CHAPTER- 4

CASE STUDIES OF TOURIST CENTRES

KHAJURAHO

• Location and site

• Climate
• Topography
• Economt Structure
• Nature of tourists attraction and history of tourism
• Histortal background
• Sample selection
• Problem of data collection
• C h arate r istics of the tourist
• Transport in relation to tourism
• Khajuraho in tourist perspective
• Estimated tourist

SANCHI

• Tourist inflow
• Characteristts of the tourist

PACHMARHI

• Evolution of Pachmarhi town

• Regional setting and linkage
• Tourism potential
• Charateristics of the tourist
 CHAPTER 4
Case Studies Of Tourist Centres

KIIA.JliRABO

During recent years, Khajuraho has gained importance of a tourist centre of world re-
pute. Khajmaho has become a craze for foreign tourists and has certainly carved out a place in the rank
of other tourist centres of national hierarchy like Agra, Varanasi, Fatehpursikri, Ajanta, Ellora, etc.
Khajuraho now draws inflow oftomists round the year which was earlier restricted to few months only.
In this chapter, a detailed smvey about historical background, charactristics of tourists, and other as-
pects of tourism has been made.

Location and site :

Khajuraho (latitude 24' 51° and longitude 79' 56° E ) has an area of 16.93 Km
It forms a part ofChhatarpurtehsil of district Chhatarpur in the Bundelkhand region ofMadhya Pradesh.
It lies 49 Km. west of Chhatat})ur, 40 Km. north - west of Panna and 55 Km. south of Mahoba. Acces-
sibility to Khajuraho was rather poor in 1950's, as is evident by Somnath Chib's ( first former Directot
General of India Depattment of Tomism ) narrative of his tiring journey from New-Delhi, which in-
volved several changes and halts by bus and a 7 miles ride by a tonga on a kutcha road. Poor accessibility
to Khajuraho formed part of the pictme of poor communication network, which was partly responsible
for the economic backwardness of the region and frequent problems of dacoity.

Communication stm1cd improving in 1960s, and in the 1961 a new air strip was made at
Khajuraho. EHrlier, dming the tomist season an Indian Air Lines flight left tourist every Sunday at
Panna. By 1970s the situation improved fbrther as is clear from the reconnaissance smvey conducted in
1974 by the Town and Country Planning. Department. Khajuraho is connected by a major district r.oad
with the state ltighway No. 12 at Bmnitha, which is at a distance of 12 Km. Direct bus services connect
with Jhansi, Satna, CWtatarpur, Hmvalpnr, Mahoba, Panna, Bhopal, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi and Sagar.
Till late Khajuraho was not conveniently linked by rail and situation remains the same even toda\'
Nearest rail junctions fi'om Delhi ~ide are n1ansi ( 173Km.) and Harpalpur (86 Km.) and !Tom Bomba'
side Satna. Khajmaho is connected ll\' air \\ith Agra. Varanasi, Delhi and Kathmandu.
 53

Climate:
The climate hns generally been of a dry type. ·n1e winter comes with the advent of
October and lasts till the beginning of March. But, except for the months of December and January, Sun
at mid day is ve1y hot even dming the winter months. October to Febuary can be regarded as pleasant
season when the mimi mum temperature falls to 7" c while the maximum rises to 32" c. Summer months
are very hot. TI1e minimum tcmpernture remains arround 20" c. while the maximum temperature
particularly from April to June rises to 40° c. The average rainfall is nearly II 0 em. Mid June to mid
September is the rainy season which is, therefore, the slack season for tourism.

Topography :
Khajuraho is situated in a picturesque setting on a relatively flat land sloping gently
towards south and nmth-east. l11e natural drainage is provided by the Khudar river on the southern side
and a nullah flowing towards the nmth east em side of the village. On the northem, eastem and southern
sides are situated low lying hillocks which enhance its beauty. 11uee water bodies within the physical
limits ofKhajuraho, serve the needs of the people while adding to the natural chann. The surrounding
regional physiography is equally enchanting. River Ken flows at a distance of 12 Km. west ofKhajuraho.
The banks of the river in B~jawar tehsil ( south ofKhajuraho ) are heavily wooded and the river creates
many natural falls. The Gangav reservoir has been created at a distance of 33 Km. from Khajuraho by
putting a dam on the river. An irrigation tank, the Benisagar lake ( II Km from Khajuraho ) has also
been created by putting a dam on the Khudar river, south-west ofKhajuraho. Besides these attractions,
tbe reconnaissances survey btings into light a large number of potential tourist places of scenic beauty
and historical interest like the Rajnagar lake ( 3 Km.) from Khajuraho, Ranneh falls (20 Km.) Rajgarh
palace(20 Km.) Pandav falls ( 30 Km.), Gangav wildlife santuary, now Panna National Park ( 32 Km.),
Bur~a Tal ( 40 Km.) Ajaygarh fort ( 80 Km.) and Jatasanker ( 97 Km.)

Economic Structure :
Khajuraho was a predominantly agricultural community upto 1960s. The functional cat-
egory ofKhajuraho by 1961 census was' Primary activties' thereby providing us substantive proof ofits
agrarian economy. Tite reliance on primary activities continued to be strong even during early l970s,
although tourism has made considerable progress with nearly a lac tourists visiting Khajuraho.
 54

Nature of Tourist attraction and history of Tourism in Khajuraho :

The major attraction of tourism in Khajuraho is a group of twenty four temples, all built
during the period 950-1050 A.D. TI1e temples represent the most exquisite specimen ofHindu architec-
ture and sculpture. TI1ey are magnificent and proud reminder of the brave Chandellas who then ruled
over central India.

