This is the heartland of India, a state packed with surprises, where tigers roam the jungle, and fortified towns, temples, stupas and cave paintings lure the visitor

Madhya Pradesh, literally translated, means "middle land", and it does spread across Central India. Most of the state is upland plateaus and hills, interspersed with the deep valleys of rivers that flow east into the Bay of Bengal and west into the Arabian Sea. Much of India's forest is located here. It consists of some of the finest deciduous hardwoods in the world — teak, sal, hardwickia, Indian ebony, and rosewood. Bamboo is prolific in the hills and there are magnificent fruit and flowering trees. The Mahadeo Hills of the Satpura Range is the home of the tiger, panther, Indian bison and the myriad herbivores that make the jungle their home. Madhya Pradesh Packages.

The state is also home to many Adivasi groups. Among the most populous are the Gonds, found across the Madhya Pradesh and into neighboring Chhattisgarh. Western Madhya Pradesh is inhabited by the Bhils, a group of warriors and hunters who once held the powerful Mughal army at bay. Eastern Madhya Pradesh is dominated by the Oraons, now largely Christian.

Madhya Pradesh has many crafts, from the weaving of Chanderi and Mahesh-war to the carpet-making of Vidisha, Mandsaur, and Sarguja. Other crafts include carpentry, pottery, textile printing and dyeing, metalworking, wood-carving and leather work.