Pachmarhi

Pachmarhi
—  town  —
Pachmarhi Location of Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh and India
Coordinates	22°28′00″N 78°26′00″E
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
District(s)	Hoshangabad
Nearest city	Pipariya
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 1,015 metres (3,330 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 461881 • Telephone • +917578 • Vehicle • MP-05

Pachmarhi (Hindi: पचमड़ी) is a hill station in Madhya Pradesh state of central India, also known for the Pachmarhi Cantonment. It is widely known as "Satpura ki Rani" (Queen of Satpura), situated at a height of 1000 m in a valley of the Satpura Range in Hoshangabad district. The highest point in the central India region and the Vindhya and Satpura range; Dhupgarh at 1,350 m is located here.

History

Pachmarhi region was the kingdom of the Gond tribe king Bhawut Singh. Prior to annexation to the British Empire, it was the capital of this tribal dynasty. The area was introduced to the western world by Captain James Forsyth of the British Army in 1857. Pachmarhi became a hill station and sanatorium for British troops in the Central Provinces of India. The population in 1901 was 3020, rising to double that number in the hot summer months. Pachmarhi also served as the summer capital for the Central Provinces. The forest around the town is home to many rare varieties of plants. UNESCO added Pachmarhi park to its list of Biosphere Reserves in May 2009.

Town

The town is not very large, and most of its area is under the administration of the Pachmarhi Cantonment Board, serving the Indian Army. The population of Pachmarhi is about 10,000, most of whom are connected with the Army installations in the area.

The civilian portion of the town is small, and lies towards the tip of a lake. It has some hotels and a movie hall. A bazaar runs through the small town. A club and golf course exist, for the usage of military personnel.

A rarely used airstrip is situated near Dhupgarh. It is overrun with grass and is seldom used. Tigers are known to have been sighted near the airstrip. Panther sightings are common along the edge of the Pachmarhi Cantonment.

Tourism

Pandav Caves Pachmarhi

The total area of Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve is 4981.72 km2. It is located at Longitude 22° 11’ to 22° 50’N and Latitude 77° 47’ to 78° 52’E. It covers parts of three civil districts, viz., Hoshangabad (59.55%), Chhindwara (29.19%) and Betul (11.26%). It includes three wildlife conservation units viz., Bori Sanctuary (485.72 km2), Satpura National Park (524.37 km2) and Pachmarhi Sanctuary (491.63 km2). These ltogether has also been notified as Satpura Tiger Reserve (1501.72 km2) (Annonymous, 1996).The places worth being seen at and around Pachmarhi area, Priyadarshani point, Hondi khoh, Apsara vihar, Rajat prapat, Raj giri, Lanjee giri, Dutches fall, Sundar kund, Jatashankar, Chhota mahadeo, Mahadeo,Chauragarh, Dhupgarh, Pandav cave, Cave shelters. In Bori sanctuary, Churna, is a base for tourism. For a truly wilderness experience, the visitor can reach up to Neemghan through Panarpani gate. The flat land and good visibility along with rich wildlife makes excursions here unforgettable. Among them Mahadeo, Catacomb, Jumbudweep, Madai, Dorothideep, Jatashankar, Pandav caves, Bazar caves, Maradeo, Kaila khurd, Taptka pani, Kanjighat, Tamia, Rajat Prapat, Kharilanes are important from archaeological point of view (Singh and Upadhyay,2011). Pachmarhi is a popular tourist retreat. Tourists visit Pachmarhi through out the year. There are numerous hotels, but only few of them are located in the civil area of Pachmarhi away from the houch pouch market area(chunmun cottage,glof view,vansthali cottage,glenview,rock n msanor) Pachmarhi's elevation and the forests of the Satpuras, with their streams and waterfalls, are picturesque and home to much wildlife. Pachmarhi lies within the Pachmarhi Biosphere Preserve, created in 1999 to link two forest reserves into a larger wildlife conservation area at the highest point in Central India. Pachmarhi also has a lot of cave paintings in the forests, some of which have been dated to be as much as 10,000 years old. Shown in the picture is the garden at the base of a tourist attraction called Pandava Caves. The caves are actually Buddhist in origin but the name persists. The place has rich timber reserves including teak, but being a part of a reserve no new construction or felling of trees is allowed. Having a rich and rare flora as well as fauna, Pachmarhi needs central and state government approval for any new construction outside the town area.

Pachmarhi valley

Some of the places of tourist interest here are:

• Rajat Prapat (Big Fall)
• Bee Fall
• Dhoot Akhilesh
• Bada Mahadev
• Gupt Mahadev
• Chauragarh (Shiv Devotees come here in huge numbers during Mahashivratri)
• Dhupgarh (The highest peak of the Satpuras and Madhya Pradesh)
• Handi Khoh (Deep Valley)
• Apsara Falls (Fairy Pool)
• Jatashankar
• Duchess Fall
• Pachmarhi hill
• Pansy Pool
• Waters meet
• Picadilly circus
• Patharchatta
• Crumps crag
• Lady Robertson's view
• Colletin Crag
• Mount Rosa
• Handi Kho
• Reechgarh
• Rajendra Giri
• Bansri bihar
• Little Fall
• Naagdwari
• Draupadi Kund

The town has many tourist hotels including the hotel run by Department of Tourism (Govt. of Madhya Pradesh). Private resorts and cottage/hotel facilities are also available. There is also a Bharath Scouts and Guides camping site about 4 km from the main town.

Tourists are advised to carry BSNL mobile network connections as all other networks have not yet started operations in Pachmarhi. It is also advisable to carry hard cash in case of a prolonged vacation since there's only two working SBI (State Bank of India) and Axis Bank ATM's here.

References

4. Singh and Upadhyay (2011): Ecotourism and its effects on wildlife of Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Vol. 5(9), pp. 717-721, September 2011. Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJEST .ISSN 1996-0786 ©2011 Academic Journals

External links

• Pachmarhi travel guide from Wikitravel
• Pachmarhi at MP Tourism
• About Pachmarhi and its History