Chattisgarh Travel

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BELTS OF CHATTISGARH

Destination : Delhi - Raipur - Chitrakoot - Jagdalpur - Kanker - Kanha National Park .
Duration : 21 Days 20 Nights

DAY 01 ARRIVE DELHI
Arrive Delhi met and transferred to the hotel

DAY 02 DELHI
Enjoy full day sightseeing tour of Old & New Delhi.
(Including the Red Fort, Jama Masjid and the bazaars of Chandni Chowk, (Including the Qutab Minar, Humayun's tomb and Lutyen's buildings)
(Red Fort is closed on Mondays)

Old Delhi pulses with the energy and colour, the hustle and bustle of thronged bazaars and is laced by a maze of narrow lanes which twist and turn between tall, leaning houses full of the sights, sounds and aromas of the Indian sub-continent. In Old Delhi you will see the famous Red Fort surrounded by shops, and bazaars (built by the Emperor Shah Jehan - the builder of Taj Mahal), the Jama Masjid mosque with its tapering minarets and wonderful marble domes, Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi's business nerve center), the hustle-bustle of everyday Indian life all around you and chattering voices.

New Delhi stands in formal splendour, like a lone sentry guarding an outpost of a long-gone empire. It is a city of wide boulevards, which offers ever-changing perspec¬tives of Lutyen's landscaped city. It is a city rich with formal parks and you will see the magnificent Parliament Building and the Rashtrapati Bhawan (the official residence of the President of India in the 330 acres of land and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens), once the awe-inspiring residence of the British Viceroys and now the Presidential Palace, India Gate (a majestic 42-mts high arch, built as a memorial to the Indian Soldiers killed in World War I), Qutab Minar (the 72.5 mts high tower dating back to 13th century and one of the greatest bequests of Islamic Culture), Humayuns Tomb (built in the 16th century and architecturally the fore runner of the Taj Mahal, has Mughal Architecture at its graceful best).

DAY 03 DELHI - RAIPUR - CHITRAKOOT
Departure transfer to the airport to connect flight to Raipur (CD 7477 1030 hrs / 1210 hrs)
Arrive Raipur and drive to Chitrakoot (220 kms / 05 hrs)
Arrive Chitrakoot and check in at Tourist Bungalow

Chitrakoot, 'the hill of many wonders', nestles peacefully in the northern spurs of the Vindhyas, a place of tranquil forest glades and quiet rivers, and streams where calm and repose are all pervading. This loveliest of Nature's gifts is also hallowed ground, blessed by the gods and sanctified by the faith of pilgrims. For Chitrakoot's spiritual legacy stretches back to legendary ages: it was in these deep forests that Rama and Sita spent eleven of their fourteen years of exile; here that the great sage Atri and Sati Anusuya meditated; and here where the principal trinity of the Hindu pantheon, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, took their incarnations.
Rest of the day to visit the waterfalls
Stay at Tourist Bungalow for 04 nights

DAY 04 CHITRAKOOT - JAGDALPUR - CHITRAKOOT
The drive takes you today to the very heartland of the Bastar tribes (about 01 hour drive, one way). Visit the anthropological museums and the surroundings of Jagdalpur.

Jagdalpur is one of most beautiful towns of the country. Jagdalpur is rich in greenary, with big trees everywhere, and plantations surrounding the town providing a pleasant and healthy atmosphere and free from pollution. Because of this the temperature even in peak summer is moderate which is a key attraction of Jagdalpur.

It has a mixed culture of people pertaining to different states such as Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Punjab and etc. Most of them are settled as businessmen and as government servants. Jagdalpur is one of the few towns in India where people of different religion, caste and culture are living in peace and harmony. The places worth seeing in the town are Gole Bazar during night hours and during Dusshera and Diwali festival seasons & Kumhara Para area where all types of handicraft items made by the skilled hands of Bastar tribes are available.
Drive back to Chitrakoot

DAY 05 VISIT TRIBAL AREAS OF BASTAR REAGION
Today you shall get an opportunity to get to know some of the traditional arts and crafts of Bastar, which comprise from wood-craft to terracotta, tribal weaving to Bhitti-chitra (traditional Wall paintings), stone-carving to Bell metal craft, Iron craft and the Bamboo crafts. These crafts reflect the subtle creativity, inventive genius and the imagination of the local craftsmen, who have tried to retain the original purity of perception and core-concepts governing the life styles of their ethos.

DAY 06 CHITRAKOOT - KANGAR VALLEY NATIONAL PARK - CHITRAKOOT
An early breakfast allows time for a visit to the rich forests of the Kanger Valley National Park (about 1 ½ hours one way), the enchanting Tirathgarh waterfall and the extraordinary stalactite and stalagmite caves. Kanger retains the original intensity of the forests that once covered this whole region, and you will picnic in the natural habitat of leopard, tiger, sambhar, bison and the Bastar Hill Myna. Here too are forest tribal people in their natural habitat. There will be time also to explore some of Jagdalpur's unique handicrafts before dinner at the hotel with your royal guides.

