces all the sense of achievement of climbing.
The total distance during this walk is approximately 14 KM and the trekking level difficulty would be medium to difficult.
2) Dhoop Garh - This is the highest point in the hill station and you can witness the beautiful hues of sun rise and sun set. To reach this place you will have to book a gypsy or any four wheel drive car, as the slope is very steep and Govt. does not recommend regular vehicles on the road to this place.
3) Ramya Kund - The name means a "A Beautiful Pond" and indeed it is. This place is located in a jungle and you have to walk around 5KM off the road. During the season there are jeeps which may carry you to the nearest point, in case you want to avoid this stroll through the jungle. This place is closed during the monsoon period, and the forest rangers have put barricades, to prevent the visitors to enter the jungle. However, we being the dare devils with an urge to see this place, parked our Mahindra XUV into the bushes by road side and sneaked through the barriers, to enter the jungle. This was the best decision and we would have regretted not taking it. As, the path to the kund is through the jungle and with us being the sole visitors, we could clearly hear the chirping of birds, could explore our way through and meet the small brooks on our way in their cleanest form. But then this was just the teaser before the mesmerizing view of the kund with a majestic water fall filling it continuously. We enjoyed in the pond for almost 3-4 hours as it was our own private pool, with no one around only to leave the place after it started getting dark.
4) Faansi Khadda - This place is technically en-route to Pachmarhi and is a huge cliff, where it is said that the Britishers used to throw away the dead bodies of criminals who died after being convicted and hung. Though the place sounds creepy but provides the best view of the Satpuras covered with green blanket of trees.
With this we started heading back to Nagpur taking with us the beautiful memories of our trip.
Apart from it there are many places to visit in Pachmarhi, most popular being
- Bee Falls
-Duchess Falls
-Pandav Gufa
-Gupta Mahadev
The best time to visit this place is during winters, as in monsoon most of the water falls or places near water bodies are close, due to the risk of accidents. But nonetheless pachmarhi is always mesmerizing and will always make you feel close to the nature.
