Last month, Piglet and I made a quick weekend getaway to Forsyth Lodge - a place located in Madhya Pradesh in the heart of the Satpura National Forest.
The reason we visited was that I had won a giveaway on Instagram and I needed to redeem the prize before April. I was struggling with my family to get a weekend when we were all free. Alas to no avail! Eventually, Piglet and I scrambled and made the trip just so that we wouldn't waste the voucher.
Piglet was super-thrilled to have a 1-1 trip with me, with no bossy elder sister to hog the attention. And I was thrilled to take Piglet for a special treat and pamper him a little bit as a treat for doing so well at school (yes! he was a topper. A grade 1 topper, but still, I think it's a big deal!)
Where is Forsyth Lodge?
Forsyth Lodge is located bang in the middle of India in the Satpura National Forest. It's about four hours south from Bhopal - the capital of Madhya Pradesh (and I believe the closest airport). If you want to travel by train, the closest railway station is at Hoshangabad (an hour's drive away).
Here's a map I think will be helpful if you are planning a visit.
We opted to fly in to Bhopal and then take a cab as it is the quickest way to get there. Since we were there only for a weekend, we didn't want to take the train and waste a lot of time traveling (it's a slooow train).
What's so special about Forsyth Lodge?
We recently went for safaris in Sri Lanka and we had a fairly good idea what to expect when it comes to stay. But Forsyth Lodge blew our minds when it comes to the stay, the food, and the service.
The Stay
This is a fantastic place to stay. The rooms are individual houses. We had the cutest cottage that was just the perfect size for the two of us. Apart from a super-comfortable bedroom and bathroom, we had a back patio where Piglet and I hung out in between safaris.
The naturalists at the lodge even said we could spot animals right from our backyard. Piglet really hoped to spot a leopard or deer but we weren't that lucky.
The decor of the place is also to die for. The style is rustic but sophisticated. I especially loved the majestic Gond art near the staircase.
Piglet loved the study. Not only was it full of animal and plant picture books for him to browse through, but there was a magnificent chess set; he didn't get the rules of the game when I tried to explain, but still he was pretty impressed by the size and the pieces.
- Hanging out in the study
- Examining the chess pieces
The Food
I don't have any pics to share with you because I was so busy gorging (and trying to get the picky one aka Piglet to eat something).
But seriously, the food was top-class. It was so good that I was a bit worried at it being wasted on a non-foodie such as Piglet.
The first night there, they served us a mind-blowing lemon coriander soup, followed by the most amazing Shahi paneer dish with paranthas.
Seeing Piglet pick at his food, they asked and got his food preferences - only the blandest food with minimal vegetables, and prepared that for him.
Thankfully, they continued preparing their culinary delights for me. On our second day, I expressed a wish to try some local food. No worries, they set up a delightful village style menu for us. I can confidently say that I have never tasted better daal batti anywhere. On request, Piglet got some pasta according to his specifications, which he promptly wolfed down.
While leaving the place, I inquired about the chef wanting to give my compliments. To my surprise, the chef isn't a trained one. He's just a regular dude from Nepal who loves to cook. Not only does he cook local food, but he cooks Continental, Italian, Chinese - basically just about everything. If you are particular about food, just let them know while booking your stay. This is just so that they have the ingredients on hand (as the place is remote, they need to buy special ingredients for special meal requests).
The Service
The service at Forsyth Lodge is first-class. Each guest has their own personal naturalist assigned to them. And this person takes care of all your needs. The naturalist accompanies the guest on all the safaris. And since there was one person with us all through, we were fast friends by the time we left.
Piglet - the animal lover especially appreciated our naturalist's discourse. He looked forward to not just the safaris, but also the nature walks and the wildlife discussions over lunch and dinner.
The Safaris
Did I mention the naturalists are really well-informed? Having a great guide along with us on our safaris was awesome.
Unfortunately, the animals weren't always so co-operative. The Satpura National Forest is famous for sloth bears, leopards, the occasional tiger, tons of deer, wild buffalo, and so much more.
We were able to see the wild buffalo and deer and tons of birds, but no sloth bear, leopard, or tiger.
Well, that's the way of safaris, right? Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't.
What I can say though is the landscape around was beautiful, and even though we didn't see as much wildlife as we hoped, Piglet and I loved our drives through the forest.
- Great mornings!
- Great mood!
In one portion, we even stopped for a picnic, and that was absolutely the best experience!
Ending this post with this last fairly scenic shot. One thing I really appreciated about the safaris here was every once in a while we could get off the jeep and walk around.
Of course, the naturalists were sure it was safe before letting us off!
Overall thoughts
Forsyth lodge is a great place to stay while exploring the Satpura National Forest. It is a little on the expensive side, but it is completely worth it.
Nish
Voracious reader, vegetarian foodie, mostly armchair traveler, and frequent online shopper. I love to talk about all these passions (and other things happening in my life) in this blog.
