Shivpuri: (Altitude: 462 M, Population: 146,859) is an ancient town and a sacred place the Hindus and the summer capital of the Scindia rulers of Gwalior. The dense forests were the hunting grounds of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Akbar captured herds of elephants for his stables while returning from Mandu in year 1564.

How to reach:

Road: Shivpuri is connected by regular bus services with Gwalior (120 KM), Indore, Bhopal, Jhansi (90 KM) and Ujjain. Shivpuri is 120 KM away from Gwalior on Agra Mumbai Road.

Rail: Nearest main railheads from Shivpuri are at Jhansi and Gwalior which are on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai on main rail route. The trains on the branch line between Indore-Dehradun via Delhi (By Weekly), Indore-Gwalior Intercity Express (Three days in a week) and Gwalior-Kota Passenger (Daily) passes through Shivpuri station.

Air: The nearest airport to Shivpuri is Gwalior. This airport is well connected with Delhi, Bhopal, Indore and Mumbai.

The temperature in summer (April-June) varies from 21º-48ºC and in winter drops from 34º -3ºC, and July –Sept for rain (800mm).

Main attractions:

Shivpuri or Madhab National Park is surrounded by the National Highway 3 (Agra –Mumbai) and NH-25 (Jhansi-Gwalior). The entrance of the Park is 7km away from the city on NH-25. Sakhya Sagar a lake named after the queen, the diameter of the lake is 11 km, shape is half moon, is situated deep in the forest about 1 KM distance. The old summer resort of Scindhia kings (156sq km) situated at 380 -480 M had been converted to Madhab National Park in 1958 and also the area widened to 346.598sq km.

The Park is haven for wildlife. The park remains open throughout the year and boasts of large numbers of chinkara, Indian gazelle and chital.

The nilgai, sambar, chausingha, blackbuck, sloth bear, leopard and the common langur are the other inhabitants of the sprawling park. The national park is equally rich in bird life; Chandpata, the artificial lake, is the winter abode of migratory geese, pochard, pintail, teal, mallard and gadwall. Other residents include the cormorant, laggar falcon, paradise flycatcher and golden oriole. Loud cracking notes of white breasted kingfisher flying past, harsh crocking of grey heron or quacking of spoonbill duck and numerous lesser whistling teals resting at the bank of lake. The dynamism of the dry deciduous forest at the Park is unbelievable. Soothing lush green, impenetrable vegetation all over during the monsoon.

There are two watch towers in the park. The visitors can watch wild animals from the atop the George Castle, built by Jiyaji Rao Scindhia in 1875 in honour of British monarch George V while came here for hunting.

Chhabuttra or a memorial to remember the tragic sacrifice of the martrs to the first freedom struggle (Sepoy mutiny in 1857). Tantya Tope was awarded death sentence on 17 April 1859 by British Raj for his part in the Revolt of 1857 in nearby Jhansi. He was hanged to death in Shivpuri.

Sultangarh Falls, on the NH from Shivpuri, is a spectacular one. The stream jumps down swiftly from the hill. 10 km away from the falls there is another beautiful spot Kuang Baba; here tigers quench their thirst in the river.

Chanderi: Chanderi is famous for existence of 55 Jain temples of 9^th &10^th century and an important Jain pilgrimage centre. At Khubanji, 28 km away from Chanderi, there are 16 Digambar Jain temples, and the city is surrounded by hills-forests-lakes. Chanderi is 127 KM from Shivpuri and 169 KM from Sanchi. On the 200m high Kandar hill, there is a fort built in Pathan from the Mughal era and Mahmud Khilji’s Koshak Mahal (1445 AD).

Sarwe is 21 km away from from Shivpuri towards Jhansi. There is the oldest fort and other ruins. The Ashram of Hindu Saints attracts the tourists. There are 3 temples in Arthadhara, almost obscured by the forest.

Naroar: Naroar was the capital of King Nal of Nal-Damayanti of the Mahabharata fame. The city is situated 41 km away from Shivpuri on NH-3 on a 500 ft high hillock with a fort of 8 sq. km. area. There are many Mahals, temple, mosque and lake in the fort.

Karera: style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Arial;">On Shivpuri–Jhansi NH-25 and 55 km away from Shivpuri is Karera Bird Sanctuary, its famous for the endangered Indian Bastard. Karera fort is on hill top is worth seeing.