The Sarai at Toria

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The Sarai at Toria

The Sarai at Toria - our earth friendly retreat between Khajuraho and Panna in Madhya Pradesh.

07/04/2026

Another season comes to a close. Summer provides different views with the grass cut to minimise fire risk to our thatched roofs in the dry season. Apart from us humans, many creatures appreciate the Sarai at Toria’s habitats and make their homes with ours. I found this little gem, a paper wasp’s umbrella nest, while packing up the office. It has led me to read up more about social wasps but I am still bemused by the incredible pink and blue achieved in this nest. Any vespidologists or entomologists out there who could shed light on this, we would love to hear from you. I’m guessing the architect of this wonderful home is one of the world’s 300 species of Polistes, who apparently construct them from dead wood, plant stems and other fibres which they then mix with their saliva. The result of the mix is like handmade paper. But what - I am wondering - gives this one these very unusual hues? I read that wasps have been encouraged to build rainbow coloured nests by providing coloured paper for their use. But these particular shades of pink and blue are rare amongst the earthy colour of the Sarai so I wonder what these wasps found. How lovely that nature can still surprise us with its beauty and ingenuity!

30/03/2026

Bérénice Debras and Stanislas Fautré working on an article for the magazine of France’s oldest and biggest national newspaper, Le Figaro, recently visited our part of Madhya Pradesh. Her text and his beautiful images provide a lovely taste of some of what our Sarai at Toria - ‘grassland tranquillity in the heart of historic Madhya Pradesh’ – can offer the visitor. Thank you for visiting us too - a pleasure to meet you both.

25/03/2026

Wooden pillars support the handmade clay tile roofs of traditional mud homes so appropriate to the climate; a Rohilla treadle sewing machine and a bicycle now seem emblems of a passing era but can still be seen in rural villages of M.P. Concrete and mechanisation has moved in, the old gives way to new and yet many communities still lack access to basic health facilities. Daly college and our conservation trust, BAAVAN (Bagh Aap Aur VAN) recently held an eye/health camp in Bhapatpur Kurmiyan, in Panna district, hosted in the spacious grounds of the village school. Over 650 villagers attended and as many pairs of spectacles were provided free to those who required. The weather was kind as the intense heat of the previous few days gave way to a drizzly cloudy day. Many thanks to Dileep, Dr Shukla and the many others whose hard work made this possible.

08/03/2026

We women may be a minority at the Sarai at Toria but I like to think we punch above our weight 🙂. All are crucial to the smooth running and your enjoyment of our enterprise. Appreciated every day but international women’s day seems a good time to share their beauty with you all. Thank you S, T, G and J.

04/03/2026

We think of our Holi as a quiet celebration! By Holi standards it is, though not exactly quiet by normal definition! Our local musicians ensure the noise level is suitably loud and our chef, as ever, leads the dancing. Some of the quieter tunes sing of the changes in farming from manual to mechanised and the resulting disconnect between man and nature, as the stalk is left by the machines in the field rather than cut and fed to the animals as it used to be. Also songs to encourage protection of unborn daughters. Cultural folk traditions moving with the times!
The night before saw the full moon rise with a partial eclipse.

02/02/2026

An owl, an alien, an insect… new ways of seeing. Water, stone, grass, imagination. The tranquillity, the silence, the peace. Pulse slows, stress melts. The Sarai at Toria boat ride on river Ken.

22/01/2026

We keep a natural landscape - so watering is not required and to provide habitat and food for local wildlife. A selection of birds visible around the Baithak.
Yellow legged green pigeon, silverbill munia, long-tailed shrike, plum-headed parakeet, small minivet male and female

17/01/2026

Women’s self-defence. Our conservation trust, Baavan - Bagh Aap Aur VAN, is organising a three-day self-defence workshop for the girls of Madla village, thanks to our nephew, Bhavesh Pandey. Working in the Indian Railways, he set up a team to teach women ways to protect themselves. Martial arts expert and 10th Dan black belt, Dilip Kumar leads the team which includes Vaishali Sharma and Roshani Singh. The inaugural event was attended by 30+ enthusiastic girls and boys from Madla Middle School and others joined later. The training is a great way not only to provide protection skills, but also to engender self-confidence and self-assertion in the young girls. We hope to run several of these in the coming years.

01/01/2026

Italy meets Bundelkhand! Local musicians liven New Year’s Eve as the Sarai hosts a large family from “il Bel Paese”.
Wishing you all a wonderful NEW YEAR! May compassion and humanity find ascendency in 2026!

25/12/2025

Wishing all our guests, friends and followers a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a peaceful year to come. This year torches and a warming comforter for our staff. And thanks to for their surprise message label. Thank you.

18/12/2025

Our guest Radhika Tipre was more than excited by her park visit and seeing a jungle cat twice. Tiger tracks, a growl so close by, stunning misty morning landscapes, nilgai, sambar and so much more. With memories to take home and to share thanks to all these images she recorded on her mobile phone. But no longer. That may be the last day this is possible. The Supreme Court has prohibited the use of cell phones in the core habitat of tiger reserves and it seems this is being interpreted as disallowing visitors from carrying them into the park. Since for so many the phone also doubles as camera, this is a bitter blow for tourists. Removing driver and guides’ cell phones may be advisable to prevent the viewing frenzy of tiger sightings but extending this to guests seems to go beyond need. No disturbance was caused to wildlife recording these images.

Address

Mela Wali Gali, Village Toria, Near Khajuraho And Panna Tiger Reserve
Chhatarpur
471101

Website

http://www.saraiattoria.com/

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