According to location, the temples are grouped in to three major complexes-the western,
the eastern and the southern complex. The former constitutes the most important complex in the core
tourist zone and a fee is charged for enterance to this group of temples. Apart from the temples, another
attraction is the annual Dance Festival whicl1 was started in the year 1975 to boost tourism in Khajuraho.
Although tourism, in the modem sense of the term, started late in Khajuraho, it finds mention in the
historical writ,ing ofHuin Tsang, Abu Rihman and Ibn Batuta. In the early British period, it was to the
credit of Alexander Cunningham who wrote a detailed description of the temples. Cunningham also
made mention of the large numbers of pilgrims who assembled in\ ' thousands for the celebrations of
Shiv Ratri in the month ofPhalgun.

"Adding to the mythology ofKhajuraho is a story about how tourism began. At some
time in 1930s Mahatma Gandhi visited Khajuraho. He was shocked at the potential for comtption and
promptly requested that the worst- offending temples should be covered in such manners, perhaps
plastered over. Correspondence to this effect is allegedly hidden away in government archives in
New-Delhi. Gandhi's suggession was not implemented, partly because of an outcry from influential
Indian and western art historians and partly because the populace was not exactly flocking to Khajuraho.
Nothing happened until the mid 1959s when liberal minded Nehru visited the temples seeing in them
rather the greater cultural and economy oflndia. At his insistence Khajuraho was selected for concerted
tourism development as obviously the sort of thing foreigners would love". I

From 1950 onwards successive five year plans increasingly emphasized tourism as the
foreign exchange earner. The second plan ( 1956 - 61 ) e)qJTessly sought to concentrate on great
monuments which are neither easily accessible nor provided adequately comfortable means of
accomodation. The promotion of international tourism is prime responsihlity of the central government.
the state govemment taking intertest in the development of infrastucture. and more recently. in the
facilities for domestic tourism on full time employee of the Ministry of Tourism has been
 55

deputed for the develpoment of tourism at Khajuraho. Foreign tourists mostly French and German,
began showing interest in Khajuraho in the late 1950s. To facilitate them, the government organised
small weekly group tours by air which left New-Delhi early Tuesday morning and landed at Panna, the
closest airport. TI1e dl~ group used to move to Khajuraho by bus, visiting the temples briefly and return
to Panna the same evening. As the popularity ofKhajuraho grew the number of flights increased to three
a week and by the late 1960s, it became evident that a Master Plan was necessary.

Historical background of Khajurabo :

The historical town ofKhajurabo was built by Chandella Rajputs in the ninth century
A.D. The state then known as Vatsa was glorified by successive rulers. It was later neglected, forgotten
and partially destroyed during the Mughal regime. The existing magnificent temples some of the finest
examples of north Indian Hindu temples architecture were rediscovered during the British period they
offer us a subject for the study art and architecture of great interest. Kahjuraho, being a unique example
of Hindu renaissance architecture and sensuous sculpture, is now gradually coming up as one of the
most important tourist centres of India. Kabjurabo is a recent phenomenon. Tourist traffic has swelled.
dramatically during the last decade. Over 5.67 lakh tourists visited the place during 1993. To be in
Khajuraho is now a craze (Fig No. II). The Inflow of tourists has increased during the past year
phenomenonally. Khajurabo temples are specially marked for their beauty ofChandella style. They have
being attracting tourists from all over the world and proved to be high revenue earning historical
monuments.

Originally there were 85 temples of which 25 still remain. The Muslim invaders who
started coming into India from central Asia and Afganistan in the 12th century and established larg~

kingdoms, destroyed a large number ofHindu temples as part of their iconoclastic faith and of course for
booty yielded by rich temples. Apparently the Khajuraho temples escaped destruction because they
were situated in a rather inaccessible and undeveloped region. The geographic site of the town was a
small valley, surrounded by low hills known as the Vmdhyachala Mountains and well watered by a small
stream, which flowed through the area. A large lake occupied one portion of the valley, which as legend
descn'bes was filled with blooming lotus. The name of the community inhabiting the area was then
known as Khatj-ur Vahak ( " the way that leads to the palm trees").

Later the area was renamed as Jajabhuki, and by the 14th century, as Bundelkhand. The
 FOREIGN & DOMESTIC TOURIST VISITED
KHAJURAHO 1984-1992

170
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160
150
140
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84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92

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~ DOMESTIC ~ FOREIGN

Fig. No. 11
 56
Chandella kings probably selected the area initially because of its comparative isolation, and made it
their capital. Remote from the Ganga plain, the area fortunately escaped the devastation waged unlashed
caused weakened by the Mughal invaders upon other contemporary Hindu monuments. The Chandella
dynasty expanded its construction activities over the entire valley area, and benefiting from
comparative political stability and consequent prosperity, raised a great city rich in temple
architecture.

The temples were constructed of the fine grained sandstone found in abundance in the
Kaimur series of the local Vmdbya sedimentry formation, and mined at Ajaygarh and Pandava falls.
Chandellas were also great lovers of music, art and oral literature but little of this tradition has survived
in the area. Of the original 85 temples, some 25 are still largely intact and consititute a unique example
of so called Indian renaissance architecture. However, for most westerners the attraction ofKhajuraho
is the thousands of sexually explicit figures which decorate the temples. As Ichaporia notes " Khajuraho
is not the only place where erotic sculptures of mediev31l Hindu architecture is to be found, but what
makes a successful tourist attraction is not the intrinsic property of sight but magnitude. Not only are
these temples in an extra-ordinary state of preservation considering depredations of time and looters,
but also there are enough of them to give an impression on mass, volume and visual drama and for the
visitors with a broader interest. Khajuraho's temples are an encyclopedic depiction ofmedieval Hiudu
country life ". 2

Sample Selection :
Questionnaires were designed to elicit imformation on tourist profile and atitude of the
tourists towards existing infrastructure. Initially, the method of administration of the questionnaires
consisted of their placement at hotel reception counters ( for the period October 199 I to May 1992 )
with instructions to tourists and a note of selfintroduction as well as purpose of research. The choice of
the hotels was judiciously made so as to cover different types of accommodation high, upper middle and
lower middle class hotels. In addition, the author also interviewed the foreign tourists. The paragraphs
below are devoted to discussion on the problems of data collection first with respect to tourist related
information, including problems of sampling and second with respect to secondary data on Khajuraho.

