Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh holds three World Heritage Sites and the best tiger forests in the country, and none of them are near each other. Khajuraho was inscribed in 1986, Sanchi in 1989, Bhimbetka in 2003; Kanha and Bandhavgarh sit half a state away from all three. Distance is what shapes any trip here. So pick a half. The northern loop is Gwalior, Orchha and Khajuraho, and it works by road and train. The central one is Bhopal for Sanchi and Bhimbetka, then east to Bandhavgarh or Kanha. The western one is Indore, Mandu and Maheshwar. Joining two of them is how people end up with a nine-day trip and three days of it spent driving. Satpura is the reserve to choose if you would rather walk than sit in a jeep: it allows walking and canoe safaris, which most Indian tiger reserves do not. Maheshwar, a fort above the ghats on the Narmada, is the quietest good place in the state, and Orchha's palaces on the Betwa are on India's UNESCO tentative list. The park core zones close from the start of July and reopen in October. October to March otherwise.