Mahua Kothi - A Taj Safari Lodge

On the edge of Bandhavgarh National Park, Mahua Kothi is a charming, rustic-chic wildlife lodge and one of the first &Beyond lodges established in India in partnership with Taj Safaris. Inspired by the vernacular-style mud huts of the local community, the lodge is set among 40 acres of wilderness.

It is superbly designed to blend into the quaint and rustic surroundings. Each of the 12 Kutiyas (cottages) is built in traditional style using locally sourced materials with mud and cow dung walls and topped by a thatched roof. But these spacious kothis are supremely comfortable and offer shaded seating areas and private courtyards where you can curl up with a book between your early morning and late afternoon safaris. Each cottage features wooden shutters; tapered mud-coloured walls (finished by hand) in lime and earth washes; open rafters with roughly-hewn wooden beams; handmade pottery roof tiles; stone floors and a spacious bathroom with a separate shower area and a bathtub. And even though the spacious cottages are clustered together, they have been designed to orient towards the jungle, giving guests the illusion of being alone in the forest.

At the heart of Mahua Kothi lies a renovated ‘kothi’ (homestead), where guests can enjoy pre-dinner drinks and world-class cuisine in the lounge next to the interactive kitchen. For guests interested in private dining options, the staff will happily arrange private lunches under the Mahua tree or dinners under a star-lit sky. The lodge has a swimming pool and offers in-room massages. The &Beyond team trains Mahua Kothi’s experienced naturalists and undoubtedly provides the highest standard of wildlife viewing at Bandhavgarh.