Problems of Data Collection :

The attempt to administer questionnaires to tourists was rendered ineffective by the non
 57

cooperation ofthe hoteliers. Great resistance was offered by the upper and middle class hotels but in the
lower middle class hotels cooperation was much more easy to seek, but the rate of return of the ques-
tionnaires was substantially low, in view of these difficulties. Pennission was sought from all those who
matter to personally interview tourists at the hotel premises. The procedure also evoked resistance, due
to the normal business activities hampered by the author's presence. The chances of being successfull in
interviewing tourists at the hotel became increasingly remote. The only viable alternative consisted of
interviewing tourist at a cafeteria opposite the western complex of temples, the owner of which had a
more permissive attitude.

My inability to interview high budget tourists also to pose problem of representative

sampling . The high budget tourists ( package tourists) were uasually accomP'nied by tourist guides, who
had vested interest in showing the temples in a short time, so as to spend much time at emporia and
handicraft centres,where they are paid handsome commission on the sale of tourist goods. Interview of
high budget package tourists was also rendered difficult due to the short duration of their stay normally
one and a halfnight only. Their stay at Khajuraho was so short, and programme so packed that they were
'too busy to be contacted'.

Characteristics of the Tourists :

During the course of survey (from March 1992 to July 1993 ) about 180 questionnaires
were received back by the author-Some by personal efforts and some with the help of hoteliers and
travel agents. Tourist proffie was made with the help of questionnaires. The tourists were classified
according to their duration of stay (as tourists and excursionists), their nationality (as domestic and
foreign tourists), their economic status (high, middle and low income groups) and in terms of their
organisation of tour into independent and package tourists. The sample of 180 visitors to Khajuraho
included 12 excursionists and 168 tourists. All the 12 excursionists were domestic visitors of low in-
come group and on an independent tour.

The rest 168 questionnaires of tourists show the following Classification

A • Domestic tourists 26 15.5%
B • Foreign tourists 142 84.5%
Economic status of foreign tourists - High income group - 12 7.1%
Middle income group - 28 16.7%
 58
Low income group 128 76.2%
Organisation of tour - Independent !56 92.8%
Package 12 7.1 %
The sample charactristics cited above need to be interpreted with caution, due to
exclusion of a large number of high income group tourists, on account of problems faced in their
interview and the particular period of data collection, when the inflow of domstic tourists was relatively
thin. Be as it is, further cross clasification of nationality of the tourists by economic status shows, that
out of26 domestic tourists, 6 were on a package tour and 20 on an independent tour, 16 belong to low
income group, 6 to middle income group and 4 high income group. The corresponding figures for 142
foreign tourists were 6 on package tour and rest on an independent tour. Sample findings shows that
78.2% of the foreign touists who visited Khajuraho were high income group, 15.4% were middle in-
come group and 6.4% were low income group. (Fig. No. 15)

The discussion on economic impacts of tourism has also indicated that the high income
tourists are mainly package tourists. The converse of the statei ment is also true except for low income
group domestic tourists on po1ckage tour from the eastern part of India. Problems of sampling rendered
it difficult to establish relationship between organisation of tour and economic status of the
tourist. In terms of length of stay of foreign tourists 46% foreign tourist stayed at Khaujraho for one
day, 37% for two days, 13% for four days and 4% for 5 days (Fig No. 13).

The shortest duration of stay ofthe tourists to Khajuraho is, of course, that of excursion-
ists. Besides the excursionists there are also a large number of visitors with religious motives. As a
religious centre, Khajuraho witnesses two important festivals i.e. Basant Panchmi and Mahashivratri
which need special mention, as large number ofpeople come to this place on these two festivals. Basant
Panchmi is celebrated at Khajuraho in festive and gay mood every year on Basant Panchmi day, which
normally falls in the month ofFeburary. Besides religious importance, this festival has seasonal signifi-
cance as it makes the ending of winter and beginning of autuman. Nearly 7000 to 10,000 people come
from neighbouring areas. Most of these persons come here for one day. Shivratri fair is celebrated on
Shivratri day which falls in the month ofMarch. The pilgrims start coming to the temple right from 3 am.
in the morning till 7 pm in the evening. Flow of people is almost continous. Darshanarthies first take a
dip in the nearly Shiv Sagar tank and go with a ' Lota ' full of tank water and pour it on the diety. The
visitors come from within a radi 'us of about 25 Km. Although Some people come from Chbatarpur and
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 LENGTH OF STAY OF FOREIGN TOURIST
AT KHAJlJRAHo

5 DAY$ (4.0%)
4 DAYS (1.30%)

1 DAy (460%)

2 DAY$ (370%)

Fig. No. 13
 AGENCIES WHICH INFLUENCED FOREIGN
TOURIST lU VISIT I<HAJURA.HO

NO IDEA (2.8%)

AIR INDIA (16.5%)

OTHERs (36. 7%)

JOURNAL ARTICLES (6 7%)

RADIO & TELEVISION (5 0%)

FRIENDS & RELATIVES (23 3%)

Fig. No. 14
 FOREIGN TOURIST VISITED KHAJURAHO BY
VPRIOUS INCOME GROUPS

LOW INCOME GROUP (&.4%)

~

MIDDLE INCOME GROUP (15.4%)

