Apsara Vihar

Top choice in Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh


A pool underneath a small waterfall, above a canyon southeast of town, this is the best of Pachmarhi’s natural pools for swimming. It's a drive of about 1.5km past Pandav Caves, followed by a walk of about 700m.

You'll need a core-zone permit.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh attractions

1. Rajat Prapat Viewpoint

0.23 MILES

A short distance downstream from the Apsara Vihar pools, the stream plunges off the cliff in central India's highest single-drop fall (107m), Rajat Prapat…

2. Pandav Caves

0.89 MILES

These five ancient rock dwellings are believed to have been carved by Buddhists as early as the 4th century. The foundations of a brick Buddhist stupa…

3. Handi Khoh

1.42 MILES

Also known as Suicide Point, Handi Khoh is a viewpoint on the lip of 100m-deep, densely forested canyon, with Chauragarh visible in the distance.

4. Jai Stambh

1.48 MILES

This concrete pillar, erected to commemorate Indian independence, stands in the middle of a seven-way junction in the southwestern part of town.

5. Christchurch

1.5 MILES

Looking like it has fallen straight out of a twee little English village, Pachmarhi's beautiful Gothic-revival Protestant church was built back in 1875,…

6. Jata Shankar

2.01 MILES

This cave temple is in a beautiful gorge 1km along a road that’s signed just north of the town limits. The small Shiva shrine is hidden under a huge…

7. Priyadarshini Point

2.14 MILES

A clifftop viewpoint with Chauragarh in sight across the jungle-filled valleys. It's 5km south of the Jai Stambh, 300m off the Mahadeo road.

8. Chauragarh

2.62 MILES

Chauragarh (1308m), Madhya Pradesh’s third-highest peak, is topped by a sizeable and panoramic Shiva temple that attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims…