Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh is India's largest State and the geographical heartland of the country. Most of the state is a high plateau and in summer it can be very dry and hot, but it also has the highest percentage of forests in India, sheltering a wide variety of wildlife including 22% of the world's tiger population.Virtually all phases of Indian history have left their mark on Madhya Pradesh, historically known as Malwa.There are still many pre-Arya Gond and Bhil adivasis (tribal people) in the state, but Madhya Pradesh is overwhelmingly Indo Aryan.

Some of Madhya Pradesh's attractions are remote and isolated: Khajuraho, in the north of the state, is a long way from anywhere and most easily visited when travelling between Agra and Varanasi; Jabalpur, with its marble rocks, is in the centre of its tigers, is 160km south east of Jabalpur.

Most of the state's other attraction are on a near the main Delhi to Mumbai railway line.From Agra, just outside the state to the north, you can head south through Gwalior (with its magnificent fort), Sanchi, Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore and Mandu.

Boundaries: To the East of Madhya Pradesh is the Bihar and Orissa, to the North is Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, to the West is Gujarat and to the South are Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Places of Tourist Interest : Khajuraho, Ujjain, Indore, Kanha, Sanchi.

Best Time To Visit: April to May

Airports: Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Bajalpur, and Khajuraho.

Ujjain :Ujjain is one of the main cities having Stupas. There is the temple of Maha Kaleswar, one of the 12 Jyothir Lingas situated on the Kshipra River. It was made the 2 ^nd capital by Gupta Kings especially Gupta Chandra Gupta-II popularly known as Vikramaditya-II. It is believed that the nine great Sanskrit poets, were patronised by him in his court at Ujjain.

Sanch : Here there are many Buddhist Stupas. We can see here great Stupas like 'Padma Silpam' and 'Dharma Chakram'.There is an archaeology museum there.

Kanha : Here there is a wild life sanctuary the largest in India. We can go here between April and June or between November and January.

Khajuraho : On every temple here there are carving of the sexual life between men and women in various postures.We are reminded of Vatsayana, who wrote a book on erotics. The Romantic scene carved on the Temples here excite the visitors and fill them with raptures. Here, in Khajuraho, there are 22 temples built between the 9 ^th and 12^th the centuries.