Rediff On The NeT Travel: A travel feature on the Chambal valley in Madhya Pradesh, India


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Fast Facts

Where to stay

Usha Kiran Palace, Jayendraganj, Laskar. Phone: 0751-323993: A Welcom group heritage hotel, this place naturally has great ambience. US $ 125 per day for an AC room.
Hotel Tansen, 6A Gandhi road. Phones: 0751-340370, 342606: A comfy hotel run by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism. Rs 650 per night for an AC room. Rs 350 per night for a non-AC room.

How to get there

Alliance Air CD 434 flies into Gwalior from Bombay at 0920 hours via Bhopal and Indore, daily except on Wednesdays and Sundays. The air fare: US $ 145. Alliance Air CD 433 flies into Gwalior from New Delhi at 1600 hours, daily except on Wednesdays amd Sundays. The air fare: US $ 60.

In the reverse direction CD 433 departs from Gwalior at 1630 hours and reaches Bombay at 1950 hours via Bhopal and Indore. The air fare: US $ 145. And CD 434 departs from Gwalior at 0950 hours and reaches New Delhi at 1035 hours via Bhopal and Indore. The air fare: US $ 160.

Several trains pull into Gwalior daily from New Delhi, Bhopal, Bombay (via Bhopal) . The superfast Shatabdi Express connects Gwalior with New Delhi/Bhopal. Punjab Mail is the quickest connection between Bombay and Gwalior.

A few extra tips

In Gwalior one must visit the market called pada or Maharaj pada. You get every thing there at bargainable prices. Within Gwalior it is best to move about in autorickshaws. You have to bargain. The longer you stay there the better you understand how much you should actually pay. So those on a short visit you are bound to be fleeced. The dacoits are not only in the Chambal.

A cheaper mode of transport are the tempos that look like spluttering rats, which serve as the local bus service. While long distance buses are plenty, the local city service is hardly visible. Gwalior is a small city. The maximum distance in any direction is 10 kms. Keep that in mind when the auto guys exaggerate.

It is connected to Bombay and Delhi by air. Actually there is one flight that flies from Bombay to Indore to Bhopal to Gwalior to Delhi. In the evening it comes back the same way if the tyres don’t get punctured in Indore at it did for me. And if you are stranded at Indore do not despair for they will put you up in the Hotel Sayaji which is lovely, centrally air-conditioned with a swimming pool to boot.

Chambal, back

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