Gwalior

This is the report of a holiday in Gwalior in December 2012. The weather was cold and foggy, flights were delayed, and the sun would burn through the fog at around noon. Gwalior is small, one can see it all in little more than a day. However, like the rest of Madhya Pradesh, there are great things to see outside of town: the circular hillside temple of Mitawali, the superb little temple in Padawali, and the complex next to it. Orchha is within reach, barely. The infamous Chambal river is within an hour's drive. The picturesque ravines where policemen were once routinely murdered are now safe to walk through; but the most spectacular sights are the numerous winter birds that one can spot on a short boat trip on the river.

Things to do, and things to be careful about

The impressive Gwalior fort is perched on a plateau around which the town has grown. It is well worth visiting. There is an archeological museum just outside the massive fort walls, with a selection of wonderful pieces of sculpture from nearby sites. The plateau has a couple of other temples, which are intricte as jewel boxes. The palace of the Scindias, on the other hand, are worth missing, unless you are interested in the minor memorabilia. The city has a couple of other palaces and tombs, among which the most interesting is Tansen's tomb. Apart from the fort, the most interesting thing about Gwalior is the food: paratha, kachori, laddoo, and gajak.

Spectacular, partly because it was unexpected, were the temples at Mitawali, Padawali, and Bateshwar. Perched on a hill, the disk shaped temple at Mitawali is completely different from what one has seen of temple architecture previously. Little of the Padwali temple is standing, but that little is so intricately carved that it is worth visiting. The nearby complex of Bateshwar is being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India. This part of the Chambal river valley seems tamed now, in spite of the colourful reports about the rediscovery of the Bateshwar temples.

Closer to the river, where the famed ravines start, the villagers are rougher. There was a shoot out between villagers and police the first day we tried to visit the Chambal. Two days after that, we were not disturbed during a half kilometer walk through the ravines. However, it is entirely possible to skip this and drive to the bridge over the Chambal. Just below one can hire boats to cruise the river, now part of National Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary. The river is full of gharial and alligators. There are also some dolphins, but they are hard to sight: we did not see any in a hour-long boat ride. The birding is spectacular.

It is possible to make a trip to Orchha from Gwalior. We did it, but I would not recommend it. The road is among the worst I have seen: the 100 km drive to Jhansi, which is on the way, took well over 3 hours. Orchha is spectacular, but perhaps the road from Khajuraho is better.

Gwalior Bird List

A randomly chosen field in north India in winter could be among the best birding spots in the country. Gwalior is an excellent base, because it is a small town, surrounded by well-irrigated farm land, threaded through by streams and lakes. The protected area of the Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary is barely an hour away. It was a pity we were not planning on doing any birding: no field guide, just one pair of binoculars. The bird list was not bad, given that.

Rose ringed parakeet
Cattle egret
Bronze winged Jacana
Common moorhen
Common coot
Indian robin
Spotted dove
Blue rock pigeon
Hoopoe
Common crow
Large billed crow
White breasted kingfisher
Babblers
Pied myna
Indian myna
Woolly necked stork
Painted stork
Booted eagle
Baya weaver
Indian pond heron
Rufous tree pie
Jungle fowl
Little egret
Indian roller bird
Yellow wagtail
White cheeked bulbul
Red vented bulbul
Cormorant
Long billed vulture
Red wattled lapwing
Bar headed goose
Brahminy duck
Indian skimmer
Purple heron
Gray heron
Darter
Spoonbill
Pied kingfisher
Egyptian vulture
Ringed plover
Sandpiper
Green shanks
Red shanks
River lapwing
Laggar falcon