HIGH INCOME GROUP (78 2%)

Fiy. No. 15
 COUNTRY WISE INFLOW OF FOREIGN TOURIST
VISITED KHl>.JURa.HO

.ASIAN COUNTRIES (21.2%)

AUSTRALIA &: U.S A (2.B%)

UNITEP KINGDOM (9.8%)

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES (662%)

Fig. No. 16
 59

Panna also. The shop keepers mostly come from Rajnagar, Chhatarpur, Kanpur, Mahoba and other
neighbouring areas. Some even come to solemnise their marriage, but often their objectives of visit is
pnrely religious. Foreign tourists using various mode of transport to visit Khajuraho, 65% foreign tour-
ists visited by air, 24.3% by rail and road, 8% through some travel agencies, and 2% by own car ( Fi
No.l2). Agencies which influenced foreign tourists to visits Khajuraho, 16.6% foreign tourists moti-
vated by Air India, 8.9% through News Paper, 6. 7% through journal articles, 5% through radio and
T.V., 23.3% through friends and relatives, 36.7% with other sonrce and 2.8% say that they have no idea
(Fig No. 14).

Other characteristics of the visitors Profile to Khajnraho show that out of 142 foreign
tourists, 94 ( 66.2 %) came from European countries of which 12 came from United Kingdom alone, 14
( 9.8%) each came from Australia and United States of America. Barring 4 (2.8%) from Asian Coun-
tries, the rest came from other western countries (Fig. No. 16).

Sample findings also show that 43 ( 47.8 %) out of the total180 tourists are between 21-
30 years of age and 30 ( 30.4 %)between 31-40 years of age. The younger age group of tourists has
facilitated interaction with the hosts. Interaction is also facilitated by the fact that 46 i.e. ( 51. I %) of all
tourists are single and 28 ( 31.1 %) of the sample are female tourists who often take help ofthe locals to
guide them within the town. However, one needs to point out, that an important characteristics of the
tourists to khajnraho probably, determind by the unique nature of attraction itself if the presence of
highly educated people 32 ( 17.78%) of all tourists were professional Doctors, Engineers, and
Lawyers, 4 ( 2.22 %) were Architects, 24 ( 13.33 %) were University Teachers and 16 ( 8.89 %) were
Artists and Journalists.

On the basis of Questionnaires result shows the average ( medium ) spendings of the
visitors on different items 140 out of 180 i.e. 77.8% tourists do not spend any money on shopping and
other items. This is primarily due to the poor status ofKhajuraho as a shopping centre, on account ofits
geographical location, enroute other important cities like Delhi and Agra and due to local producers in
ability to manufacture tourists items. Poor spending on other items, indicates that the visitors do not
make such demand on resident oriented products, possibly due to their short duration of stay.
 60
Other imfonnation on spending pattern of the tourists by their economic status and tour
organistion show the higher sptmding by high income group tourists in relation to the other two catagories.
How ever, spending on' any other item' is nill possibily due to the pre-arranged programme of the tour
organisation of these tourists where most of their needs are met by the hoteliers and due to the short
duration of stay which permits them to carry necessary goods from the place of origin itself. But the
sample is too small to arrive at generalisations. The problem is compounded by the high responses in the
catagory 1 amount not know 1 by the package tourists, whose expenses are managed by the tour opera-
tors. Not with standing these problems as mentioned in the tables highlight the variation in the spending
pateros of the tourists.

Informal discusions with high income group tourists as well as sample findings indicate.
that the existing accomodation and transport facilities in Khajuraho are well suited to meet their needs.
Low income group tourists on the other hand, considered access to Khajuraho as a major problem.
While, all the high income group tourists in sample travelled by air 120 out of 140 ( 85.7 %) oflow
budget tourists travelled by rail and road. I 1.4 % of these tourists considered inadiquate transpon
facilities as the most dislikeable aspact of tourism development in Khajuraho. It may be noted in th.is
context, that the most itinery reports of our sample consisted of 90 tourists i.e. ( Varanasi - Khajuraho
- Agra reported by 27.8% foreign tourists ). While an air strip at Khajuraho access to high budget
tourist, lack of comfortable buses on this route pose problems to the visitors travelling by road.

Satisfaction of the tourist with existing facilities is not wholly determined by their
economic status but also by their nationality. Result summaries the rating of the domestic and foreign
tourists with respect to hospitality, hotels and restrurants, shopping facilities, transport and cost of
facilities available in Khajuraho. The rating of domestic tourists with respect to shopping, transport and
cost of facilities is rather low. 31.6% of all domestic tourists considered hotel and restrurants as poor.
36.8% each had the same oper.ion about shopping and transport and 47.4% considered Khajuraho as
more expensive. Foreign tourists were less negative in this rating, but this does not necessarily indicate
their level of satisfaction. One of the most amusing asp act of their response was the tendancy towards
assesment ofKhajurah0 1S infrastructural development in the light of sympathetic understanding of the
governments meagre resources. 3
 61

Variations according to nationality were also found to responsive indicating the most
likeable and dislikeable aspacts of tourism in Khajuraho. Result come through questionnaires indicates
that calm and peaceful environment and good maintenance of the temple ami lawns were considered as
important likeable features by both kind of tourists. However, 24 out of 38 domestic visitors had no
particular likeable feature in mind as compar.:d to only 8 out of 14 2 foreign tourists.

Responses to the question on the most dislikeable features oftourism in Khajuraho showed
similar variation. While, 70 out of 142 i.e. ( 49.3 %) foreign tourists found nothing dislikeable about
Khajuraho, 4 out of38 i.e. ( 10.5 %) of domestic tourists reported the same. Among the foreign tomists
3 most dislikeable features were hassling ( 14.1 % reported so ). Domestic tourists reacted about the
lack of~es ( 36.8 %) reported so ),entertainment ( 15.8 %), and about lack publicity ( 15.8 %).

