Gaiety Excursion of SEO Valley Employees to Pachmarhi

With the Dawn of 10th September we set off for our staff picnic trip to “Queen of Satpura”- Pachmarhi. All SEOValley™ employees boarded a bus and started the long awaited journey to the highest point in Central India.

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All of us were elated and there was joyous atmosphere in the bus. On the way, we sang songs, narrated jokes and shared our refreshments with each other. After six hours of journey, all of us were glued to our seats with our eyes peeping out of the bus windows. We were passing through bridle paths which led us into placid forest groves of jamun, dense sal forests and delicate bamboo thickets. We were mesmerized by the view and were finding difficult to believe that just a few kilometers away from Bhopal, another magnificent divination of nature is situated.

We reached Pachmarhi -the treasure house of natural beauty, in the noon. On our way to the hotel, we took a halt at Eco-point, a famous tourist spot of Pachmarhi. We were fascinated by the beauty of the place and all of us clicked many photographs and heard echoes of our own voices.

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From there we went to the hotel which was booked in advance. After getting freshen up and having our lunch we all were pumped up for our next advancement. The first place we visited was Handi Koh. Amidst dense forest, it is an imposing canyon with a 300feet high crag. The place is a must visit for its serenity which is interrupted only by gushing water.

Next we went to Priyadarshini Point. Our tourist guide increased our knowledge about the place by letting us know that it was earlier called as Forsyth point and it was the point from where Pachmarhi was discovered in 1857. We got the panoramic view of Pachmarhi and its surroundings from this vantage point. We were lost in the sizzling beauty of the place when we were asked to move for our next destination, Gupt Mahadev. There is a Hanuman statue outside and an entry for a single person at a time, to a cave.

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Mahadevs are a complex of temples grouped into one called as Bade Mahadev. We took off our shoes on the main gate and entered the large cave. The central part of the cave has a water stream flowing around it and the deity’s idol is seated in the far end of the cave. After wandering in the caves for some time we moved back to our hotel.

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It was raining heavily and all drenched we reached the hotel at 7pm. After getting redressed we had our dinner. Our plan of having a camp fire failed due to the heavy downpour, but we compensated it by singing, dancing and playing games in the hotel hall. After so much merriment in a single day, we had a good night’s sleep.

Early morning by 9.30 am we were ready for our next phase of sightseeing, the first destination of which was the Bison museum. The museum exhibits Pachmarhi’s rich flora and fauna and have many stuffed tigers. All of us were captivated by the photographs of Pachmarhi, kept in the museum. The huge stuffed Bison inside the lodge became the centre of attraction and talk of the visit for us. Next we went to Pandav caves. It is an important tourist landmark of Pachmarhi due to its mythological importance. Our spirits exalted with the breathtaking scenic beauty of the place which have a mythological backdrop. The caves are believed to be of the time of Mahabharata and are protected monuments.

Apsara Fall or Fairy Pool was our next resort. After three kilometers of trekking we reached the pool. It is a lovely, shallow bathing pool ideal for safe swimming and diving. Knowing that it is our last spot before our return journey, we fully enjoyed the water splashes and the beautiful ambience of the place.

We reached back the hotel, picked up our already packed luggage and departed by bus. Engulfed in the magical memories of the memorable trip, we reached Bhopal in the evening at seven. It’s truly said that a good holiday is one which is spent in a way when the notion of time gets vague for you. The same were the feelings of SEO Valley’s employees after the trip.