• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

A wellspring of quietude

Shona Adhikari

I recently had the opportunity of visiting Pachmarhi, a hill station that deserves many more visitors. The summer months are pleasant here, making it a good holiday getaway for the family.

There is only one hill station in India's largest State, Madhya Pradesh, though the State has a number of hills. Pachmarhi, located on Mahadeo Hill, 3,501 ft above sea-level, is part of the Satpura Range. We owe the discovery of this delightful hill stat ion to Captain Forsyth in 1862 when he was out exploring the Satpura Range. Realising the potential of the area as a health resort, the British developed the region as a sanatorium and summer retreat.

Over the years, it has attracted domestic tourists and has developed into a place for the arts and a meeting place for spiritual discourses. Its unhurried pace is particularly attractive as is its scenic beauty of sal forests, red sandstone hills, caves and cave paintings, pools and waterfalls, temples and churches. In short, it offers much to see and a few days stay here can be rewarding and invigorating.

The name `Pachmarhi' translates into `five dwellings' and refers to five caves with relief sculptures located in the heart of this hill station. Legend has it that the five Pandava brothers from the epic Mahabharata are said to have stayed here during th eir years of exile. The Mahadeo Hill with its Shiva temple, the name given to the hills in the region, have a number of rock shelters with paintings that probably go back to 10,000 years ago. The drawings depict animals, dancing groups and men with bows and arrows.

Pachmarhi still retains the cantonment ambience of earlier times. Even though names of various locations here may have changed, its facilities remain remarkably unchanged in their neatly painted and well-maintained appearances. The School of Oriental Mus ic created by Pandit Ravi Shankar draws scholars from all over. The plateau on which Pachmarhi is located has a large number of streams running across, providing cool pools for tourists to bathe in during summer when the temperature can go up to 30 degre es Celsius.

Next to the ancient Shiva temple on Mahadeo Hill is a large cave shelter. Beyond Mahadeo Hill is one of Pachmarhi's important landmarks, Chauragarh. At the highest point of this hill is another Shiva temple with a huge marble Shiva image which had to be mechanically lifted almost 1,000 ft up to the top. Climbing up to the temple is also not easy -- thousands of devotees carrying tridents and other offerings have to climb 1,100 steps to offer prayers to Shiva on the night of Shivaratri.

There are many interesting walks and treks that can be made from Pachmarhi. Dhupgarh, at a height of 4,462 ft, is the highest peak of the Satpura range. A steep road from Pachmarhi takes trekkers to the peak which has some of the best views of the region . In the same direction as Dhupgarh are other places worth seeing such as the black rocks of Pathar Chatta, Tridhara and Vanshri Vihar, a lovely pool.One of the prettiest places for a picnic is Ramya Kund (earlier known as Irene's Pool) situated about a kilometre from the town centre. It was discovered by Irene Bose, wife of Justice Vivian Bose, who used to come here very frequently with her husband. One of the most important waterfalls in the region and a place of great scenic beauty is Duchess Falls, renamed Jalavataran. It is a long and stiff 4-km walk to the falls. Another 1.5 km down a footpath takes you to Saunder's Pool, now known as Sundar Kund. It's an extremely popular place for a dip and a picnic.There are many more places to visit -- J ata Shankar, named for the rock formation that resembled Shiva's matted locks, is a sacred cave reached by a flight of steps. Chota Mahadeo is another spot linked to Shiva, and a particularly lovely spot in the Jambu Dwip valley, where water f rom an overhead spring drips through rocks into a running stream.

The cave paintings in the region are mostly red or white and are still fairly clear despite their age. Some of the best rock paintings in the region are found at the Maradeo cave, located 6 km from the centre of town. It is one of the many rock shelters on Putli Lane. This is also a rather deep cave and a ladder leads to the bottom. From here, there is an underground passage to another cave. Harper's cave is next to Jata Shankar and is named after a painting depicting a man playing an instrument that re sembles a harp. Bhrant Neer has some rocks that are used for climbing as well as some shelters with animal paintings. The caves at Dhuandhar, reached by a narrow footpath have paintings in white and depict archers with buns and hooped earrings.

Fact file

How to get there

By air or train to Bhopal and then by bus or taxi to Pachmarhi.

By air: There are Indian Airlines flights daily to Bhopal from Delhi, Gwalior and Mumbai.

By Rail: The most convenient train is the daily Shatabdi Express from New Delhi. Bhopal is also connected by rail with Mumbai and Delhi.

Where to stay

Top end: Satpura Retreat -- Tel: 2097; Amaltas -- Tel: 2098.

Budget: Neelamber Cottages, Panchvati Huts & Cottages.

Best season: Panchmarhi is a year-round destination but in May and June, temperatures can go upto 30 degrees Celsius.

Facts at a glance

Distance from Pachmarhi to Bhopal: 200 km

A direct bus leaves M.P. Tourism's Hotel Bangash at Bhopal at 8 a.m. An M.P. State Road Transport bus leaves Bhopal at 4 p.m.

Taxi rates: Rs. 61 per km.

Cycles can be hired at the bazaar.

Leisure: Golf course, Pachmarhi Club.

Pic.: Pachmarhi is chockfull of scenic vistas such as this

waterfall.