Transport in Relation to Tourism :

The transport sector is an important component of the tourist industry in Khajuraho, the
scope for surface transport is restricted by the limited geographical extent of the town~ For reasons not
known, in spite of many potential tourist spots within 100 Km. radius ofKhajuraho, these have not been
exploited by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and no organised excursion tours
programme is conducted. A few taxis, owned by private tour operators and a small fleet of cars by India
Tourism Corporation Limited Ashoka Tour, comprise only fast moving vehicles mainly used for picking
up high budget tourists from the airport and for their within town tours. A major pa1t of tourists, take
t
cycle ricksaws and cycles on hire. These are favoured by Imdium and low budget tourists of the total
samples of the respondents.

Khajuraho in the Tourists Perspective :

Khajuraho deserves some special studies particularly from tourists angle. The area
falling within the radius of300 Kms. is perhaps, the recipient of the rich nature's bounty. It is endowed
with abandant forests verdant valleys, and mountain: peaks presenting spectacular sceneries thrilling
natural falls and magnificiant lakes. It is also an abode of the precious and rare species of wildlife. 5

The river system Narmada, Betwa. Ken and cities of great story and religious signifi-
cance are supposed to be the cradels of the age old civilisation of this country. 111ese rivers and cities
therefore, have a great importance, so far as tourism is concerned. Khajuraho happens to be a focal point
 62

of the above tourist places and adorns the place like a tiny precious jewel centrelly studded in an elega:nt
ornament. It would be seen, that the entire area calls for a detailed study from the point of view of
harnessing the tourism potential in general and the natural landscape and srenic areas in particular, which
forms a separate subject in itsel( 6 It may not be out of place to mention that the opinion survey
conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Opinion in 1986-87 for foreign tourists visiting India, re-
vealed that 47.3% of the tourists visited Khajuraho owing to its o beautiful natural scenery o and o good
climate 0• These observation certainly provide a clue and amply support to above need. 7

Estimated Tourists :
The Department of Tourism, Government of India, in the 8th Five Year Plan period has
anticipated 50 lacks foreign tourists by !997, which works out to about 22% increase per annum. J;:ven
if this increase is achieved, it would be a significant achievement for any export industry which gets us
foreign exchange. The government of India has earned 3300 crores of rupees in 1991 and expected to
earn through tourism 10,000 crores of rupees by the end of 1999.

However with the development of transport and other tourist infrastructure the share of
foreign tourists to Khajuraho is expected to increase which has been assumed as 20 % of foreign tourists
visiting India as against the share of nearly 6% at present. The figures may appear to be on higher side
e
but it is quit possible that 20 out of 100 foreign tourists would like to re-visit Khajuraho owing to their
interest for Khajuraho, provided that proper infrastructure is created. Based on this estimate foreign
tourists to visit Khajuraho would be 9lakhs per annum, works out to 2400 per day by 1995 as against
existing average figure of74 tourists per day in 1975.

SAN CHI

Sanchi is located in Raisen district ofBhopal division. The district headquater Raisen is
22 Km. to the south east, where as the another district town Vidisha is just 9 Km. to the north east. the
state headquater Bhopal is 45 Km. to the south west. The township is ( 23° -28 north latitude at
77'- 45 east longitude) at altitude of410 meter above mean sea level.

Places which have ancient monuments historic and important religious significance, modem
technological feats, natural resorts, beautiful landscape, natural wonders have the potentialities to
COUNTRY WISE INFLOW OF FOREIGN TOURIST
VISITED SANCHI

JAPAN (29 0?.)

US A (160%)

GERMANI (22.0%)
FRANCE (23.0?.)

Fig. No: 17
 FOREIGN TOURIST VISITED SANC\-11 BY
Y.l>R\OUS INCOME GROUPS

LOW INCOME GROUP (13.0%)

\-IIGH INCOME GROUP (53 O%)

MIDDLE 1NCOM E GROUP (34 G%)

Fig. No. 18

----·
 AGENCIES WHICH INFLUENCED FOREIGN
TOURIST TO VISIT SI>NGHI

NO IDEA (2a~}

NEWs PAPER (74. 9%)

OTJ-i ERS ( 36 8?.)

JOURNAL ARTICLES (1 6 7~)

RADIO & TELEVISION (5 0?.)

fflfE:N[)S & RELATIVES (23 B~)

Fi<J. N~. 1S

, __
------
 LENGTH OF STAY OF FOREIGN TOURIST
AT S.I>NCHJ

ft.BCNE 5 DAYS (0.0%)

4- DAYS (10.0%)

2 DAYS (1 3.0%)

1 DAY (77 0%)

Fig. No. ?.0

 FOREIGN TOURIST USING VARIOUS MODES OF
TR<I.NSPORT TO VISIT SANCHI

THROUGH SOME TRAVEL AGENCY (120%)

BY Ra.;o (150%)

BY AIR UPTQ BHOPAL ( 48 0%)

8Y TRAIN (24 0%)

Fig. 1\Jo. 21
 NUMBERS OF FOREIGN & DOMESTIC TOURIST
VISITED SANCHI 1984-1992

70r-------------------------------------------------.

61238
60

51330
50 48334 49920

(f)
1--
(f),.....,
- Ill 40
0::-o 35427 36777 37486
::J c:
~ &l
::l
lJ.. 0 30
OJ:
.C,
0
z
20

10

I ~b~6~9~o~b~b~b~ ~ 1
0
84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92

YEAR
~DOMESTIC ~FOREIGN

Fig. No. 22
 63
become the tourist centres. A proper development of these natural adds to the attraction is already
existing. Tourism is a menifestation of prosperity and peace. As an activity it always provides impetus to
the economics ofthe place. Besides earning foreign exchange it creates employment apportunities to the
semi skilled and unskilled. It offers jobs in hotels and restrurant, tourist shops, travel agencies , trans-
port, handloom, and handicraft industries as well as employment to interpreters, guides and tour opera-
tors etc.

