Year 2020, pandemic struck hard, and being responsible citizens, most of us quarantined ourselves for over 10 months. Travel plans hitting the bin for the year end, felt like it had come to stay forever keeping us hooked.
But, soon the first wave settled for a while and tourism began to open up. Having missed my yearly trips, I pounced on this opportunity and in no time charted out a trip to the heart of India!
Day 1 | Mumbai to Indore (Madhya Pradesh)
26th January 2021, kicked off from Mumbai at 5 AM. Its a different uncharted route this time exploring the central corridor of India, Madhya Pradesh.
Cruising at a steady 70kmph in the dark, crossed Nashik for the first pit stop. A lot of construction work, followed by dust fog ready to consume you in white and brown. Its a different feel of breakfast when you just park and have on the roadside, like serving yourself from the food treasures you carry along with all the dust as a side.
Scooted off quickly further on my route and reached Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, at around 5 PM, only to shiver in the dropping temperatures. Through a nominal traffic, checked into my stay for the day, and decided to rest if out after appx. 700km of ride.
Day 2 | Bhopal
Early mornings here are unbearable, for anyone who is habituated to hot and humid weather almost all year. With great courage and will, I could bath and load my luggage for the next city, Bhopal!
Bid adieu to Chotu, who hosted me at my stay, and Indore which I kept aside to explore for next time. Soon as the highway started, in no time my hands started freezing for I missed to carry my winter gloves (regrets throughout the trip, another reason why travel checklist is a must!). Though the roads are good and vacant, I couldn’t speed up much due to the cold blast of air slapping from the front.
Slowly and with the help of lots of tea along the way I reached Bhopal, The City of Lakes. Went on to visit the Upper Lake. Its a serene place with a great views of the city side. One can opt to boat and visit Hazrat Shah Ali Shah Dargah, situated in the middle of the lake, or just sit at the lakeside and breathe in the view.
Open waters, boats paddling and a view of the city line, you can spend a couple of hours here. Do pick up a weekday to be here, else you might just get lost in the crowd.
Booked my stay in GRP Colony, midst a very busy street and quickly unloaded for the next stop was Bhimbetka and Bhojpur Temple.
Appx. 50 km from Bhopal city are the Bhimbetka rock shelters, an archaeological site, that preserve significant ancestral paintings that spans the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period. There is a nominal entry fee, varying as per the vehicle type.
Bhimbetka Checkpost 
Fee Chart
These paintings are very evident to the naked eye and can be seen in various forms and colours. They have by now survived for 100’s of years, speaking of the times when humans were a little saner than today.
Strolling and wandering amongst the rock shelters for a while, the place makes you lose track of time for the sight make you a prisoner of the imagination it seeds in your mind.
You can notice the stories, events and many social behaviours in the form of colourful paintings on the rocks.
It’s almost 3:00 pm and the journey needs to move on towards Bhojpur temple which is about 25 kms from here. Taking a quick 10 minute detour to Bhimbetka Kuldevi temple nearby, took off.
This time, however, google maps ditched me, and I ended up in a village with no way to cross a mountain. After a lot of talking to the village people, found an off road path that led to the other side towards Bhojpur.
Note: stick to the highway. Don’t fall prey to shortcuts by Maps here.
Almost to dusk and yet to reach the temple. Revving as fast as the path allowed, reached the temple just in time at by 430 PM.
The magnificent construction of the temple, which is unfinished due to many theories, lacks a roof. The dusk paints the temple in red and orange hue and you are in for a blissful time. The Shivalinga is worshiped by thousands of devotees every day with festivals celebrated here.
Many unfinished artifacts, temple base can be found nearby along with carvings that were a part of a huge construction plan. Illuminant, this temple is indeed a bliss to end your day with.
Feeling content, kicked off for my abode which was about 30 kms to taste the snacks and food.
Touched down at the hotel and ended the day with a delicious dinner.
Day 3 | Sanchi – Khajuraho
Mornings are the most difficult part to deal with as they make you shiver to you core. Left very very early, at 8am :p , towards Khajuraho.
On the way stopped by The Great Stupa at Sanchi, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh, one of the imprints on the Indian currency.
