By road
~195 km from Bhopal
Central India · Madhya Pradesh
Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh
Satpura's secret plateau hill station · ~195 km from Bhopal
Getting there
By rail
Pipariya (PPI), ~52-54 km, on the Howrah-Mumbai main line
By air
Raja Bhoj Airport, Bhopal, ~145-195 km
Best time to visit
October to June — the plateau escapes the plains' heat
Don't miss
Bee Falls
Jata Shankar caves
Pandav Caves
Dhupgarh
Things to do
Cave-temple treks
Waterfall swims
Dhupgarh sunset (MP's highest point)
Where to eat
Sources: wikimedia, Photo: Abhayashok · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Walking shoes, swimwear for waterfall pools, light woollens
A quieter corner
Duchess Falls' lower pool after the short scramble
About Pachmarhi
- Hills
- Forest
Where it is
Pachmarhi is a hill station in the Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh, on a plateau in the Satpura range at about 1,100 m, ringed by the forests of the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
History
Pachmarhi's rock shelters hold ancient paintings, and local tradition links its rock-cut Pandav Caves to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. Captain James Forsyth of the British Army came upon the plateau in 1857, and the British developed it as a hill station and army cantonment and made it the summer capital of the Central Provinces.
People
The plateau and its forests are home to Gond and Korku Adivasi communities, and Hindi is the main language. At Mahashivratri, pilgrims climb to the hilltop shrine of Chauragarh carrying tridents as offerings to Shiva.
Known for
- Dhupgarh, the highest point in Madhya Pradesh
- Bee Falls and Duchess Falls
- Jata Shankar and the Pandav Caves
- Satpura Tiger Reserve
- The Mahashivratri fair at Chauragarh
Did you know?
The name Pachmarhi is usually explained as five caves, after the five rock-cut Pandav Caves on a hillock in the town.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.