In India cultural tourism is significant because of its part of civilization, the monuments
and religious heritage attract a large number of tourists. It provides for cross section of tourist interest,
aesthetic beauty, ancient monuments, sculpture, architecture, natural wonders and religious favour. People
come to India to know about the land, to get an insight in to history and culture. A number of tourist
centres in India can be catagorized for foreign as well as indian tourists, say for instance, Agra, Mandu,
:r
Jaipur, Khajuraho, Delhi, Sanchi etc., offer historical and acheological monuments.

Sanchi as a tourist centre, has dual importance. It is important for Buddhist religious
place, as well as one of the most important of archeological monuments. Although, San chi was never
hollowed by any events in Lord Buddha's life nor it had any religious importance in his teachings, still it
has emerged as a mojor religious centre after Sarnath and Boddh Gaya. Buddhist pilgrims from SriLanka,
Thailand, Japan, and Southeastern countries visit Sanchi for relegious purposes. Sanchi presents a
cross-sectional view of the art and architecture for a span of about thirteen centuries. The development
and decay ofBuddhist art and sculpture is effectively examplified here.

Tourist inflow :-
During period of 1986- 1994 the number of tourists decreased where as during 1991 to
1993 the flow of tourists increased as based on the total tickets issued for the visit of Stupa
premises. The following table gives the flow of tourists at Sanchi. : (Fig. No. 22)
 64

Sanchi : Tourist Arrival ( Yearly )

-----·-m------------------
Year Nuber of Tourists Va1 nation In Percentage Average per Day
-
--------------------------------
1986 21,824 -10.7 60
1987 22,435 + 2.9 62
1988 23,718 + 5.7 65
1989 24,110 + 1.6 66
1990 24,980 + 3.6 68
1991 25,640 + 4.6 70
1992 26,770
1993 28,140

Source :- Asstt. Supdt. Archaeological Museum, Sane hi.

It is seen, that inflow offoreign tourists follows a set pattern. During July and August.
tourists come from France, Japan, and Germany, while during November, December and January tour-
ists come from U.K., Denmark, Sweden etc. On hollidays particularly on Friday which is a free day and
Sunday about 10 to 15 taxies bring tourists from Bhopal, Vidhisa and Raisen. These tourists retum
within 7 to 8 hours. On normal days 80 to 95 %tourists return by the eveuning.

Characterstics of the Tourists :

Other charateristics offoreign tourists who have visited Sanchi in those period show that
29% foreign tourists visited from Japan, 23 %from France, 22% from Germany, 8% from U.S.A. 8
%from Shri Lanka, and 10% from United Kingdom. (Fig. No. 17). In terms of various income groups
of foreign tourists visited Sanchi 53% belong to high income group 34 % belong to middle income
group and 13 % belong to low income group. (Fig. No. 18). In terms of agency, which influenced
foreign tourists to visit Sanchi, 14.9 %foreign tourists motivated through news paper, 16.9 %through
joural articles, 5 %through radio and television, 23.8 %through fiiends and relatives, 36.8% through
others and 0.8% foreign tourists says that they have no idea and 2 % foreign tourists did not mention
their impression in questionnaires who have visited Sanchi in those period. (Fig. No. 19). Finding sho"
that 77 % foreign tourists stayed at Sanchi for I day, 13 % for 2 days and I 0 % foreign tourists stayed
 65
at Sanchi for 4 days only. (Fig. No. 20). The Charateristics of the tourists profile to Sanchi, show that
48% foreign tourists came to Sanchi by air upto Bhopal, 24 %came to this place by train, I 6 %by road
and 12 %foreign tourists came through some travel agency. (Fig. No. 2 I)

PACHMARHI

The concept of tourism has become popular in the Indian masses during the past thirty
years and consiquentl'•Y it has beon deeply rooted in the economy of the country by now. It is customary
for the economicaly well to do class people these days, to visit hill station for some time during the
summer season, for escaping the tropical heat or for other reasons as important for health, sport,
photography, sight seeing and honeymoon etc. 11te celebrated hill station ofMussoorie, Nanital, D&Ijee\ing,
and Pachmarhi attractes large number of tourists during seasons every year and are thus big names in
tourists trade.

Evolution of Pachmarhi town :

Pachmarhi is an important tourist spot in Madhya Pradesh. During the British regime,
the plateau ofPaclunarhi was developed for military purpose. After the independance in I 947 Govt. of
India opened this place for comman people. Pachmarhi has been famous for dense forest and heavy rains
right from the epic. The Madhya Pradesh Govt. in 1949 renewed its summer residance in Pachmarhi,
and decided that it should be fully developed as a hill station. Paclunarhi derived its name from Panch
Madhi, the five ancient caves still standing there. There is a current belief, which claims, that these caves
as one of the places where the five Pandava brothers, mentioned in the Mahabharata had sojourned in
congnoto for a year during the period of their wanderings. According to legand, Pachmarhi gets its
name from the five ancient rock cut caves where, it is said the five Pandava brothers took refuge during
part of their twelve years exile. But the discovery of Pachmarhi and its eventual development as a hill
station can be creditated to captain J. Forsyth, the author of' Highlands of Central India ' who described
about the Satpura hills in 1857 and wrote an enthusiatic account of the Pachmarhi plateau. Rama the
hero ofRamayana visited this place in their ages. Pachmarhi has been a cool, calm and confortable place
in distance past and the Sagas and Rishis found it full of peace as an ideal place for meditation and
contemplation. Serious spritual discourses were held here and persons of special cult prefered to make
it their abode. Let us have a cursory look at the historical background of these beautiful hill resort. Ttl!
1869 this place was not so much known as in the present context In 1869 some Britishers came here and
 6(.