The place is vast with stupas spread across a distance. The Great Stupa is visible as we enter the check post that has an entry fee paid online. Dating back to the Ashoka’s reign, you can spot various stories and life cycle carvings.
It is as mesmerising as any other ancient artifact. Appx. of an hour or two to explore the place, you can just soak in the peaceful aura. Be prepared to have a good long walk to explore the place , if it intrests you, esle can cut short the sight seeing to the near ones. There is a night show that takes place here, so if staying back at Sanchi, do have a visit.
Moving ahead from Sanchi, its 330 kms ride to Khajuraho. Booked a home stay on my way that turned out to be a best decision eventually. Planed to watch the night show at The Khajuraho Group of Monuments, suggested by my host.
Almost dusk, I unloaded at the home-stay at around 6 and waited for the night light show starting at around 7. The show is recited by Amitabh Bacchan and narrates the multiple origins of the temples there. It’s worth the watch if you really want to know the place. The timing gets adjusted as per sunset for the best affects.
A delicious home cooked dinner and it was a night.
Day 4 | Khajuraho
Next day was for traveling to Jhansi/Shivpuri (was yet to decide if to venture out of Madhya Pradesh) for another exploration, but the weather God showed no mercy with dense thick fog hovering the place till 11pm delaying my travel.
Got the bike serviced for some small repairs and reached the temple premises at 11 30. All the entry fees are online and hassle free, just scan and pay.
Made up my mind to wrap up in a couple of hours, but eventually was trapped in the marvelous architecture and in no time, it was 3 PM already! Cancelling the plans for Jhansi, I decided to stay back here and enjoy for the day with leisure.
The temples remind us greatly of our culture and various mindsets during that period. Beautifully depicted, the cycle of life relating to each phases every one of us go through without realizing the importance of each of them. You can just sit and look at these great monument temples for it touches the very essence of a part of our culture.
A guide can be hired here for a detailed explanation of the temples and the history. These guys do explain the first temple is very detail, but rush through the others as all of them are similar in architecture.
Fortunately, the home-stay was vacant and the property owner and my host , Ajay, could manage a guide for me to explore around.
Exploring the Eastern group of temples and a bit of souvenir shopping, I called it a day. There are other places that I skipped to explore, until next time.
A Confession, this was the only place where I had a belly full of food out of all my solo travels as the owner did all he could to keep me full with delicious food.
Day 5 | Ujjain
Its the 30th of Jan, kicked off towards Ujjain – ancient city beside the Kshipra River in the state of Madhya Pradesh. A 580 km of ride, hoping to reach before the temple close time.
Reached Ujjain around 830 PM, unloaded into a very okayish stay, and met an old colleague. Chit-chatting, had street food and shopped for sweets at Bafna sweets.
Bidding him off, I set off to Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple, a walk-able distance from the hotel. Make sure you book the time slot online a day or two prior itself. (May be only during Covid times, but do check beforehand)
It was fairly empty, with the temple lit up like a twinkling star in the night. A holy atmosphere in here with people flocking to worship. You can shop a ton near the temple and the city center, a abundance of street food, sweets and snacks, ice-creams, cloth shopping and much more to keep you busy. For me, I settled for a box of laddoo’s and 2-3 kgs of snacks, and called it a day.
Day 6 | Mumbai
Mostly the last day of the trip, Mumbai is as 700kms away. Planned to halt in Nashik depending on my mood then. Left around 7ish with a last cup of tea in Madhya Pradesh, packing a good amount of snacks to take home.
Zup Zap Zup, I crossed Maharashtra border. Met a few speed check posts on the way, a little traffic and took an ATM stop.
Loaded on a few kilos of grapes from Nashik and filled my tummy at McDonald’s before Igatpuri.
Reached Mumbai around 9 PM. Though tired, the mere feeling of a trip after a year’s break felt heavenly and was difficult to overcome.
A different kind of trip than mountains and valleys, a different canvas, a different ethnic tinge, a different exploration, a blissful journey ; to the beautiful Heart of Incredible India – Madhya Pradesh
Ride Statistics :
Total km : Appx. 2587 kms
States: Mumbai – Madhya Pradesh
Bikes: Gixxer SF
Duration: 6 Days
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