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areas, and furniture that once belonged to the maharaja. Of the massive deluxe rooms, 201 and 202 offer the best value (Rs 12,000 double). A stay here is definitely a taste of luxury, particularly if you stay in one of the fabulous villas added in 2006, which have private pools and smart designer interiors (from Rs 25,000). The hotel offers guests several royal experiences, notably at the gorgeous poolside spa; among the decadent offerings is a bathing ritual (Mangal snana) where you soak in a tub infused with rich traditional ingredients while live musicians play from behind a curtain. Around the hotel building, you’ll discover broad passages, 51 differently designed sandstone trellises, ornate chandeliers, and an upstairs terrace affording views of Jai Vilas Palace and Gwalior Fort, ideal as a sundowner venue. If you do spend the night, you might want to watch the 45-minute sound-and-light show (Rs 150; tickets available at the fort; closed July–Sept 15) held at the fortress each night at 7:30pm November through February and 8:30pm March through October.

8 Bhopal & Sanchi

Bhopal is 744km (461 miles) S of Delhi; Sanchi is 46km (29 miles) NE of Bhopal

Despite its exciting marketplaces, grand old mosques, and lovely palaces, the capital of Madhya Pradesh is perhaps best known as site of the world’s worst urban industrial disaster (see box below). But most foreign visitors find themselves in Bhopal in order to visit nearby Sanchi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most impressive Buddhist monuments in Asia. Architecturally unique and far from the beaten tourist track, the monuments and surrounding ruins are tranquil, free of hawkers and touts, and a worthwhile diversion from the more frequented destinations of Varanasi, Agra, Khajuraho, and Delhi.

If Bhopal’s few monuments, its market, and the glorious Buddhist monuments at Sanchi leave you with time on your hands, head for the caves of Bhimbetka, where red-and-black prehistoric drawings recall the antics of ancient dancers and hunters, sticklike in the company of tigers and charging bulls.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

On the night of December 2, 1984, a tank at the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant near Bhopal ruptured, leaking highly poisonous methyl isocyanate gas into the atmosphere. By the time it had dissipated, 1,600 people were dead—but final estimates are as high as 20,000. A claim of $6 billion in compensation was initially demanded by the government, but it settled out of court for $470 million. Adding insult to injury, the money, paid to the government, took 7 years and many more deaths before even a fraction of it reached the victims. More than 2 decades later, survivors continue to protest the haphazard and inadequate manner in which the families of the victims were compensated. Evidence suggests that the continuing effects of the gas disaster may have affected as many as 300,000 people afflicted with various cancers and birth defects. Effigies of the Union Carbide bosses are regularly burned at memorial protests (failing to reach more than the evening news), and many victims continue to go without aid or recourse from the law. Meanwhile, Union Carbide, having abandoned the factory, has started up elsewhere as Eveready Industries India Ltd.

ESSENTIALS

VISITOR INFORMATION For extensive information about any destination in Madhya Pradesh, as well as transport options, contact the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) at its Bhopal hotel, Palash Residency (45 Bungalows, New Market, T.T. Nagar; 0755/255-3006; www.mptourism.com). Sanchi is 46km (29 miles) from Bhopal, less than 2 hours by road. Regular train services from Bhopal pass through Sanchi.

GETTING THERE & AWAY As the state capital, Bhopal is well connected by air with numerous cities (including Delhi, Mumbai, Gwalior, and Indore). Bhopal is also on a main railway line, and frequent trains connect the city with Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi (for Orchha), Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

GETTING AROUND Taxis and auto-rickshaws are easy to flag down.

GUIDED TOURS Mrs.