Bandhavgarh (4) · Kanha (4) · Satpura (2) · Bhopal (1) · Maheshwar (1) · Orchha (1) · Pench (1)
High above the ghats of the sacred Narmada, in the weaving town of Maheshwar, stands the 18th-century fort-palace of Ahilyabai Holkar, still in the family, and now opening its courtyards to a handful of guests. Nineteen rooms across six old buildings, three walled courtyards, a garden pool, and a daily table grown in the fort's own beds. One of central India's great stays.
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Folk-art villas, Gond, Dhokra and Bagh print, at the edge of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, where safaris, Baiga kitchens and bush dinners follow the jungle's rhythm.
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The Samode family's safari lodge sits on 35 acres next to the Bandhavgarh buffer zone, about 25 minutes from the reserve's three entry gates. Twelve villas each get a private courtyard, deck and outdoor shower, with an infinity pool and spa shared between them. The build takes its cues from Mardari, the village next door, which is why it doesn't shout.
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A conservation-minded lodge from Bhopal's Jehan Numa family, in teak country near Satpura Tiger Reserve, the park where safaris go on foot, by canoe and by cycle as much as by jeep. Sleep in cottages set among nallah, forest or hill, or in tents ringed round a perennial waterhole that draws wildlife to the doorstep. The name comes from the reni berry trees here, a favourite of sloth bears.
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A ten-tent camp beneath tall arjuna trees and an ancient banyan on a dry riverbed at the edge of Pench, run by the grandson of Project Tiger's first director. Tents roll up their front panels to face the forest; the furniture is reclaimed, from ship-deck timber to writing desks from the Supreme Court of India. The signature is the star bed, a night on a machan in the fields, as village crop-watchers have always slept.
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Reni Pani's younger sibling from the Jehan Numa stable, set on a 7.5-acre farmland estate in Dhapadamal village, three kilometres from the gate of Bori Wildlife Sanctuary, an emerging tiger landscape most visitors haven't found yet. Rooms come with private viewing decks over the fields, plus a plunge pool, spa and library. Set menus lean on the village cooking of Madhya Pradesh, sourced from local farmers.
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A boutique jungle camp on the periphery of Kanha Tiger Reserve, styled on the Jodhpuri shikar tents of old hunting camps crossed with an African safari camp. Quarters come two ways, tented suites and lakeside cottages, each with a bamboo shower and a verandah deck facing the lake. The lake itself is rain-harvested, and the kitchen draws on the camp's own organic garden, cows, hens and bees.
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A lodge in a hundred acres of its own forest adjoining Kanha Tiger Reserve, near Kohka village. Accommodation stays intimate: twelve safari cottages with private verandahs, plus two secluded jungle bungalows, the four-room Perch and the two-room Wildernest. The kitchen cooks with organic produce from the lodge's farms, and the on-site Kanha Museum of Life and Art is worth an hour between safaris.
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Soulacia is a luxury eco-resort at Village Khatia beside Kanha National Park, founded in 2009 on a barren plot that held just four solitary trees and since grown into its own small ecosystem. It sits a two-minute drive from the Khatia entry gate on the Kisli side of the park, with in-house naturalists, solar power and a farm-to-table kitchen.
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New Fifty five acres on the Betwa at Orchha, around an Old House of 1895 that was the hunting lodge and guest house of Orchha's erstwhile royal family. Thirty six rooms including river facing rooms and Betwa riverside cottages.
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New A 19th century residence on Shamla Hills mixing colonial, Italian and Greek lines, run by the family behind Reni Pani jungle lodge. Four restaurants, two bars and gardens two kilometres from Bhopal's Upper Lake.
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New A small resort at Ranchha village on the edge of Bandhavgarh, of six air-conditioned cottages with king-sized four-poster beds, large windows over the green and their own sit-outs, plus five twin-bedded deluxe rooms spread across the property. The restaurant, The Waterhole, is built with re-used bottle walls and worn-out tyres and serves what the house calls The Jungle Feast. There is a forest view plunge pool, a butterfly garden and an in-house potter's wheel.
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New Twenty villas of about a thousand square feet each, on the edge of the Bandhavgarh tiger reserve among the Vindhya hills, built around a watercourse with private sit-outs and decks. There is a multi-cuisine restaurant, a swimming pool and a spa, and the lodge runs its safaris in jeeps with its own naturalists.
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New Twenty cottages and suites at Samnapur village, 3.65 km from the Mukki gate of Kanha, named for the elements: Akash suites with a separate living room and bay windows or a first-floor terrace, Jal suites closest to the core where you can hear the deer calling, Prithvi suites of 900 square feet looking at the Maikal hills, the two-bedroom Mahasagar suite with six private balconies, and single-floor Jal cottages of over 300 square feet with their own outdoor sit-out. There is a multi-cuisine restaurant and a swimming pool. The lodge takes its idea from Vanaprastha, the third stage of life, and uses the lotus as its mark.
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