Pachmarhi

Pachmarhi is a town located in north-central India (common spellings include Pachmarhi and Panchmarhi, although it would be most honestly spelled Pa(n)mardhi). It was “discovered” in 1857 when James Forsyth, a military captain in the British army, stumbled upon it. By founding this area, Forsyth helped develop a connection to the British, which can still be seen today, as there are many signs in English, as well as evidence in intervention for the creation of a national park. Here’s the specific creation story: Forsyth went to Pachmarhi on a hunting expedition, and he shot a bison. The head of this bison was then placed on the first structure erected by the British, now the Bison Lodge.

Why the name Pachmarhi? Pachmarhi’s name comes from a famous site in the area. There are five caves carved into a mountain, supposedly dedicated to five brothers (mini Hindi lesson: Pa(n)ch means five).

Here’s a view of the botanical gardens from one of the five caves:

Who lived in Pachmarhi before it became a foothold of the British empire? Tribal people lived there. Although they have now fled to the surrounding mountains and forest regions, tribal people seem to be very much in the local discourse, as they sell fruits and the market. They also constitute part of the tourist market, as some tours advertise that you can meet tribal people. We also visited one of their sacred sites. The Korku people (or Korku tribals) go to this site with a wooden or stone piece that has carvings of people who have died on it. These carvings are made after the death of a person, and must be brought to this site within 10 years of the death. The carvings are then placed by the mango tree, and must not be disturbed in any way, resulting in a chaotic but beautiful memorial site.

Geologically, the region is also pretty interesting. Located on the largest plateau in north-central India (or so our guide assured us), the plateau was actually made by a volcanic eruption, which then became a crater. After that, water came into the area, depositing massive amounts of river rock that are now sedimentary rock layers. This is some lava-rock (aka igneous rock).

Want to know about some fun flora and fauna? Well, here’s a short non-exhaustive list of all of the flora and fauna in the area that you may be interested in:

Also, there is a hallucinogenic flower in the area. It falls from trees, and our guide told us that, if it is made into tea people “see rainbows” and do funny things. It also is hallucinogenic for the cows as well, and manages to seep into their milk. Luckily, the fruit falls in the summer, so it was out-of-season when we were there. I don’t really think that hallucinogenic flowers are my thing.