they were much impressed by the natural scenery and the climate of this place, then they thought of
establishing a sanitorium here. and then in 1870 military centre was established here and slowly anJ
slowly they grew up in to a cantonment. Since then, Pachmarhi developed gradully. Gradually its beauty
spots were explored and developed Pachmarhi, the Queen of Satpura, is a trekker's paradise. It is nest-
ling in the lap of Satpura and has many things to offer to tourists. for the tourists it has more than sixty
locations of view point, caves, rock paintings, hill tops, waterfalls, swimming bath, and retiring nooks
Every walking tour here is almost a voyage of discovery.

Regional setting and linkage :

Pachmarhi plateau is about I 069 metres in elavation above mean. sea level. It has the
highest point Dhoopgarh 4429 feet in the Satpura hills. It provides the solace from the scorching sun of
the plains. Pachmarhi has an area of24 sq. miles. The characteristics ofPachmarhi, is its unique plateau.
having the vast area, rich in scenery available, at such altitude out of 24 sq.miles, of area 19 sq. miles
closed as forest, rich in scenery and wide vistas. Pachmarhi town comes under the Sohagpur tahsil of
Hoshangabad district, in Madhya Pradesh - It is 52 Km. from Pipariya station on the Itarasi Jabalpur
sectiion, of the central railway. Piperiya is the getway, to Pachmarhi plateau. There are regular bus
services run by state Government, connecting these two places. The bus service timimgs synchronise
with the rail ( ~g between Itarasi- Jabalpur ) timimgs and are changed from time to time, according
to the railway time table. Pachamrhi is about 913 Kms. from Delhi about 409 Kms. from Calcutta; about
864 Kms. form Bombay, 1516 Kms. from Madras, 559 Kms. from Allahabad, about 274 Kms. from
Nagpur. People inclind to use highway, can reach Pachmarhi by various roads i) From Delhi - Agra -
Bombay Road upto Biora and then diverting to Piperiya via. Bhopal and Hoshangabad.
ii) From Bombay by road via. Bhusaval - Khandwa, Hoshangabad and Piperiya. iii) From Calcutta by
road via. Raipur- Nagpur- Chhindwara.

Tourism Potential :
Pachmarhi has very good resting places for the tourists. Several good and well main-
tained hotels and lodges have come up. Private buildings and banglows are also available. For sight
seeing purpose the buses of M.P. Tourism development corporation are available. Private cars are also
available on hire. All the facilities ofhealth services, post and telegraphs are available. Pachmarhi affords
too much variety of interests to the tourists that any kind of man, having any type of interests, gets the
things ,for enjoyment. For a man of religious bent of mind here are temples. caves and peaks , which arc
 67

supposed to be the abodes of Gods, chiefly of Lord Shiva, who is believed to be the ruling deity of this
region. Most of the places of worship go by his name as lata Shanakr, Mahadeo caves etc. If a man is of
trekking interest he has a very vast opportunity of wandering in forest so deep and enchanting indeed.
For a student of Zoology, Geology, Botony or any other science Pachmarhi affords immensely rich
subject. For a man having interest in historical research ofhaving interest in arechaeology, Pachmarhl is
a treasure house of knowledge. Apart from all this, the dense beautiful forests, murmuring streams and
gracefully roaring water falls and the sky scarping peaks, have grand charm of themselves.

The Pachrnarhi plateau is, a saucer shaped in structure and is unique as it allows for long
walk over the flat country. It permits over several miles the use of a bicycle or a motor car . The resort
is traversed by two metalled roads called the long chakkar and a short chakkar of 13 and 6 km. length .
These roads afford attractive motor drives through parks and woodland scenery . These two circular
roads intersect at two points, firstly at northern base of vatsalya and secondly at Jaistambh near the
tehsil. From the long chakkar, a number ofmotorable roads lead to point on the edge of the plateau.
There are about 74 Km. of bridge paths leading to no fewer than a dozen waterfalls and 60 view points.
The traffic mostly consists of cars brought by tourists bicycles and pedestrians . The traffic as compared
to roads is too low . There are twenty four taxies , which are provided by the state Government of
Madhya Pradesh . The increase in vechicles being seasonal , the roads almost remain deserted during the
rest ofthe year . As there are only twenty four taxis provided for a large number of tourists at a time, i.he
tourists face sometimes the problem oftransporation. Some ofthe tourists even cancel their programme
due to non availability of conveyance and move to their town . Tourists have to walk about 5 to l 0 Km.
to reach the viewpoints, which is strenqous . Mahadeo, Cahuragarh and Dhoop garh submitts cannot be
visited without the motor vehicle as the climbing is quite tedious. So, most of the tourists return from
this hill station without visiting them though these points offer a magnificiant veiws.

The town has more up and down gradients which prevent the plying of cycle ricksaws.
The tourists face the difficulty even transporting their luggage from bus stop to various hotels and
vice-versa. There are about 120 cycle ricksaws in the town which are quite insufficient for the large
number of tourists. Cycle ricksaw can only catl!r the need for transporting the luggage from bus stop to
various hotels, but they cannot be used for visiting the various places due to strenuous gradients. The
state government runs a bus service from Piperiya to Pachmarhi. mainly for the local people and this
service is very inadiquate to meet tourist traffic thus creating enoronous transportation problems. l11ere
 68
should be more frequent services from Piperiya to Pachmarhi as at present there are only ten up and ten
down bus services which are quite insufficiant consedering the present trend of tourists. Most of the
tourir sts are held up due to non availability of buses at Piperiya and Pachmarhi. The state transport
service which at present is not reliable, should be improve.

