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--› Special Theme Holidays |
Tribal Special
Duration : 09 Nights / 10 Days
Destinations : Raipur - Kawardha - Raipur - Kanker - Kondagoan - Narayanpur
- Kanker - Jagdalpur - Kangar Valley National Park - Jagdalpur - Raipur
Day
01 : Arrive at Delhi
Arrive today in India’s capital city of Delhi. You are greeted with a
traditional Indian welcome and escorted by company representatives to your
hotel. Rest of the day at leisure to relax and adjust to the time zone.
Overnight at Delhi.
Day 02 : Delhi
Morning after breakfast embark on a tour of New & Old Delhi. Drive along
Rajpath, the capital’s broadest avenue for a look at Parliament. The
President’s House, India Gate, Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar. Also
visit Birla Mandir, a colorful & modern Hindu Temple.
Afternoon tour the Old Delhi. Among your stops are the Red Fort, built by
Shahjahan; Raj Ghat; a memorial to Mahtam Gandi; Ashoka Pillar and the mile
-long Chandni Chowk Bazar.
Overnight at Delhi.
Day 03 : Delhi - Raipur - Kawardha
Breakfast at hotel and transfer to airport for flight to Raipur. Arrive Raipur
from where we will drive 120. north to the former Princely State of Kawardha.
This peaceful town overlooked by the MAIKAL hill range is in the Tribal state
of Chhattisgarh. Of all India's many jewels Kawardha is truly a treasure trove
of breathtaking scenery and fascinating reminders of India's cultural heritage.
PALACE KAWARDHA was designed and built by Maharaja Dharamraj Singh in the
period 1936-39.
Check-in at Kawardha Palace You will be shown to your Palace suite before
lunch in the State Dining Room. An afternoon of familiarisation with Palace
Kawardha and nearby cultural sites, including the captivating Bhoramdeo Temple
complex. You return to the Palace at sunset is followed by a welcome drink
to meet the royal family, with traditional Chhattisgarhi dance entertainment
and then dinner.
Overnight at Kawardha.
Day 04 : Kawardha
After breakfast, a well-versed Palace guide will accompany you on an introduction
to the secrets of Kawardha's little-known natural and tribal world. You will
meet the gentle and friendly Baiga people, the principal indigenous forest
tribe. Enjoy picnic lunch with them. An evening return to Palace Kawardha
precedes a royal family dinner. Overnight at Kawardha.
Day 05 : Kawardha - Raipur - Kanker
The morning is at leisure before a 2 - hour drive to Raipur and lunch in a
fine city restaurant. There may be time for a short visit to Raipur's Mahant
Ghasidas Museum before leaving for the former princely State of Kanker. Upon
arrival at Kanker Palace, the Maharaja's family will greet you and show you
to your suite. Over drinks and dinner, family members will be happy to interpret
and explain the folklore and tradition of the State they once ruled. They
will also introduce you to a performance of the traditional music and dance
of the region. Overnight at Kanker.
Day 06 : Kanker - Kondagoan - Narayanpur - Kanker
After your choice of Indian or English breakfast at the Palace, the Bastar
tribal experience begins. South of Kanker you and your royal guide climb the
forested Keshkal Ghat which marks the border of Bastar 500m above the plain.
You will encounter here the special nature of North Bastar wth a visit to
a colorful weekly market. It gives you a great oportunity to meet the local
people. At Kondagaon and Narayanpur discover some of Bastar's finest handicrafts,
and the people who make them. Lunch will be a picnic in the deep green sal
forests. An early evening dance by youthful members of Bastar's unique 'ghotul'
dormitory system completes an unforgettable day before a star - lit return
to Kanker and a late dinner. Overnight at Kanker.
Day
07 : Kankar - Jagdalpur
After breakfast, we will travel in royal luxury to Jagdalpur, Bastar's main
town and former capital, three hours away. Checking in to a comfortable local
hotel, relax over leisure lunch. In the afternoon, a royal guided tour of
historical Jagdalpur and the Anthropological Museum is completed by a sunset
idyll at the Chitrakote waterfal, Bastar's very own 'Niagara' on the Indravati
River: you will also visit some of the local Bison - Horn Maria tribe, renowned
for their spectacular ceremonical dancing. Conditions permitting, a barbecue
is served under the stats in authentic Bastar style. You will be entertained
by a performance of the tribal people, before returning to your hotel. Overnight
stay at Jagdalpur.
