Khajuraho - Kanha - Varanasi

JohanM

Hi everyone,
me and a friend are going to India for 2 weeks in the end of February/beginning of March 2008. We are trying to fit Kahna in the itinerary but aren't sure we will get much time in the park... We will fly to Kahajuarho from Agra and need to get to Kahna from there. After Kahna we are heading towards Varanasi. How long will that take us and what modes of transportation are available?

Would taking a tour shorten the travelling time? Few people seem to go for tours here but are they any recommendations?
/Johan

machadinha

Hm... of the three, I've only been to Varanasi. Kanha (and Khajuraho, in a different way) are still much on my wish-list though.

My thoughts, and all of this may be wrong:

Khajuraho seems to be a hassle to get to, although flying in is apparently a good option.

Kanha like any park will not be all that terribly easy to get to I think (they're supposed to be out of the way, right).

Finally, I think it will be quite a detour and an impractical triangle you're trying to make. Depending on your further plans, Khajuraho-Varanasi then Kanha (or any of these vice versa) might be the far more logical option.

But... let others who've been there fill in the lowdown. If you can manage the whole thing by tour and save yourself some hassles, sure, why not opt for that. Can turn out good and practical or a hurried and unpleasant disaster, it's hard to say.

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JohanM

Thanks for the input.
We are flying to Guwahati from Varanasi, going to spend some days in Kaziranga NP. Kaziranga and Kahna are on the top of the list of things we want to see so if we can't fit everything we might have to skip something else but we want to avoid that if possible...

machadinha

Hm. I'm not sure of the logistics of this, but how's about (for instance) Khajuraho-V'nasi-Kanha-flight or train from Jabalpur to Guwahati? (Not sure if the -- apparently new -- airport serves the latter though.)

*[edit]: According to http://wftc2.e-travel.com/ this can be done, but with a minimum of two layovers, in e.g. Indore and Delhi or Mumbai (!) That's just crazy, so in that case I'd train it if you go by this option. According to http://www.indiagroove.com/ train would be 32-40 hrs. though, and my guess is you can expect delays. Those flights likewise seem to take forever though.

** More editing: Agra-Jabalpur by air doesn't look too hot either. However, there seem to be swift flights Delhi-Jabalpur with 1 stop in Indore. You could then move on to K'raho-V'nasi, then catch a flight or train from there to Guwahati, again, with 1 stop minimum in Delhi (!), but it's just a 4 hour flight. Train again would be 19-28 hrs., with delays to be expected.

Bottom line I guess: None of these are easy routes.

vonkla

We visited those places in 2005 but in a different order and we had a car+ driver with us. From Kanha to Kahajuarho took us 1 1/2day with a night stop in Satna. (From Kahajuarho we went to Chitrakoot and then Varanasi).
From Kanha to Jabalpur is three hours driving, from Jabalpar there are regular trains to Varanasi, that takes 11 to 12 hours.

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JohanM

Thanks a lot for the input!
I guess the bottom line is that unless there is a faster way to go between Khajuraho and Kanha (car is too slow) we will have to crisscross a lot with flights (which also takes a lot of time)?
Guess we have to skip something...

machadinha

I'd be surprised if any other mode of transport would be faster, except for flying which doesn't look to be very speedy.

I'm not trying to discourage you, I think it's all worth it. But as you are finding out now, the logistics need some careful looking in to.

I'm still hoping for others with real experience to fill you in.

paulie90

unless you know something else Spice Air flies Delhi - Varanasi-
Khajuraho.
No flights generate out of Agra which is a private commercial airfield.
Keep in mind the road from Khajuraho to Varanasi is at least 12 hours!

aadil

Try Bandhavgarh instead of Kanha as here you have a better chance of seeing the tigers and you also have an elephant ride inside the park for viewing the tigers as well as a one hour joy ride in the evenings.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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Bhaswaran

Yes, Take a bus/car from Khajuraho to Satna and then proceed to Bandhavgarh. After Bandavgarh, come back to Satna and take a direct train to Varanasi/Mughalsarai.

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JohanM

Problem with Bandhavgarh is that they don't have the Gaur which is the main reason we wanted to go to Kanha.
The best way so far seem to be Delhi-Kanha-Varanasi-Guwahati-Khajuraho (via Delhi). It is going to be tight though, need to ponder this some more...