Malwa and Nimar Trip Details
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Treebo Trend Daksh Residency, Indore: Stayed here for two nights in December 2021
- Pros:
- 1) Hotel is centrally located in the Vijay Nagar area right opposite to Meghdoot Garden.
- 2) There are several options for eating and shopping close to the hotel.
- 3) The rooftop restaurant quality is good.
- 4) The rooms and bathrooms are very clean. Bath fixtures were modern and new.
- 5) The WIFI is free and the connectivity and speed was good.
- 6) Staff was polite courteous.
- 7) The tariff was reasonable.
- 8) The room was reasonably spacious.
- Cons:
- 1) The breakfast starts a bit late - starts at 8 am.
- 2) The hotel exterior decor does not look great.
- 3) The lobby area is small.
- MPT Tapti Retreat, Burhanpur: We stayed here for one night in December 2021.
- Pros:
- 1) Burhanpur does not have many great options for overnight stay. This one is probably your best option.
- 2) Tariff is very cheap.
- 3) The hotel is easy to locate (it is on the main highway) and there is plenty of parking.
- 4) The hotel is quiet at nights.
- 5) The WIFI is free and had good speed and connectivity.
- 6) The room and bathroom was very spacious.
- 7) The bed quality was good.
- 8) The front desk staff was courteous and helped us with all our travel needs.
- Cons:
- 1) The interior decor of the room was poor. All the fixtures were old.
- 2) You will need your own transport to get around. There are not many eating options next to the hotel. The town centre is also far away.
- MPT Temple View: Stayed here for one night in December 2021
- Pros:
- 1) Omkareshwar does not have many great options for overnight stay. This one is probably your best option.
- 2) Tariff is cheap.
- 3) The view from the hotel is excellent.
- 4) The hotel extremely quiet at nights.
- 5) The room and bathroom was very spacious.
- 6) The bed quality was good.
- 7) The front desk staff was courteous and helped us with all our travel needs.
- Cons:
- 1) The hotel is a bit far from the main temple area. It is a good 15 minute walk to the Mamleshwar temple. It is a stiff climb on the way back.
- 2) The WIFI only works in the lobby and not in the rooms.
- 3) The hotel is not easy to locate and it is not on the main road.
- 4) The breakfast time is late. It only starts at 8 am.
- 5) The front desk was not available for early check-out. We had to hand over our keys to the security.
- MPT Narmada Resort, Maheshwar: We stayed here for one night in December 2021.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is good by the river. It is a convenient walk to the fort along the river bank.
- 2) Tariff is cheap.
- 3) The view from the hotel is excellent.
- 4) The hotel quiet at nights. But there is a temple nearby and the bell starts ringing at 4 am.
- 5) The room and bathroom was spacious.
- 6) The bed quality was good.
- 7) The front desk staff was courteous and helped us with all our travel needs.
- Cons:
- 1) The hotel restaurant seems understaffed.
- 2) The hotel lacks upkeep. There are too many tiles broken in the walkway, the steps leading to the river was also broken in places.
- 2) The WIFI only works in the lobby and not in the rooms.
- 3) The cleanliness of the room and bathroom was poor.
- 4) The breakfast time is late. It only starts at 8 am.
- MPT Malwa Resort, Mandu: We stayed here for two nights in December 2021.
- Pros:
- 1) There is no great location in Mandu. The sites are spread far and wide. There are two MPT. One is closer to the market. This one is by the Sagar Talab. It is convenient to visit some lesser known sites like Dai Ka Mahal, Darya Khan Tomb etc.
- 2) The view from the hotel is excellent.
- 3) The tariff was reasonable.
- 4) The room and bathrooms were very spacious.
- 5) The hotel lobby is spacious and the lobby decor is excellent.
- 6) The hotel helped us with our laundry.
- 7) The hotel is very quiet at nights.
- 8) The bed quality was good.
- Cons:
- 1) The hotel is far from the market. A good 30 min walk and it is not easy to find taxis. The hotel restaurant times are limited.
- 2) The hotel breakfast time is late. It only starts at 8 am.
- 3) The front desk staff was not very eager to help.
- 4) The room cleanliness was not great.
- 5) The WIFI only worked in the lobby and not in the rooms.
- 6) There is a lot of construction activity going on in the hotel.
- Fairfield by Marriott, Indore: We stayed here for one night in December 2021.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is good if you are visiting Vijay Nagar area.
- 2) The staff was extremely courteous and very helpful. They helped us with all our travel needs.
- 3) The rooms and bathrooms were very clean.
- 4) The room was spacious.
- 5) All the fixtures and amenities were new and modern.
- 6) The sleep quality was good. The bed was comfortable and the hotel was quiet at nights.
- 7) The WIFI was free and the speed and connectivity were good.
- 8) The interior decor of the room and the common/lobby area was very good.
- Cons:
- 1) There are not many eating options next to the hotel. The hotel restaurant is not available round the clock. It only opens at 7:30 pm for dinner.
- 2) The hotel exterior decor is average at best.
- Roads in Malwa/Nimar have improved from the past. But they are still one of the worst in MP. Going is slow. Most roads are just one-lane (each-way)
- Ujjain to Indore: 55 km which is about 1hr 30 mins by car. The road is quite good. But the traffic is heavy.
- Indore to Burhanpur: 180 kms which is about 6 hours by car. The road is one-lane (each-way) almost the entire course. There is a lot of lorry traffic. There are narrow bridges/sections where two lorries cannot pass each other. Often they try to do and cause miles of traffic jam. Leave early to minimise your chances of getting caught in one.