DAY 07 CHITRAKOOT - KANKER
Today you drive through the tribal country to Kanker (about 3 hours drive). The countryside will make you feel like being in paradise itself. The virgin and untouched tribal landscape is very fascinating indeed. Explore the verdant surroundings of the palace.
Stay at Hotel Kanker Palace

DAY 08 KANKER - KONDAGOAN - NARAYANPUR - KANKER
After your choice of Indian or English breakfast at the Palace, the Bastar tribal experience begins. South of Kanker you and your royal guide climb the forested Keshkal Ghat, which marks the border of Bastar 500m above the plain. You will encounter here the special nature of North Bastar wth a visit to a colorful weekly market. It gives you a great oportunity to meet the local people. At Kondagaon and Narayanpur discover some of Bastar's finest handicrafts, and the people who make them. Lunch will be a picnic in the deep green sal forests. An early evening dance by youthful members of Bastar's unique 'ghotul' dormitory system completes an unforgettable day before a star - lit return to Kanker and a late dinner.

Day 09 KANKER / KAWARDHA
Today we will drive to the former Princely State of Kawardha (251 km / approx 7 hrs.)
. You will be shown to your Palace suite before lunch in the State Dining Room.

After checking into the palace, you will have your first exposure of tribal life of the Bastars. One of the Kawardha Royals will accompany you on your first trip to the surrounding tribal villages, which are still untouched from bustling life of a city.

Your return to the Palace at sunset is followed by a welcome drink to meet the royal family, with traditional Chhattisgarhi dance entertainment and then dinner.
Stay at Hotel Kawardha Palace for 02 nights.

DAY 10 KAWARDHA
After breakfast, a well-versed Palace guide will accompany you on an introduction to the secrets of Kawardha's little-known natural and tribal world. You will meet the gentle and f friendly Baiga people, the principal indigenous forest tribe. Enjoy picnic lunch with them. An evening return to Palace Kawardha precedes a royal family dinner.

DAY 11 KAWARDHA - KANHA NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast drive to Kanha National Park (150 kms / 04 hours)
Arrive Kanha and check in at your resort

Stay at Tuli Tiger Resort for 03 nights
Set in the buffer zone of the Park, Tuli Tiger Resort has 18 air-conditioned cottages. There is a private natural lake within the boundary of the resort, which is adjacent to a rivulet and meets the main river called Banjar. Each room in the resort has a telephone and attached private facilities with running hot and cold water and shower. Other amenities include an audio / video theatre, pool table, library, swimming pool and multi-cuisine restaurant.

The resort is very well managed with in-house resident naturalists. It is one of the best accommodations available in the area.
Location: Jabalpur Railway Station - 160 kilometers : Nagpur Railway Station - 255 kilometers
Government grading:
Our comments: First class resort with modern amenities

DAY 12-DAY 13 KANHA NATIONAL PARK
Morning and afternoon game drives to the national park for tiger tracking and animal watching.
Kanha is one of India's largest and most remote national parks, covering 1945 sq km of forest and lightly wooded grasslands. An extensive network of rivers and streams supports it. The setting of Kiplings Jungle Book, Kanha National Park has an excellent variety of wildlife including Leopards, Chital, Sambar, three striped palm squirrel, common langur, jackal, wild pig, chital or spotted Deer, Barasingha or swamp Deer, (The park is the only habitat of the rare hardground Barasingha), Blackbug. Indian Hare, Dhole or Indian wild dog, barking deer, Indian Bison or Gaur, Indian Fox, sloth bear, striped hyena, Jungle Cat, Panther, Mouse Deer, Chausingha or four horned antelope, Nilgai or blue bull, Ratel, Indian Porcupine, wolf, Chinkara, Indian Pangolin, the smooth Indian otter, small Indian Civet. and, most famously, the tiger. It's possible to make elephant-back excursions into the park in the early morning and evening to see tigers. Although wildlife can be seen throughout the season, sightings increase during the hotter months of March and April, because the animals move out of the tree cover in search of water. The park is closed from July to October.

DAY 14 KANHA NATIONAL PARK - DELHI
Transfer to the Jabalpur railway station (About 4 hours drive) to connect Mahakaushal Express for Delhi.
First class air-conditioned sleeper; 1500/1040* hours
Overnight is on board the train.

DAY 15 ARRIVE DELHI
Arrive Delhi at 1040 hrs .You will be met on arrival and transferred to the Hotel Uppals Orchid where a day use room is booked till departure.

Later today you will be transferred to the International airport to connect your flight to London
(Check-in 3 hours prior to departure)