Where is Chattisgarh/Chhatisgarh...
With Winter not too far away, it's time for people to start thinking about travel possibilities. One destination, that I keep mentioning, is India. Over the years, I have developed some terrific contacts and unusual tour operators around the world. I also have a wonderful travel agent with her own connections. So, last year I posed the question to Vivian, "Is there another unique area in India that we haven't visited yet? What about the tiger reserves and Khajuraho" ...it only took a few weeks for her to come up with a tentative itinerary.
This itinerary incorporated the State of Chattisgarh, two different tiger reserves in the State of Madhya Pradesh (because there is never a guarantee of seeing a tiger and odds are better if you visit two reserves), the caves of Ajanta and Ellora and Kujaraho.
This sounded ambitious and difficult to fit into 20-days but the Indian tour operator, assured us it was extremely doable.
Chattisgarh, India’s 26th State in Central India, was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, and over 44% is forested. It is a well-kept "secret" with very few Westerners visiting each year. Why do people visit Chattisgarh? Because Chattisgarh is a tribal-dominated state (32% of the population) with many small tribal villages and districts, each with its own customs, dances and markets.
The districts of Raipur, Kanker, and Bastar were the main destinations within Chattisgarh. Bastar was once one of the largest districts in India, bigger than countries like Israel and Belgium.
Lots to think about...
