Situated at an altitude of 1067 metres, Pachmarhi is a large plateau ringed by hills on the evergreen Satpura range. In the year 1857, Captain James Forsyth of the Bengal Lancers was riding in the Satpura ranges and chanced upon this saucer -shaped valley. He recommended its development as a sanatorium. Being the only hill resort in Madhya Pradesh, it is a popular place for nature lovers and sportsmen. The landscape is characterized by rugged hills, forests and ravines.

Temperature   :  Summer Max: 35°C.        Min: 19.9°C.

Winter            Max: 22°C.        Min: 1.0°C.

Best Season:  September to May.  

Air : The nearest airport is Bhopal 210 Kms. 

Rail  : Pipariya 47 Km. on the Mumbai-Howrah line via Allahabad is the nearest railhead. Regular bus services connect Pipariya with Pachmarhi.

Road : Pachmarhi is connected by motorable road with Allahabad 683 Km., Bhopal 210 Km., Indore 368 Km., Nagpur 262 Km., Rookhad 236 Km and Ujjain 421 Km. Pachmarhi is connected by regular bus services with Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Nagpur, Pipariya and Chhindwara. MP Tourism also operates regular coach services between Bhopal and Pachmarhi. Taxis are available at Pipariya.

Priyadarshini Point (Forsyth Point): This vantage viewing point marks the place from where Pachmarhi was discovered by Captain Forsyth in 1857. 

Handi Khoh: Pachmarhi"s most impressive ravine has a 300 feet high precipice and dramatically steep sides. 

Apsara Vihar (Fairy Pool): Easily accessible from the Jai Stambh, it is an ideal picnic spot for family and children, since it is shallow and deepens only towards the base of the pool.

Bison Lodge: Constructed in 1862, the Bison Lodge is the oldest house in Pachmarhi. It now houses a beautiful museum depicting the rich flora and fauna of Pachmarhi. 

Catholic Church: Built in 1892 by the British, the Catholic Church is a blend of the French and Irish architecture with Belgium stained-glass windows. The church has a cemetery attached to it and graves date from 1859, World War I & II. 

Christ Church: Built in 1875 by the British, this Church"s architecture is fascinating; its altar has a hemispherical dome on top with its ribs ending with faces of angels. The stained glass panes adorning the walls and rear of the altar were imported from Europe. The nave of the church does not contain even a single pillar for support. The baptismal font is a rare brass piece and the bell is as old as the church.

Irene Pool: The route upstream leads to a cave, through which the stream goes underground and then over a khud in a series of falls.

Jalawataran (Duchess Falls): The descent is steep and the trek strenuous for almost all of the 4 km to the base of the fall"s first cascade.

Sunder Kund (Saunder’s Pool): Crossing the stream below Duchess Fall and following a footpath about 2.5 km in a south- west direction, brings one to a huge rocky pool that is excellent for a refreshing swim. 

Jumuna Prapat (Bee Falls): A spectacular fall in the stream which provides drinking water to Pachmarhi. The bathing pools above the fall are very popular. 

Mahadeo: Regarded as holy for generations, Mahadeo hill has a shrine with an idol of Lord Shiva and an impressive Shivlinga. On the East side of the hill is an excellent cave shelter with beautiful cave paintings.

Chota Mahadeo: A sacred spot, this is a narrow point in the valley with rocks overhanging a stream and a spring from where water cascades down. 

Chauragarh: 4 kms from Mahadeo, it is one of Satpura"s prominent landmarks, the summit crowned with emblems of Mahadeo worship. 

Jata Shankar: A sacred cave under a mass of loose boulders in which the Jambu Dwip stream has its source. A rocky formation of this place resembles the matted locks of Lord Shiva, hence the name. 

Dhoopgarh: The highest point in the Satpura range, with a magnificent view of the surrounding ranges. A very popular spot for viewing sunset. 

Pandav Caves: Five ancient dwellings excavated in the sandstone rock in a low hill. Pachmarhi derives its name from these caves, which, as the legend goes, once provided sanctuary to the five Pandav brothers. These caves are now protected monuments. 

Tridhara (Piccadily Circus): A popular picnic spot where two streams meet in a junction, 

Pandav Caves, Rajat Prapat (Big Fall), Rajendragiri (Panorama Hill), 

Vanshree Vihar (Pansy Pool): A beautiful spot on the Denwa stream, cool and shady among trees, ferns and semi-tropical vegetation. 

Reechhgarh: A wonderful natural amphitheater in the rock, approached through a cave-like entrance on the South-side. 

Sangam (Fuller"s Khud - Waters Meet): This is the lowest of the picnic spots on the Denwa and offers fairly good bathing pools both below and above the meeting of the waters. 

