[KharbandaKartik]

The return to reality can feel mundane and monotonous, leaving us feeling a sense of emptiness and longing for the next adventure. But, it's important to remember that holiday blues are temporary and we eventually come out of it gradually and then we start finding joy in the present moment.

Travelling to national parks of Madhya Pradesh was on the list since quite some time. I had been to Bhopal and Indore previously for work but for a very short while. This time though, my wife had work in Bhopal, she casually asked me if I would like to accompany, along with this I was also asked to look for DEL-BHO return flights. I looked at Maps and Bhopal was 750kms from Delhi, had a discussion with my wife and we both agreed to travel to Bhopal by road and decided that after 2 days of work, we would travel to national parks of Madhya Pradesh.

My car was due for a service in another 1500kms or so, I decided to get it serviced before the trip. Bookings were made in advance and I looked through the maps just to understand the routes we would be taking. It was also decided that we'll not be travelling during night, as these routes are new to me and I wasn't sure about how safe they would be during the night hours. I didn't pack like I would for the mountains, assuming that we'll be crossing major cities, so food supply won't be a problem, probability of getting stuck due to natural causes is also much lower.

Day 1 - Delhi to Bhopal

Started from home at around 4:30 AM, I had already tanked up with XP95 a day before, and within 30 mins, we were on the Taj Expressway. The speed limit on the highway is now 100km/hr instead of the earlier 120km/hr and I think it's a good move, seeing the number of accidents which have happened in the past due to road undulations, road joints, tyre bursts, etc.

We wanted to take a tea/coffee break in the morning but all the eating joints were closed, I am guessing they open around 9:00 AM. You would find a few petrol bunks of Indian oil on Taj expressway from Greater Noida to Agra, in case if one wishes to tank up on their way to Agra. Our journey till Agra was smooth and we easily cruised at 100 KMPH without any hiccups. Google maps suggested us a way, which took us through the city, during which we also had a glimpse of Taj Mahal from far away. Once we crossed Agra, we took a halt for breakfast.

As we moved from Uttar Pradesh and made our way towards Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, we could feel how it started to look different, the cosmetics of trucks changed, the local autos started to look a little different, the way local people travelled also changed, that's why I feel, the best way to travel is by road, you get to see one culture slowly fading away and the other one taking over as you travel to different places.

The route from from Gwalior to Bhopal is pretty smooth, the only thing you need to be super careful about is the stray cattle, they're all over the highway and are least bothered with your horns, lights, speed, size, etc. The highway is scenic and enjoyable, it's full of greenery, that too not the usual green, it's bright green, as if it has been painted. I never knew, assumed or could have guessed that M.P was so full of greenery. Roads are good enough for an easy 90 KMPH -100 KMPH cruise, I hardly go beyond these speeds, maybe for an overtake once in a while.



A full tank of fuel lasted me till Bhopal, during which we covered around 750 KMS and were still left with a range of 200 KMS, I was expecting this, because I have been getting a fuel efficiency in the range of 17-19 KM/L during my last 45000KMS of driving the Kushaq.



We had booked MPT, Kerwa Resort in Bhopal, which we found to be okayish, the resort had a lot of guests for lunch, Dinner and just to hang around the lake, but past 8 PM, it was just the guests who were staying. We hung around for a while, had dinner and called it a day.

A glimpse MPT Kerwa Resort:

Day 2

I am an early riser, even more so when I am on a vacation, my usual time of waking up during a vacation is 5-5:30 AM. We were able to start early at around 8:00 AM post having our breakfast. Our stay was booked at Jehan Numa Palace, Bhopal. I wanted to check-in early, so that I could do my morning office calls from a quiet, comfortable place, requested the hotel staff for an early check-in and they obliged, the hotel has ample parking, clean rooms, good dining options, swimming pool and a paddock as well, in case one's interested in horses.



The Paddock:



We had our lunch in the in- house restaurant Tao and in the evening spent some time in the pool, for dinner we headed to Jehan Numa Retreat which is a 10 minutes drive from Jehan Numa Palace.

A few pictures of Jehan Numa Retreat:

Day 3 (Bhopal to Jabalpur)

My wife was occupied with the first half of the day for work - the reason why we had come to Bhopal and this very trip got planned. Our plan was to reach Jabalpur by evening, the distance from Bhopal to Jabalpur is a little more than 300 KMS, we started around 2:00 PM for Jabalpur and reached around 8:30 PM, the highway is smooth, except the cattles.

We were pretty tired by the end of the day, enjoyed a few drinks with dinner and called it a day.

Day 4 (Jabalpur to Kanha)

The halt at Jabalpur was decided, as I didn't want to do Bhopal- Kanha as that would've meant travelling at night and like I said in the beginning, travelling at night was not kept as an option. Woke up early as usual, had breakfast at the hotel itself and checked out around 9:00 AM, I was excited as this is when our vacation had actually began as my wife was done with her work. Jabalpur to Kanha is an easy 200 KMS something drive and I was at ease.

