Central India: overview
A journey through India’s core takes in the full spectrum of the country’s history: from the earliest Buddhist caves at Ajanta and Ellora through the splendours of medieval Hinduism at Khajuraho, to splendid wildlife in the national parks of Kanha and Bandhavgarh and, finally, the modern metropolis of Mumbai.
Central India's landscape
Five major river systems flow through this west-central region of India: the Naramada and Tapti in Madhya Pradesh, and the Godavari, Bhima and Krishna in Maharashtra, whose sources lie in the Western Ghats (here known as the Sayadhris) and run eastwards. By trapping the monsoon rains blowing off the Arabian Sea to the west, the mountains form a divide between the lush, densely populated coastal lowlands of the Konkan, and the more arid uplands of the Deccan plateau.
The contiguous states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh cover a vast area of central India. Between them, they hold enough ancient monuments, wildlife reserves, sacred pilgrimage towns and remote forests and mountain ranges to occupy intrepid travellers for several lifetimes. Yet, compared with other parts of the country, India’s interior sees comparatively few visitors. Along the way, forays into the central Indian sal forests for a glimpse of wild tigers will bring you into contact with descendants of tribespeople whose presence predates even the oldest stone monuments in the subcontinent.
What to see in Central India
The bright lights of Mumbai
Nowhere else in the country looms as large in the popular imagination, or exerts such far-reaching influence as this teeming metropolis. Read More about Mumbai...
Ancient cave murals at Ajanta
‘The finest gallery of pictures to survive from any ancient civilisation’ is how historian John Keay described the Buddhist cave murals at Ajanta. Read More about Ajanta...
Stunning cave temples at Ellora
These caves were scooped out of the rocks 10 centuries ago, a feat comparable to carving an entire cathedral out of solid rock. Read More about Ellora...
Erotic sculpture at Khajuraho
Famed for their eyebrow-raising erotic sculpture, the temples at Khajuraho were built under the reign of the Chandellas, who controlled a large area of the northern Deccan between AD950 and 1310. Their façades are fabulously decorated with myriad deities, nymphs and carvings depicting a mind-boggling variety of sexual acts.
Many of the surviving 22 temples are in a remarkable state of preservation. This is due mainly to their relative isolation. When the early Muslim invaders of the Delhi Sultanates arrived in the 10th century they destroyed or defaced many Hindu shrines. Khajuraho was at the time far removed from the centres of conflict, and so was ignored, and the temples were gradually forgotten by the outside world. By the time they were ‘rediscovered’ by British scholars in the late 19th century, they had been surrounded by thick jungle for centuries.
The best selection of wildlife in India at Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Parks
www.kanhanationalpark.com; www.bandhavgarhnationalpark.com
For sheer abundance of wildlife, Kanha National Park and Bandhavgarh National Park, in the east of Madhya Pradesh, are the best national parks in India. The journey to them might be a little long, but it’s well worth the effort. The best season is February to May, when you’ll be able to see plenty of beautiful cheetal (spotted deer), blackbuck, sloth bear, gaur or bison (largest of the wild cattle), wild boar, barasingha (‘12-pointer’) swamp deer, and also monkeys galore. Enthusiastic birdwatchers might also spot black ibis and the crested serpent-eagle.
The parks, however, are most famous for their tigers; with the big cat population perennially under threat from poaching, sightings are by no means guaranteed, but over the course of a two-night/three-day stay you stand a good chance of seeing India’s greatest wildlife symbol.
Read more about India...
• Visit India's star attractions
• Spot tigers in India's national parks
Read more from the travel guide to India
