Shivpuri - Sanchi - Mandu - Ujjain by road

karuna

OK guys please don't crucify me. I threw away my Lonely Planet and am relying on Maps of India.com.
I really need some advice on a car route from Delhi through Madhya Pradesh. I am OK with long drives (up to 10 hours).

I'm starting in Delhi and the end doesn't matter, I've not decided whether to loop back through Rajasthan or head to Mumbai yet. Time at each place is not important either, I have over two months to play with so I'll work that out later. I've bolded my questions so you can pick them out of my ramblings.

This the rough route I have come up with, based solely on places I want to see:

Delhi - Gwalior - Shivpuri - ???? what could go here ??? - Sanchi and Bhopal - Indore - Mandu - Ujjain.

So, please- where is there to stop between Shivpuri and Sanchi, as that looks as hell of a drive. Anybody been to Chanderi? Or Guna? Worth to see?

And can anyone give me a rough idea of time taken to travel between these places, given a rather laidback driving speed coupled with road condition issues.

Is there anywhere in the vicinity that I am missing? Omkareshwar perhaps? I don't want to make any huge detours to other side of the state, and I've seen Orchha and Khajuraho.

I like buddhist sites, temples (but not Rishikesh-style tourist-ashram-o-rama), ruins, rivers you can swim in and anywhere to view those fabulous Indian sunsets. As a guide, my favourite places so far have been Orchha, Kushinagar, Haridwar, Pushkar and er...Delhi.

Thanks!

__________________
Mosquitos suck.

Jorge Reverter

Last August have been for a couple of days in Shivpuri and cannot recommend it, just a dirty place.The Chattris are the only monuments to vist and in fact only interesting at dusk when they perform songs in both chattris (if you go there you'll be the only person there), have a look in my photo Gallery.

I recommend you a way like: Orchha - Talbehat - Chanderi - Udayapur - Gyaraspur - vidisha - Sanchi - Bhopal.

In you are not far visit Omkareshwar and of course Mandu (my favorite site in central India) and Maheshwar and why not, pay a visit to Dhar.

Jorge

karuna

Oh maaan. That's kinda disappointing. Perhaps I should go back to Orchha instead (worried I'll ruin good memories). Thanks for the plan - I'll check out maps and your photos now.

EDIT: saw your pics...that does look lovely though....so does Nagda...I'm just happy that I'm planning again!

KABAARY

I think it's a decent stop over to make (helps that the road from Gwalior towards Shivpuri after a while is rather good) en route to Orchha and what not.

But then, maybe I'm biased due to personal reasons...and the Chattris are not the only things to visit.

byronic

I've driven (Delhi, shivpuri, chanderi 2006), (Chanderi sanchi, and bhopal 2008). im at work right now. so just adding this thread, Ill get back on it after work lol...

karuna

I was hoping you'd find this thread Byronic! Be great to have your input.

What else is there to see in Shivpuri Kabaary? And pray what are these personal reasons for favouring the place, if you don't mind me asking? You don't have to tell me, of course, I'm being insufferably nosey.

byronic

(hee hee still at work and sneaking on IM) Like Jorge R. says above, there is not too much in Shivpuri proper, except the Scindia's palace/tomb, and a poorly kept bird/animal reserve. The Scindia palace and garden is pretty spectacular, but only takes a short afternoon to see. Around the bird/animal reserve as I remember its pretty peaceful and quite. The town itself is your basic dusty MP Rajastan out of the way place.

Near Shivpuri is Bharatpur, an old medieval town with cool ambiance that is a no auto zone so all transport is by pedal rickshaw, that is couple kilometers from the Keoladeo National Park, where many cranes come to nest. Last year this whole area was hard hit by drought. And the area has been hit by average or below rainfall for the past 5 years. So like Jorge says, its dusty these days.

In 2004 IMer Bijapuri and I went by Tata Sumo from Gwalior to Bharatpur/Keoladeo to Shivpuri to Chanderi to Jhansi. It was a great ride through the outback of MP. Now there are even better roads along the route. There are so many off the beaten tracks places to see just in that stretch you have to search pick and choose. Including Dholpur fort in the Chambal Valley, Datia, Deogarh.

Ulp, have to get back to work, more on Jhansi south to Bhopal next...

karuna

Datia! How could I forget? Thanks, useful stuff for me to go to Waterstone's and rifle through the Rough Guide for.

Not so keen on Bharatpur...don't know why since I'm an animal freak...I think I have this vision of it being dried up and full of tourists.

Is a 4x4 necessary? My trip would most likely be in a Tata Indigo or Ambassador.

