Bhedaghat Marble Rocks

At Bhedaghat the Narmada runs for about three kilometres between cliffs of magnesian limestone, commonly called marble, rising up to thirty metres in whites, greys and shades of pink and green, and the standard way to see them is a rowed boat through the gorge with a boatman who names the formations along the way. Boats also run on full-moon nights, when the pale rock takes the light. Just upstream, Dhuandhar falls drops the whole river through a narrow gap in a plume of spray dense enough to be called smoke, crossed by a ropeway. Carving of the stone into figures is a local craft.

What you actually see

• The marble gorge - pale limestone cliffs rising from the river.
• Dhuandhar falls - the river forced through a gap in a wall of spray.
• The moonlight boats - trips run on full-moon nights through the gorge.
• The stone carving - local workshops cutting figures from the rock.

When to go

October to May; boats are suspended in the monsoon when the river is high and dangerous. Full-moon nights are booked ahead. The falls are strongest just after the rains.

Honest expectations

Boats are shared, crowded and run to a fixed route with a scripted commentary. The falls viewing area is commercialised with stalls. Monsoon closes boating entirely.

Nearby

Jabalpur lies northeast; Kanha is southeast.