Day 08 : Jagdalpur - Kangar Valley National Park - Jagdalpur
An early breakfast allows time for a visti to the rich forests of the Kanger
Valley National Park, the enchanting Tirathgarh waterfall and the extraordinary
stalactite and stalagmite caves. Kanger retains the original intensity of
the forests that once covered this whole region, and you will picnic in the
natural habitat of leopard, tiger, sambhar, bison and the Bastar Hill Myna.
Here too are forest tribal people in their natural habitat. There will be
time also to explore some of Jagdalpur's unique handicrafts before dinner
at the hotel with your royal guides. Overnight stay at Jagdalpur.
Day 09 : Jagdalpur - Raipur
You can enjoy a quiet breakfast and visit the bustling markets of Jagdalpur
before your return to Raipur. On the highway, we again pass several handicrafts
centre for those last-minute souvenirs of your Bastar Experience. Stopping
at Kanker, a farewell late lunch with the Maharaja's family precedes the 2
- hour drive back to Raipur. Here you will stay at the comfortable and well
- appointed hotel, relax in the pool and enjoy an excellent dinner. Overnight
stay at Raipur.
Day 10 : Raipur departure
A good nights' sleep and a light, healthy breakfast, and you will be chauffeured
to Raipur Airport to Check in for your return flight.
Extension : -
An extension or separate programme can be prepared on “The Bhil Tribes”
The Tribes of Madhya Pradesh - Bhils are the third largest tribe in India
after the Gonds and the Santhals. In the state of Madhya Pradesh, they are
prominently found in the Dhar, Jhabua, and West Nimar regions. Anthropologists
believe that the word Bhil is derived from the Dravidian word bil or vil,
meaning a bow.
Over a period of time, the Bhils have given up hunting, and have taken to
agriculture. They use very primitive tools, and even their agricultural style
is very simplistic. Bhil villages are generally dispersed, and each village
consists of thirty to forty families. They worship numerous Hindu deities,
chiefly a deity by the name of Raja Pantha. Bhils also worship crops, fields,
water, the forest, and the mountains.
The Bhil dialect consists of Rajsthani, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi words, and
also some unique words without any non-Sanskrit elements in it.
Sawang is a popular form of entertainment among the Bhil tribals that consists
of story telling combined with dancing and music.
* Festival of Bhil Tribe :-
Bhagoria Haat, Jhabua - “Love at First Sight”
This colourful festival of the Bhils and Bhilalas, particularly in the district
of West Nimar and Jhabua, is actually in the nature of a mass svayamvara,
a marriage market, usually held on the various market days falling before
the Holi festival in March. As the name of the festival indicates, (bhag,
to run), after choosing their partners, the young people elope and are subsequently
accepted as husband and wife by society through predetermined customs. It
is not always that boys and girls intending to marry each other meet in the
festival for the first time. In a large number of cases the alliance is already
made between the two, the festival providing the institutionalised framework
for announcing the alliance publically. The tradition is that the boy applies
gulal, red powder, on the face of the girl whom he selects as his wife. The
girl, if willing, also applies gulal on the boy's face. This may not happen
immediately but the boy may pursue her and succeed eventually.
Earlier, the Bhagoria haat was also the place for settling old disputes; open
invitations were sent to enemies for a fight in the haat. Bloody battles used
to be quite common in the past but today police and administration do not
allow people to go to the haat armed.
The Bhagoria haat also coincides with the completion of harvesting, adding
to it the dimension of being an agricultural festival as well. If the crops
have been good, the festival assumes an additional air of gaiety.
In the life of the Bhils and Bhilalas, Bhagoria is not merely one festival
but in fact a series of fairs held one by one at various villages on their
specific market days, commencing eight days before Holi.
We can also plan a four day tour for the tourist wants to participate in Bhagoria.
* Accommodation :
Deluxe Tents : Camping are available in the village during Bhagoria festival,
which are well equipped with all modern facilities.
Jhira Bagh Palace, Dhar - is a turn-of-the-century Palace with a rich history.
Crowned amidst hundreds of acres of land and gardens around, Jhira Bagh Palace
is the jewel of Malwa. After almost 50 years of being obscure, the palace
today has opened its gate once more to visitors. Through sustained efforts
since 1994 to reconstruct and renovate the property, the palace today conveys
the charm and nostalgia of a bygone era. Built by Maharaja Anand Rao Puar
III of Dhar in the Eighteen Sixties. For three quarters of a century (1870-1940s),
Jhira Bagh Palace was the grand English guest house of the Dhar State. British
officers, Residents, and Agents to the Governor General were regular and frequent
visitors. The Palace during this period also played host to many a Governor
General and Viceroys of India. It served extravagant hospitality to numerous
distinguished Maharajas.
TOUR COST 15000 INR PER PERSON