KABAARY

Random thoughts…..go to Madhav National Park...no one around so it’s a nice peaceful walk (sad though to see caged tigers in a park). If you walk about a bit therein, there’s George Castle. There's the Madhav Vilas Palace – Shivpuri was the summer capital of the Scindia royal family. Or do something basic – walk through the barren forests. Some good dhabas serving paranthas and what not. On the way from Gwalior to Shivpuri, there are the Chambal ravines – where the dacoits used to hang out.

Maybe I’m not being fair in recommending Shivpuri as I have personal friends there which provides opportunity for a special pleasure which, I suppose, a visiting tourist cannot experience.....and this brings me on to Karuna’s question. Only because of you, I shall answer notwithstanding my trepidations arising from recent oofs and aahs about OTs and what not…

Many years ago, my friend (now my brother in law - BIL) from school days, his sister (now my wife) and I drove from Delhi to Goa sometime in December. We stopped over at Shivpuri where a dear friend of ours had (and has) large property. The first night, we drank and drank mahua and what not. Shivpuri friend and BIL got drunk and said : “Now we shall go and hunt out the waterfalls in the jungle”. So they got into the jeep and wife to be and me sat in the open back part of the jeep...reckless driving through the jungle in the middle of the night saw wife and me ducking the thorny trees, shivering in the bitter cold and clutching on to each other for dear life. Suddenly, after narrowly managing to avoid driving into a ravine, friend stopped, he and BIL got out and started peeing. Friend turns around to us and says “Look ! Waterfall!".

Anyway, we moved onwards to Goa and then back to Delhi. Somewhere during the trip, my wife and I fell in love. Hectic family consultations took place and we got engaged. Hearing this, our Shivpuri friend landed up in Delhi. After many drinks in the evening, he gets suitably inebriated and fishes out his Smith & Wesson (licensed to him as his father had shot more than a few dacoits in his time near abouts Shivpuri and therefore his family was "marked"), turns to me and hisses “Take care of my friend’s sister really well or else...” (caresses the revolver in a very suggestive manner). He also had the audacity to say that it was because of him (thanks to his bizarre night jeep trip) that my wife and I fell in love.

Incidentally, my friend’s neighbour was Ganga Singh Dhillon of Indian National Army fame…

Sigh ! So many more Shivpuri tales to tell...

Hope my anecdote is not discounted as drivel by the skeptics...if nothing else, blame it on Old Monk.

Notwithstanding my bias, I think Shivpuri is worth at least a night halt.

byronic

Right you sound like an "off the beaten tracker" nice. There has been a big push in the area tween Delhi and Mandu to pave so the roads are all good these days and getting smoother all the time. You could take an Indigo, but the view is better by 4x4.
Gwalior fort is spectacular, and could take 2 full days to see it all. If your heart is set on Shivpuri, well then dam it, by all means go for it . Datia, I was surprised to see Japanese/Korean tour busses there? It must be on the Asian tour route? haha, go figure, yet it is still off the beaten. Deogarh I can not say more about except it is a major Jain site that is world class and NO ONE goes there.
I would say Chanderi is a good couple of days of IMHO "Real India" I'll give you contacts there when needed.

Time wise, Gwalior to Daita is about 4 hours? Daita to Jhansi about another 4 hours? I remember Shivpuri to Chanderi is about 7 hours? Chanderi to Sanchi is a 6 or 7 hour roadtrip, Sanchi to Bhopal about 2 hours.

(back to work,,, your are going to get me in troble at work here....)

karuna

This sounds absolutely marvellous. I am so envious.
Squeeee!
You've made me go all incoherently soppy
I'm so glad you decided to tell that story.

Oh yeah, thanks for tips too!

karuna

Great stuff byronic....do get back to work, don't mind me, I'm here most of the time, you can't miss me.

I'm getting far too excited about this possible trip, far too early. That last post of yours byronic, coupled with Kabaary's nighttime drive tale have got me all impatient for India.

KABAARY

Which part made you envious ? The one about peeing and the waterfall ?

karuna

Well I have always envied men that particular ability. Us women need devices to do it.
But no, driving randomly and rather recklessly at night, with friends, one of whom you rather like in that special way, stupid toilet humour...sounds wonderful.

I guess I'm just easy to please.

Jorge Reverter

I went to Shivpuri because was on my way from Bundi to Orchha (night train from Kota to Shivpuri) and I read something about evening music at the chattris..., the music was nice but the town is better to forget. The hotels in town are bad and dirty even the let say best one: Delhi Hotel. MPTDC have a nice hotel but unfortunately few kilometres from town.

Distance between Datia and Jhansi is only 27 km and Shivpuri - Chanderi 127 km.

Jorge