Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh is the geographical centre of India, and it contains within that central position some of the country's oldest temples, most extraordinary cave paintings, and highest density of wild tigers anywhere on earth.

The cave paintings of Bhimbetka, 45 kilometres south of Bhopal, are the oldest evidence of human habitation in South Asia — rock shelters used continuously from 100,000 BC to the medieval period, with paintings dating back at least 10,000 years covering the walls of over 700 shelters. The continuity of use is as astonishing as the art itself: generations of humans sheltering in the same rock overhang for ten thousand years, each leaving its mark on the walls.

Khajuraho's temples and Kanha's tigers are the state's twin claims to traveller attention, and both repay it: the Chandela temple carving is the finest in medieval India, and Kanha's barasingha was saved from extinction on these specific meadows. The Narmada river, rising at Amarkantak in the eastern hills, is the only river in India circumambulated by pilgrims on foot on both banks — a 3,700-kilometre journey that takes three to four years and is still undertaken by thousands of devout Hindus.

Places to Visit in Madhya Pradesh

• Khajuraho temples
• Bandhavgarh National Park
• Kanha National Park
• Orchha cenotaphs

Things to Do in Madhya Pradesh

• Tiger safaris at Bandhavgarh and Kanha
• Khajuraho temple carving tour
• Orchha palace and cenotaph walk