The state Government should run extra buses between Piperiya and Pachmarhi
according to tourist trend. During the tourist season to avoid the transporation difficulties from the bus
stop to various hotels, the same Piperiya to Pachmarhi bus services can be extended up to various hotels
to provide the fitcilities to tourists. To solve the traffic problems, cars and horses during summer season
should be made available as some of the sites can be very easily visited on horses back. Tourists can hire
the taxis for seeing the 60 viewpoints, which can be covered in a short duration of time. It is, suggested
that tourist department should arrange mini buses to visit these points.

Truely speaking, the modem modes of transport play an important role in the total
infrastucture of tourism and are contnouting factor in attracting tourists, making them comfortable and
insuring that they again return here. Hence, all modes of transport by their performance have to project
an image, worthy of satisfitction and appreciation. The transport industry which undertakes nothing
more than the movement of persons and things from one place to another, constitutes one of the most
important segements ofthe promotion of tourism. lnfact the whole structure of tourism rests on the well
laid foundation oftransport. On the basis of above cited facts, it will not be wrong to say that the tourism
development in the 20th Century on wide scale has taken place on the chieftransport facilities round the
globe, which have shortened the world by transforming it in to one organised unit through supersonic
speed and have made it possible to take a round view of whole world with a reasonable degree of
comfort, within hours. Today transportation services all over the world are most widely required by the
tourists. Iftransport is unavailable or rudimentary the whole tourism world will parlyse and would come
to stand still Thus a good and efficiant transport service promotes tourism In fact the great thrust to the
development oftourism has been given to the modem modes of transport. from the foregoing discussion
it emerges that the transport facilities in Pachmarhi fall short of requirements during the peak seasons
and hence the tourists are put to several hardships. Correctly speaking an efficiant and well developed
system oftransport is both must and vital for the success of a plan of tourism development in Pachmarhi.
 DOMESTIC TOURIST VISITED PACHMARHI BY
V.i>RIOUS INCOME GROUP

LOW INCOME GROUP (13.0%) ·

MIDDLE INCOME GROUP (24.0%)

HIGH INCOME GROUP (63.0%)

Fig. No. 23
I
I

I
I

I
I

I
I

I
I

I
I
LENGTH OF STAY OF DOMESTIC TOURIST TO
PACHMARHJ

ABOVE 15 DAYS (5.0%)

~

7 DAYS (170%) 1 DAY (27.0%)

4. DAYS (28.0'?;)
2 DAYS (23.0%)

Fig. No. 25
DOMESTIC TOURIST US\NG VARIOUS MODES OF
TRANSPORT 10 VISIT PI>.C\-\MARHI

BY CONDUcTED TOUR (7.3%) &<"' .4)R (D. D.%)

sY 0'/'fN CAR ( 1 .2. 7%)

BY R()AD (4~.7?.)

8'( ROAD & TRAIN (37..3.%)

Fig.•~ 26
 '"";'
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 69

Charateristics of tourists :
In tenns of various income groups 63 %domestic tourists belong to high income group,
24% from middle income group and 13 %from low income group tourists visited Pachmarhi (Fig No.
23). In terms of agencies which influence domestic tourists to visit Pachmarhi 24.9% tourists motivated
through News paper, 6. 7% through general articles, 5 %through radio and television, 33.8 % motivated
thruogh friends and relatives, 26.8% through other sources, 0.8% domestic tourists say in the question-
naires that they have no idea (Fig. No. 24). Sample findings show that 27 % domestic tourists stay at
Pachrnarhi for 1 day, 23 % tourists for 2 days, 28 % domestic tourist for 4 days, 17 % for 7 Days and 5
%only stay at Pachmarhifor above than 15 days (Fig No. 25). Other characteritics ofthe tourists profile
to Pachmarhi show that 42.7 % domestic tourists came to Pachrnarhi by road, 37.3 %came Pachmarhi
by train and road, 12.7 % came to this place by own car, 7.3 % came Pachmarhi through conducted tour
(Fig No. 26). Opinion expressed by domestic tourists show that 19% tourist say that the publicity of
Madhya Pradesh tourist office is excellent, 13.3 % say satisfactory, 12% says not enough, 26% says
must be improved, 10% say poor (Fig No. 27).

Referances :

1&2 Nlloufer, Ichaporia 1983 : Tourism at .Khajuraho

3 Chopra, Suhita
4 Town & Country
Planning
5 Jain Devendra Kumar
'
An Indian Enigma ?
Annals of Tourism Research Vol. 10
j>p 75-92
1991 : Tourism and development in India
Ashish Publishing House, New-Delhi.
1975 : Khajuraho : Development plan
Town & country Planning, Bhopal
1980 : A study of Behaviour Pattern and
Profile offoreign tourists in Khajuraho
M.P.
First Annual Couference, National Asso.
of Geographers, Punjab University,
Chandigarh
6 Jain Devendra Kumar 1978 : Khajuraho Tourism: A study in Tourists
'
Traffic Pattem
Tourism Recreation Research, Vol. 3
No. I June, PP 17-21
7 1990 : Impact of Tourism on Khajuraho,
India a Preliminary Analysis
Tourism Recreation Research, Lucknow
Vol. 15. No. I PP 43- 45
 WORLD FAMOUS STUPA AT SANCHI

BHIM BETAKA FAMOUS FOR CAVE PAINTINGS

\

PANDAV CAVES PACHMARHI

A VEIW OF PACHMARHI CITY FROM THE TOP

 WATERf.~" r ..r.. HT PACHMARHI

SUNSET AT CHOURAGARH, PACHMARHI