- Asirgarh: It is a 5 km detour. But the road is quite bad. Don't attempt unless you are an experienced driver and/or have a 4WD.
- Omkareshwar to Maheswar: 70 kms / 2 hrs by car. Road is good. It is one-lane (each-way), but there is a paved shoulder most of the way that avoids traffic jams.
- Maheshwar to Bawanagaja: 100 km which is about 2:30 hrs by car. Road is pretty decent. The only bottlenecks are the towns that come along the way.
- Bawanagaja to Bagh Caves: 60 km which is about 1:30 hrs by car. The road is good.
- Bagh Caves to Mandu: 100 km which is about 3 hrs by car. Sections of the road are bad.
- Mandu to Indore: 100 km which is little over 2 hrs by car. Roads are good.
- Indore
- Rajwada: This is the older Holkar residence. The front facade is eye-catching. The inside is well worth a visit. Parking is an issue here.
- Lalbagh Palace: This is the newer European-style Holkar residence. It is under heavy renovation when we visited. It isn't worth the trouble until the renovation is complete.
- Krishnapura Chhatri: There are three fantastic chhatris here. They are a short walk from Rajwada. They are poorly maintained and very close to high traffic road. Photographing these is a challenge. But worth a visit.
- Boliya Sarkar Chhatri: This seemed much better maintained. It is easy to miss, close to Krishnapura Chhatri.
- Gandhi Hall: This is a large empty hall. But the exterior is quite pleasing to photograph and worth a visit.
- Central Museum: Very badly maintained museum and there are not stand out/unique pieces. You can skip this if you are short on time.
- Asirgarh: You need an hour at the site and it is a good 20 mins each way from the highway. Keep aside 2 hours for the Asirgarh detour. The views from the top, the Jama Masjid and the sheer history that the fort has witnessed makes the detour worth it
- Burhanpur: You will need at least a day to do justice to this city.
- Shahi Qila: This opens at the crack of dawn. Get there in the morning. The sunrise over Tapti is just magical. Don't miss the Zenana Hammam. You will need at least 30 mins (preferably an hour) at the site.
- Mumtaz Tomb: You will have the site all to yourself. It opens at 9:30 am. Definitely worth a visit.
- Tomb of Shah Nawaz Khan: The monument faces west. So the best time to photograph it is at dusk. Definitely a must-see.
- Tomb of Bilqis Begum: Photogenic at dawn and dusk. But make sure you take a peep inside. The frescoes are simply breathtaking.
- Tombs of Nasir Shah and Adil Shah: It is not a must-see. But you should visit the site if you have the time.
- Dargah-i-Hakimi: Best time to photograph this is in the morning. Marble tombs are splendid when the sun shines on them. Remember to cover your head when entering the place.
- Jama Masjid: Best time to photograph this is in the morning (the mosque faces Mecca i.e. West). Worth a visit. This is the only mosque where the Koran is quoted in Sanskrit. Look for the writing on the right hand corner of the mosque.
- Junata Hammam: It is one of the hidden gems. Not many people know this place. It is a must-see.
- Akbar Sarai: It is quite dirty and pretty run down. You can skip this one.
- Maheshwar: Half a day should be sufficient here.
- Fort: The entire fort area is quite small and can be covered in less than an hour. You will spend most of the time for the crowd to thin to take photographs.
- Ghats: You can walk up and down in 30 mins. You need double that time to take a leisurely stroll taking it all in.
- Narmada cruise: Best time to photograph is at dawn or dusk. All the monuments face south. In winter, the sun always shines on the monuments all day. So both morning and evening boat rides gives you great opportunity to photograph. It is generally less hazy at dusk.
- Bawangaja
- Adinath Statue: It is 150 steps to the statue from the parking. 10 to 15 mins should be sufficient to get there.
- Chulgiri: A further 750 steps takes you to the hilltop temple of Chulgiri. The views are excellent.
- Temples: Before you get to the Adinath statue, there is a site with several temples. It is worth a visit.
- Bagh Caves: One hour should be plenty. Please take a good torch as the caves are dark. Don't miss the murals in Cave 4 and the Buddha sculptures in Cave 2.
- Mandu: You need an entire day to see all the smaller monuments. Half a day to see the main points.
- Sound and Light Show: This one is excellent. It is short and the visual effects are breathtaking.
- Jahhaz Mahal Complex: It has Jaahaaz Mahal, Hindola Mahal, Jal Mahal, Royal Palace, Dilawar Khan Musuem and Taveli Mahal. Make sure you visit them all. You need two hours to cover them all.
- Jama Masjid Complex: This also houses the Tomb of Hoshang Shah. You need 30 mins to cover both.
- Ashrafi Mahal: Worth a visit. 15 - 30 mins is sufficient.
- Rani Roopmati Pavilion: A must see. Most photogenic in the morning. You need 30 mins to cover this monument.
- Baz Bahadur Palace: Another must-see. 15 - 30 mins is sufficient. Don't miss Rewa Kund across the street.
- Nilkanth Temple: This is a quick in-an-out. Worth a visit at least for the view.
- Tomb of Daria Khan: A definite must see. Not many people visit this site. 15 mins should be sufficient to visit this.
- Dai complex: Includes Dai ka Mahal, Dai ki chhoti behan ka mahal, Malik Mughith Mosque, Caravan Sarai. All are worth visiting. You need an hour (preferably two) to see them all.
- Echo Point: It is not worth a visit. But it is bang next to the road. You don't miss much time visiting this.
TRIP ITINERARY