Places to Visit in Panchamarhi, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India

Places to Visit in Panchamarhi, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India

Panchamarhi is a hill station situated in Hoshangabad District in Madhya Pradesh State in India. It is a tourist paradise well known for Pachmarhi Cantonment and Satpura ki Rani. Dhupgarh, Vindhya and Satpura range lies on Panchamarhi.

Panchamarhi is located about 200 km from state capital Bhopal and about 532 km south of Gwalior City. The Pin Code of Panchamarhi is 461881. Panchamarhi is positioned between 22.4667°N latitude and 78.4333°E longitude and is placed at an altitude of 1100 meters.

Most of the Panchamarhi is covered by trees and other than environmental beauties Panchamarhi houses hotels, a movie hall, a club golf course, airstrip, a market and a military base.

History of Panchamarhi:

Gond tribe King Bhawut Singh ruled Panchamarhi for so many years and also he was made it as his capital. British Government conquered Panchamarhi from the local Kings in the year 1857. British Army Captain James Forsyth revealed Pachmarhi’s specialties to foreign countries in 1857. UNESCO declared Pachmarhi Park as one of the World Biosphere Reserves in May 2009.

Food, Culture and Shopping in Panchamarhi:

Panchamarhi is populated with major religions of the country like Hindu, Muslim and Christians. Hindi is the official language of Panchamarhi. Apart from Hindi, the natives speak Urdu, Marathi, Sindhi and Gujarati Language. Phag and Lota are the popular dance styles of Panchamarhi.

The cuisine of Panchamarhi is similar to Rajasthani and Gujarati Style. Jowar and Wheat are the staple food of locals. Bafla is a special type of wheat cake and Rogan Josh, Keema, Korma, Chicken Kabab and Biryani Pilaf are most popular non vegetarian dishes of Panchamarhi.

Panchamarhi is well known for woven silk sarees and handicraft products. Panchamarhi Town houses numerous folk paintings, jute woodcraft, stone craft, terra cotta and zari work shops. Also the town is packed with several modern retail outlets, general stores and film theatres along with handicraft shops.

How to reach Panchamarhi?

Panchamarhi has good connectivity with surrounding regions and the major cities of the state as well. There are regular buses available to Hoshangabad, Babai, Sohagpur and Pipariya from Panchamarhi Bus Junction. Also tourists can hire Autos, Taxis and Jeeps to reach surrounding localities.

Piparia Railway Station is the nearest and main railway station to Panchamarh located about 51 km and other railway stations near Panchamarhi are Junnardeo Railway Station, Bankhedi Railway Station and Sohagpur Railway Station. The distance between Panchamarhi and Bhopal Airport is about 213 kms.

Tourist places in Panchamarhi:

Satpura National Park:

Satpura National Park is stretched over an area of 523 sq. km. and was established in the year 1981. It is situated on Satpura ranges very near to Panchamarhi. The park includes fine gorges, dark forests, ravines and sandstone peaks.

Satpura National Park is rich in bamboo, teak, tendu, aonla, mahua, bel trees and also there are several leopard, tiger, flying squirrel sambhar, chital, bhedki, nilgai, chinkara, bison (gour), wild boar, wild dog and bear found in the park.

Christ Church:

Christ Church is a worship place of Christians and was constructed by British in the year 1875 with western style of architecture and hemispherical dome on top is the prime attraction of the church.

Apsara Vihar:

Apsara Vihar is a stunning waterfall on the hills of Pachmarhi. Here water falls from the height of 30 feet is about 14 km away from the Pachmarhi Bus Stand and is very popular among the surrounding regions.

Rajat Prapat:

Rajat Prapat is a waterfall situated in the vicinity of Apsara Vihar also known as Silver Falls and here water falls from the height of 350 feet. Monsoon season is the best time to enjoy the natural beauty of Rajat Prapat.

Jata Shankar Cave:

Jata Shankar Cave is a holy place has 108 Shiva lingams inside the caves. According Hindu Mythology, it is believed that Lord Shiva sited inside the cave to escape from demon Bhasmasur. The water flows through Jata Shankar Cave is called as Gupt Ganga’.

Other top attractions near Panchamarhi are: