by definition lack smart hotel chains and jet-set facilities. More than any brand name, it is personal recommendation and the personal touch that make the difference, nowhere more so than in India. This Secrets section provides some pointers to where best to stay in the Secret Heart of India, from farmhouse to family guest house to princely palace in the middle of nowhere.Halfway between Raipur's convenient airport and the tigers and incomparable wildlife of Kanha National Park lies the 11th century temple site of Bhoramdeo at the feet of the glorious Maikal Hills. Here Satyendra "Sunny" Upadhyay, a native of nearby Kawardha, has recently opened his Bhoramdeo Jungle Retreat, offering genuine farmhouse accommodation and highly personalised guiding to the Gond and Baiga villages and markets of the region - a magical introduction to the tribal highlands of Central India.
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The Coat of Arms of the Kanker family, Rajputs of the Chandra (Moon) Lineage. The Sanskrit motto reads: "To the King Always Faithful" |
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Col. Balwant Rao and Mrs Pramilla Rao at home in their wonderfully eccentric private guest house in Pachmarhi, Gondwana's only Hill Station.
The warmest of homely welcomes and access to a host of secrets of this still largely undiscovered corner of Central India are the reward for Bunny and Pramilla Rao's faithful, select and oft-returning guests.
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Two hours south of Raipur, Kanker Palace offers a tantalising taste of former royal lifestyles at the very gateway to tribal Bastar. Unlike their counterparts in high-profile Rajasthan, the former rulers of Secret India are not turning their palaces into luxury hotels. Rather, visitors are welcomed into a private residence as guests of the family who still retain the loyal affection of the local people, tribal and non-tribal alike.
In Bastar itself, six kilometres outside the crowded capital Jagdalpur, local businessman Jayesh Sangani has opened Naman Bastar Resort, a comfortable air-conditioned rural base from which to explore the villages, markets and handicrafts of tribal South Bastar.
Details of these three Secret Places can be found further on in this section. For recommended accommodation at major wildlife centres, such as Bagh Van at Pench National Park or Royal Tiger Resort at Kanha, check out Secret India's Wildlife Lodges & Resorts in the Wildlife section, and for all travel information, go to our sister site at GreenGondwana.com.
Beyond Bastar, our search for exceptional hospitality has led us to Pachmarhi, Gondwana's only Hill Station, where retired Colonel Balwant Rao and his wife Pramilla are at home in one of the subcontinent's most special private guest houses. Evelyn's Own (right) is a home from home from which to explore the magnificent Mahadeo Hills and the little-known but absorbing Bori-Satpura National Park.
From Pachmarhi, it is no distance to the excellent connections and old-world charm of Bhopal, with Sanchi and Bhimbetka world heritage sites on the doorstep. Here is home to Pramod and Manju Sharma and their stunning lakeside Ivy Suites. These are the secret combinations of exceptional location and profound local expertise that make you think you will never stay in a hotel again.
With Secret India South, we are extending our range to the secret hills, forests and coffee and spice plantations of Kodagu (Coorg) with a network of Kodava family bungalows, home to Prabhu and Maya Uthaya, Robin and Maligea Cariappa and their countless relatives, who raise homestay hospitality to new heights in their hidden paradise of pure nature and exotic wildlife.
Details of Secret India South and connections between Coorg, nearby royal Mysore and our own Central India will appear shortly in the Beyond Bastar page of this Secrets section, which also touches on some of our convenient neighbouring destinations in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
And for those who still must transit Delhi but may have had enough of the big city, there is always Tikli Bottom, elegant country seat of Annie and Martin Howard nestling under the Aravali Hills, perhaps the only civilised way left to arrive in or depart from North India.