We decided to visit the Bhadbhada waterfall before hitting the highway for kanha:



Somewhere along the way:





The way to Kanha has a few kilometres of ghats, unfortunately one can't have a lot of fun on these roads as it is suggested to drive slow, in case you encounter wildlife and of-course the speed breakers have been put in place as well. The way to Kanha is stunning, it has dense forests all around, and we thoroughly enjoyed the drive.

Bought mangoes on the way:



In the middle of the forest:







There are checkpoints on the way to Kanha, once we enter the core area and once we exit, while entering, it has to be made sure that one collects the slip, otherwise they won't let the vehicle exit from the other side. Our stay was booked in Kanha Jungle Camp, which is in the buffer forest and not in the core forest. We were really happy to see that there were no tourists, no crowd and the national park didn't seem touristy at all. Once at the resort, we were greeted by the resort's team, we were then escorted to the reception, had a little chat and everybody introduced themselves to us and then we were taken to our villa.

They were considerate enough to keep the air-conditioning turned on in advance, room was clean, had everything one could ask for in a remote national park. We settled in and then went out for a stroll in the property, while walking along the artificial lake, I also came across a snake, which went into the bushes once it realised our presence.

Water lilies bloomed in the resort:



Car Parking for the night:



Our villa at Kanha Jungle Camp:



The lounge where we enjoyed our drinks in the evening :



The staff made sure that our stay at their property was comfortable, we had dosed off around 11-11:30 PM that day but for some reason I couldn't sleep the entire night, maybe it was the jungle.

Day 5 (Kanha to Bandhavgarh)

Early morning made myself a black coffee and enjoyed it with the rains outside. Our plan was to start early and reach the next destination in time, had a hearty breakfast and left around 9:00 Am, and reached Bandhavgarh in the afternoon.

We had originally booked our stay for Bandhavgarh Meadows after check-in, we didn't like the property at all as it was not well kept, I was still okay to make a compromise for the night but my wife didn't budge at all and wanted to move out of that place, we looked for other properties around and were happy to see Taj as one of the options, we made a reservation over a call without even looking at any other property. Checked-in later in the evening and were greeted by the staff in a way where it seemed that they were actually looking forward to having us as their guests, talk about hospitality. Munshi Ji was assigned to take care of us for the entire stay of ours, we were told to be careful about the possibility of encountering wild boars at the property and were suggested not to go out by ourselves after 7PM, if needed, someone from the staff would accompany us. The villa at Taj was luxurious and rustic at the same time, one of the most comfortable stays I've ever had, I would rate this particular property a step above even if compared with the resorts of Maldives. Their service was extremely quick and they genuinely were keen to go out of the way to make things possible. This stay of ours, made our trip much more memorable than it would have been otherwise. A highly recommended stay

Day 6 (Bandhavgarh to Panna

We planned to leave a little late, as we wanted to take it easy and also because our next destination was not far away. I did all my important office calls as well, I can't be at peace with myself unless I finish my work first.

The villa:



The dining hall:



and us:



Bumped into this old rusty Jeep:



The property manager gave the visiting card of the General Manager, in case if we need to make any bookings in future, we could simply get in touch and he suggested that it would make things easier for us. With this, we said goodbye to the staff and started our journey for our next stop Panna National Park.

Once we started from Bandhavgarh, it started to rain heavily and I drove slow following Google Maps, and it took us to a road through which only two wheelers could go, drove back all the way and took the alternative route, a reminder that maps are supposed to be used along with human intelligence, if you leave it all on the maps, once in a while at least you would end up on an incorrect route.

This was the most tiring leg for me of this trip, because of the traffic, which had suddenly increased, the quality of roads, etc. We were able to reach out resort in the evening, and we would have actually liked the place but after Taj's hospitality, it seemed ordinary, not blaming them at all though. We were too tired to even check-out the place.

Day 7 (Panna to Delhi)

Woke up early as usual and spent some time around the property, they had cycles available for guests to use, we both cycled our way through the entire property, clicked a few pictures and had our breakfast before starting for Delhi. It was going to be a longish drive and I was constantly hoping that the highways better be good, because we had no plans of halting and by now I was quite tired as well, and by the end of the trip, you also tend to start feeling a little sad and that does affect the liveliness and energy. Apart from the stretch of around 50 kilometres which had average roads, the rest of the highways were smooth and we had an easy cruise.

With this trip, the Kushaq has completed 46000KMS:



It now needs new tyres as there's a clear decline in performance in terms of wet grip and grip under hard acceleration. The brake pads should also be up for a change in a few thousand kilometres, I am also planning to write a long term ownership review once I hit 50K kilometres. Till then drive safe !

[MNITDEVIL]

Great read. We did a similar trip in mid-2021 - covering Bandhavgarh, kanha & Sanjay Dubri over 8 days. Only in one of these we could sight the big cat but then we did see 3 of them, making up for all the misses in the other two! Fun fact, we stayed at Kanha Jungle camp as well. All in all, one of the most memorable road trip for us, coupled with MP in monsoon (green all around) & fantastic highways to accompany us throughout the trip!