Central India - geographic region

Central India, sometimes called Madhya Bharat, is a region comprising the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Indore is the largest city in the region, which also feature the historical Gwalior Fort and the industrial city Bhilai.

States

Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh

• Vidarbha, the eastern portion of the state of Maharashtra, is often considered part of Central India because of its geography.

Cities

The following are eight major cities in Central India:

• Bhilai — major city and often called Steel City because of its steel plants

• Bhopal — the capital of Madhya Pradesh, notorious for the Bhopal incident in 1984

• Bilaspur — third largest city in Chhattisgarh near to the old capital of the Chhattisgarh state, Ratanpur

• Gwalior — an historic city famous for the Gwalior Fort

• Indore — the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh and the largest city of Central India

• Jabalpur — ancient city in on the shores of the holy river Narmada and the tributary plains of the Hiran, Gour, Ken and Son rivers

• Raipur — the capital of Chhattisgarh

• Ujjain — city of Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple (Jyotirlinga) with many temples to visit

Other destinations

• Bandhavgarh National Park 📍, Madhya Pradesh — among the best national parks of India where Asian tigers can be easily viewed

• Bhimbetka 📍, Madhya Pradesh — a UNESCO World Heritage site noted for its cave paintings

• Indravati National Park 📍 — a famous tiger reserve and park that has hilly terrain, forest and grasslands. This habitat provides home for the tiger, water buffalo and deer. There is also a rich diversity of birds, smaller mammals and reptiles inhabiting the area

• Kanger Ghati National Park 📍, Chhattisgarh — a dense area with several waterfalls and limestone caves. Several species of animals and a wide tribal population are present in this beautiful park. The diversity of landscapes makes ideal habitats for many species. Wildlife includes tigers, langurs, sloth bears, lizards, snakes, peacocks and parrots to name a few.

• Satpura National Park 📍, Madhya Pradesh — located in the rugged terrain of the Satpura hills, this park habitat for a large diversity of animals such as the tiger, leopard, wild dog, chital, wild boar and wide variety of birds. On rare occasions, elephants, lions and water buffalo have visited the park.

Understand

Central India is a plateau region, and the home of some of the famous mountain ranges, including Satpura and Vindhya. The region is drained by several rivers, including the Chambal, the Son and the Narmada.

Madhya Pradesh was the only state in the region from 1956 until 2000, when its southeast portion was split off and became the state of Chhattisgarh.

Central India has many large tribes and castes. Tribal groups inhabit the Vindhya mountain range areas of the region.

Talk

Hindi is the mother tongue of Central India. As in the rest of India, English is a very commonly learned second and third language, and can be sometimes heard inside the cities. However, do not expect anyone to speak English outside the main cities.

Get in

Get around

See

Situated in the historic city of Gwalior, the Gwalior Fort is one of the most famous landmarks in Central India. Built in the 8th century CE, the Gwalior Fort is one of the examples of the Hindu-Islamic architecture.

The small town of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh is renowned for its Tantric temple complexes that some art historians consider to represent the pinnacle of erotic art.

Do

Eat

You can have the delicacies of regional cuisines from all over India in this region. Besides, local Central Indian cuisine (Malwi food) is delicious: local poha, and daal baflae of certain places such as Ujjain, Indore and Ratlam are delicious.

Drink

Stay safe

Central India has had serious law and order problems for a long time, though the situation has improved a lot.

Also verify the hygiene of eateries, as food-borne illness is a concern in this region. Madhya Pradesh is notorious for its highest malnourishment among Indian states.

Go next