Aura of India: Cities in Madhya Pradesh: Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur

Small boats moored on the Upper Lake in Bhopal

Photo: Sgbot321, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

Sarafa Bazaar in old Indore, late in the evening, when the jewellers have shut and the food stalls take over the lane.

Madhya Pradesh's cities are working towns first, and their gift to a visitor is what lies an hour or two beyond them.

Indore and Ujjain, the Malwa pair

Indore is the state's largest city and its centre of trade, with about 2.2 million people in its urban area at the 2011 Census. It has been named India's cleanest city in the national Swachh Survekshan survey eight years running. The old Holkar town centres on Rajwada, the tall palace gateway, and Sarafa, the jewellers' lane that becomes a night food market. Its metro reached 17 km in September 2026.

Ujjain, about 55 km north, is one of Hinduism's seven sacred cities and the home of the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga. The bhasma aarti, the ash ritual at 4 am, needs a pass booked in advance on the temple's official website. Indore is also the base for Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and Mandu, each about 80 to 100 km away.

Bhopal, the city of lakes

Bhopal, the capital, was ruled for most of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by four Begums, women nawabs, and their mosques and palaces still fill the old city north of the Upper Lake. The lake, called Bhojtal, is the city's centre of gravity; the newer town, with Bharat Bhavan, the arts centre, and the state museums, climbs the hills along its shore. The old city also remembers the 1984 gas leak at the Union Carbide plant, which killed thousands. Bhopal's urban area had about 1.9 million people in 2011.

The first part of Bhopal's metro, eight stations from Subhash Nagar to AIIMS, opened in December 2025 and stops at Rani Kamlapati, the rebuilt railway station in the south of the city. Bhopal is the natural base for Sanchi and Bhimbetka, each an easy half-day by road.

Gwalior and Sagar, the north and the plateau

Gwalior grew beneath its long hill fort and became the seat of the Scindias, whose Jai Vilas Palace is partly a museum. In 2023 UNESCO named it a Creative City of Music, calling it the birthplace of the dhrupad and khayal forms of Hindustani singing. Its urban area had about 1.1 million people in 2011. It lies on the main railway from Delhi to Bhopal, on the way to Orchha.

Sagar, on the Bundelkhand plateau, is a quiet lake town with Dr Harisingh Gour University, founded in 1946, on the hill above. Few visitors stay long.

Jabalpur, Rewa and the forest side

Jabalpur, on the Narmada, is the city for the east, with about 1.3 million people in 2011 and a large army cantonment. The marble gorge of Bhedaghat is 25 to 30 km west: boats run between white cliffs, the Dhuandhar falls throw up spray, and the tenth-century Chaunsath Yogini temple stands on a hill above. Jabalpur's airport and station are the usual way in for Kanha and Bandhavgarh.

Rewa, in the north-east, was the seat of the Baghel kings, and many of the white tigers in the world's zoos descend from Mohan, a cub caught in its forests in 1951. Its 750 MW solar park, completed in 2020, matters to the grid, not to visitors. Chhindwara, in the south, is the town for Pench's Jamtara gate, since the reserve spreads across Seoni and Chhindwara districts, and for the deep valley of Patalkot.

The Malwa loop from Indore

Madhya Pradesh Tourism's own five-day Malwa route shows how the western cities fit together: Indore to Ujjain (55 km) for Mahakaleshwar; Ujjain to Omkareshwar (about 140 km) and the island temple; Omkareshwar to Maheshwar (about 70 km) for the ghats and the looms; Maheshwar to Mandu (about 50 km) for the ruined palaces; and Mandu back to Indore (about 90 km).

In the east, Jabalpur works the same way for the forests. Bhedaghat is a half-day; Kanha and Bandhavgarh are each a long drive, and their core zones close from 1 July to 30 September. For the temples on both routes, read Madhya Pradesh's temples.

Cities to know

Indore (Indore): food, trade and the base for the Narmada temples; about 2.2 million (2011 Census, urban area).
Bhopal (Bhopal): the capital, the lakes and the Begums' old city; about 1.9 million (2011 Census).
Ujjain (Ujjain): Mahakaleshwar and the Kshipra ghats, with the Simhastha in 2028.
Gwalior (Gwalior): the fort and a UNESCO City of Music; about 1.1 million (2011 Census).
Jabalpur (Jabalpur): Bhedaghat and the road to Kanha; about 1.3 million (2011 Census).
Rewa (Rewa): the white tiger story and the Baghel palaces.
Sagar (Sagar): a lake and a university town on the plateau.
Chhindwara (Chhindwara): Pench's Jamtara gate and the Patalkot valley.

In Madhya Pradesh the city is where you sleep; the early drive out of it is where the day begins.

Plan your visit

Best season	October to March is cool and dry. April to June is very hot on the plateau. July to September brings the rain, when Bhedaghat and the Narmada towns run high.
How to reach	Airports at Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Gwalior, and a small one at Rewa with few flights. Main stations: Bhopal Junction, Rani Kamlapati, Indore Junction, Ujjain, Gwalior and Jabalpur.
Getting around	Trains between the big cities; a car with driver for Mandu, Maheshwar, Bhedaghat and the reserves. Indore and Bhopal metros are short and help little with sightseeing so far.
Where to stay	Near Rajwada or on AB Road in Indore; by the Upper Lake or in New Market in Bhopal; near the fort in Gwalior; near Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain; Civil Lines or Bhedaghat in Jabalpur.
How long to spend	A day each in Indore, Bhopal and Gwalior; a night in Ujjain if you want the bhasma aarti; five days for the whole Malwa loop. More in our Madhya Pradesh guide.

Open Indore, Madhya Pradesh in Google Maps

Questions people ask

Is Indore really India's cleanest city?

It topped the government's Swachh Survekshan survey eight years in a row, and in the 2024-25 results it led a new Super Swachh League for repeat winners. That is a ranking of cleanliness, not of development; no official list ranks cities as 'developed'.

Which is bigger, Indore or Bhopal?

Indore. At the 2011 Census its urban area had about 2.2 million people and Bhopal's about 1.9 million. Bhopal is the capital.

How do I book the bhasma aarti at Ujjain?

Only on the temple's official website, shrimahakaleshwar.mp.gov.in. Regular bookings open at 8 am on the first of the previous month, and tatkal passes at 8 am the day before.

Indore or Bhopal as a base?

Indore for Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and Mandu; Bhopal for Sanchi, Bhimbetka and Pachmarhi.

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Cities in Madhya Pradesh: Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur