A dhol thumps and actors sing their lines from a lit stage in a harvested rice field, where a Zadipatti troupe performs until dawn. Back in town, every April pilgrims arrive by the lakh for the Mahakali Temple fair. Scooters squeeze through Jatpura Gate, part of the Gond walls that once held the whole city.
Beyond the gates, sixteen stone giants stand in Lalpeth, and tigers roam the teak forest of Tadoba about 30 km north. Winters are mild and dry, May turns fiercely hot, and the monsoon soaks the fields from June to September. A Local Friend can turn your list of gates, temples and safari slots into a day that makes sense.
