Day 01 Raipur :
Morning after breakfast drive to Raipur and also visit Sirpur group of temples, both Hindu and Buddhist.In the afternoon we will drive south on the excellent National Highway 43 (about 2 hours) to Kanker Palace, Gateway to Tribal Bastar, arriving in time for tea.

Your princely hosts and guides are Rajkumar Surya (known as Jolly) and younger brother Ashwini (aka Jai) of the Kanker Royal Family. (Their elder brother Aditya, current Maharajadhiraj of Kanker, teaches history at St Stephen's College in Delhi.) Familiarisation with Kanker, the region and its history before settling in with welcome drinks and traditional local entertainment. Kanker Palace/Bastar tours are inclusive full board packages, where the only extras are laundry, alcoholic drinks and discretionary tips.

Kanker (pronounced Kaan-kair) is a small former State (now District) immediately to the north of sprawling wild Bastar and a safe haven and gateway to that sometimes-turbulent area. Kanker's family atmosphere is at all times informal, offering a rare chance for visitors to enter into the spirit and tradition of an Indian household, albeit one with exceptional history and tradition to sustain it.

Day 02 Kanker to Jagdalpur
After an Indian or English breakfast at the Palace, you climb the beautiful, forested Keshkal Ghat thirty kms south of Kanker which marks the border of Bastar 500m above the plain. Bastar was once a substantial State and for long India's largest administrative district at well over 39,000 sq.kms. (25,000 sq miles). The majority of its peoples are still tribal with unique though rapidly disappearing lifestyles.

North Bastar is home to the Muria Gond tribe, famous for their Gotul - the mixed dormitory system which for long served as their principal means of education - a unique experiment in social development wherein the unmarried young make their own rules and learn the harmonies of successful society away from the strictures of adults, whose presence in the Gotul is taboo You will visit a tribal village near Bahigaon on NH43, have a picnic lunch in the forest, and a little farher down the road visit the Saathi NGO handicrafts project set up at Kumharpara (Potters' Enclave) near the market town of Kondagaon to maintain and develop the considerable variety of traditional arts and crafts of the region.

You will reach Bastar's capital Jagdalpur In the afternoon to check in to the recently established Naman Bastar Resort about 5 kms outside the crowded city. There may still be time for a visit to a nearby tribal weekly market before a short evening tour of the historic city and handicraft outlets before dinner at Naman Bastar. Note that Naman Bastar's excellent restaurant only serves vegetarian food. Arrangements can easily be made for non-vegetarian meals in Jagdalpur City.

Days 03 - 04 Jagdalpur and South Bastar
Over these two days you will travel out of Jagdalpur into the country of the Bison-Horn Maria and Dhurwa tribes.

You will see a performance of the spectacular local dances and get a good look at village life, costumes, ornaments and customs. You will visit Tribal Weekly Markets (exact locations depending on the day of the week) and see the Chitrakote Waterfall on the Indravati River which is illuminated after sunset. In the evenings there will be a further opportunity to explore Jagdalpur's absorbing city markets.

You may also have time to visit Kanger Valley National Park an hour or so south of Jagdalpur where there are also famous stalactite and stalagmite formations in the Kutumsar and Kailash Caves. However the real glory of Kanger is that it retains something of the original intensity of the forests that once covered this whole region - the natural habitat of leopard, tiger, sambhar, bison and the musical Hill Myna, Bastar's most famous bird.

Day 05 : Jagdalpur-North Bastar-Jagdalpur.
Leaving Jagdalpur after breakfast for Narayanpur - principal town of North Bastar - you will visit en route a Muria village to see an example of traditional dance by young Gotul members. Narayanpur market on Sunday. Mardoom market of Marias on Saturday, close to Chitrakoot waterfall.

Day 06 : Jagdalpur - Kotpad -Kakariguma Market-Rayagada.( Monday):
Morning drive to Kotpad small tribal textile village in Orissa, 30 kms from Jagdalpur. Later visit the Kakariguma tribal market. Further drive to Rayagada enroute visiting Paraja villages near Laximipur areas. Sunset at Hathi pathar, where the river Nagaballi cat the mountains with big boulders with religious significance. Overnight at Hotel Sai International.

Day 07 - 08 : Rayagada - Dukum - Niyamgiri - Rayagada:
Morning after breakfast at hotel starts for Dukum market of plain Kondhs. After visiting drive to the village of Agaria, metal smith who craft Jewell Aries for Hill Dongaria Kondh people. Later drive to niyamgiri mountain to visit few villages of primitive dongaria Kondhs, with ancient huses, dormitory house and high platform where they used to give human sacrifice. If everything okay then watch their dance by dormitory girls and boys. Later back to Rayagada.

Day 09 : (Wed); Rayagada - Chatikana - Jeypore:
After breakfast proceeds to Chatikana to visit the weekly market of Dongaria Kondhs, coming from the mountain to sell their forest produce and animals. After spending a good time, drive back to hotel for lunch and later proceeds to Jeypore ( three hours) enroute visiting two villages of ornamental Baro Paraja tribe. Overnight Hello Jeypore.

Day 10 : (Thurs): Jeypore - Onukadalli - Gupteswara - Jeypore:
Bondos are the most primitive tribes of Orissa living in the mountains called Bondo hills. Their language is called Remo, which comes under Austro-Asiatic language belonging to mundari group. The Bondos use scanty clothes to cover their body. The dress of a Bondo woman is remarkable. It is called Ringa of about 2feet length and feet in wide. It is striped and coloured cloth tied to the waist thread. The Bondo women usuing their indigenous looms to make ringa for them out of a plant fiber called kerang. They also use beautiful brass and aluminum necklaces and hundreds of bead necklaces to cover their beauty. After photo session proceeds to Gupteswara area to see the Dhuruba tribes. Evening back to the hotel. Total 6 hrs drive + visiting time.