The Cave Shelters: Pachmarhi is also an archaeological treasure house. In cave shelters in the Mahadeo Hills is an astonishing richness in rock paintings. Most of these have been placed in the period 500-800 AD, but the earliest paintings are an estimated 10,000 years old. Some of the best cave shelters and groups of shelters around Pachmarhi are: Dhuandhar, approached from the footpath to Apsara Vihar, the paintings mostly in white include a group of archers with the typical Gond bun and hooped earrings. Bharat Neer (Dorothy Deep), has well executed animal paintings and when excavated in the 1930s yielded many pottery shards and microliths. Asthachal (Monte Rosa), there are four shelters with paintings, comparatively early linear drawings. Along the northern side of Jambu Dwip valley are some six shelters with many paintings of animals and human figures, including a detailed battle scene. Harper"s Cave: So named because of one of its paintings - a man seated and playing a harp is close to the Jata Shankar Shrine. The Chieftain"s Cave derives its name from a battle scene showing two chieftains on horses. A terrace that runs the length of the South, South East and East faces of Kites Crag has some fine cave paintings, the majority of which are in white or outlined in red.

Satpura National Park: Set up in 1981, Satpura National Park is 524 Sq.Km. in area.  Pachmarhi’s fascinating natural beauty of deep valleys, high mountains, rivulets, waterfalls combine to give this park unique beauty and a variety of attractions.  The park is home to the Bison, Tiger, Panther, Wild Bear, Four-horned deer, Blue-bull and a rich variety of birds.

Beni Forest (20 Km.): This forest accounts for much of the country’s supply of teak wood and is being developed as a wild life sanctuary. Gaur (bison), barking deer, sambar and wild boar are among the animals found here.

Tamia (78 Km.): Overlooking the Narmada valley, Tamia is a picturesque holiday and picnic resort on the Satpura range. From the Tamia rest house, the view of the Dudhi Plateau from 330 mts. of sheer overhanging cliffs is one of the most spectacular any where south of the Vindhyas.

 

The Present Park area encompasses two important valleys viz the Banjar and the Halon. The Halon vally falls in Balaghat district. The total area of the park is 940 Sq. kms. of which 530 Sq. kms falls in Balaghat district comprising the three ranges viz Mukki, Bhaisanghat and Supkhar.

This is original Kipling country, of which he wrote so vividly in the Jungle Book. The same abundance of wildlife species exists even today in the Kanha National Park, which forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve created in 1974 under Project Tiger.  This park is also the only habitat of the rare hard ground Barasingha.

Area :  939.94 Sq.Km.              

Altitude        :  450-900 Mts.

Temperature   :  Summer   Max: 40.6 Deg.C.   Min: 23.9 Deg.C.

Winter :    Max: 23.9 Deg.C.        Min:   1.1 Deg.C.

Rainfall  :  152 Cms.

 

Air   : Jabalpur (169 Km.) is the nearest airport to visit the Kanha National Park. However convenient airport is Nagpur   

          266 km

Rail  : Jabalpur (169 Km.) is the most convenient railhead to visit Kanha.

Road  : Kanha National Park is connected by road with Jabalpur 169  Km., Khajuraho  445 Km., Nagpur 266 Km., Rookhad 192 Km. and Raipur 219 Km., Bilaspur 182 Km., Balaghat 83 Km.,  Khatia and  Mukki are two main entry points to the Kanha. Mukki on State Highway No. 26 is more convenient. Distances within the park are: Koshi-Kanha: 9 Kms., Kisli-Khatia: 4  Kms. and Kisli-Mukki: 32 Kms.

Local Transport: MPSTDC operates a Jeep service for visitors to go around in the park.  Booking can be made through the Manager, MPSTDC, Baghira Log Huts, Kisli and Kanha Safari Lodge, Mukki. Wild Chalet Resorts at the village  Mocha, can also arrange for local sightseeing.

Forest Department guides accompany visitors around the Park on mapped out circuits, which enable viewers to see a good cross-section of Kanha’s wildlife.

Wildlife in the Park: Kanha has some 22 species of mammals. Those that are most easily spotted are the palm squirrel, common langur, jackal, wild pig, chital, barasingha, sambar and black buck. Less commonly seen species include the tiger, wild dog, barking deer, bison, sloth bear, striped hyena, jungle cat and the chausingha.  Very rarely seen are the wolf, the chinkara, Indian otter and the small Indian civet.

Birds species in the Park: Kanha has over 200 species of birds.  Commonly seen species include the cattle egret, pond heron, black ibis, common peafowl, crested serpent, hawk eagle, red wattled lapwing, flycatcher, woodpecker, pigeon, dove, parakeet, kingfisher and grey hornbill. Bamni Dadar: Known as Sunset Point, this is one of the most beautiful areas of the park from where a spectacular sunset can be viewed.  Animals that can be sighted here are the sambar, barking deer, gaur and four horned antelope.

The Fort is located at Lanji Tehsil of Balaghat. It was made by Cultury Rajwansh, which is located in Dense Forest area. The Temple and its Statutes art are of Khajuraho style. The Lanji Fort is also related with Gond dynasty. There are so many temples within Fort with lot of Statutes.