26 Years On, Chhattisgarh Is Still Waiting to Be Discovered

I have spent the last 24 years in the travel industry, largely working on and promoting Chhattisgarh as a destination. The tagline of Chhattisgarh Tourism is “Full of Surprises”, and the surprises never seem to end, even for those of us promoting it.

Recently, I visited Chennai, Pune and other cities as part of a marketing campaign with the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board to create awareness about the state as a destination. In city after city, local travel agents came to meet us. In my conversations with them, I realised that the majority were not sure whether Chhattisgarh is a state at all, or that it is no longer part of Madhya Pradesh. One of them even asked me, “Is Jharkhand the capital of Chhattisgarh?”

My first reaction was disbelief. My second was more honest. If experienced travel professionals in India’s largest cities do not know us, that is not their failing. It is ours. Almost 26 years after it was formed, Chhattisgarh is still largely unknown, and those of us who have been promoting it, myself included, have to accept that.

I have also come to see it as an opportunity. At a time when most destinations in India are crowded and over-sold, here is an entire state that travellers have not yet discovered.

So first, the basics. Chhattisgarh came into existence on 1 November 2000, carved out of the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh. It is the ninth-largest state in India by area, and Raipur is its capital. About 44% of the state is forest land, and close to a third of its population is tribal.

Getting here is easy. Raipur has excellent air connectivity, with daily direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It also lies on the main trunk line between Kolkata and Mumbai, with direct trains to almost all major cities. Located right in the centre of the country, it is easily accessible from every direction.

Yet in spite of this connectivity, the state remains largely unknown. Raipur has long been an industrial and economic hub, and I personally feel it is high time that people got to know it, and that tourism picked up as well.

That is beginning to change. A lot has happened in the last 12 to 14 months. For the first time, the State Tourism Board has curated a series of roadshows, starting in Delhi and moving on to Bhubaneswar, Pune and Chennai. Its participation in trade shows and trade events has become organised, and it has run a series of FAM trips. Beyond the Tourism Board, the state government has worked hard to undo the Naxal image. Several events have been held in Bastar with the national media present, and in May 2026 the chief ministers of the central states met there for the Central Zonal Council.

Until a couple of years ago, Chhattisgarh was in the news mostly for negative reasons. That is slowly changing, and it is a very welcome change. We hope these initiatives continue, so that they produce good results in the near future. Chhattisgarh is here, and it is here to be discovered.

And there is a great deal to see. Chitrakote, in Bastar, is one of India’s largest waterfalls. The archaeological site of Sirpur, still under excavation, finds mention in the writings of the famous Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang. Bastar Dussehra stretches over 75 days. The state’s artisans create beautiful work in bell metal (dhokra), terracotta and wrought iron. Add to this pristine landscapes, large tracts of forest, a rich tribal culture, and archaeological sites spread across the length and breadth of the state, many of them still unknown.

There is so much here for everyone to see, to experience, and to cherish for a lifetime. I invite you to visit Chhattisgarh and experience its beauty for yourself.