Amar Mahal in Orchha transforms tourism in the medieval town
Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
Located near the bank of river Betwa in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, Amar Mahal is a property that has in the last one decade of its existence attracted a significant number of inbound tourists, created awareness of the remote destination and has also established itself as a prestigious property for film shootings. “We started in the year 2003. The main purpose was to enhance the tourism of the place. Initially we found it very difficult as we are located in a small remote area, but soon we started getting excellent results. The destination has now picked up well in terms of tourism,” said Nitendra Singh Rathore, director, Amar Mahal. He pointed out that almost 90 per cent of the guests in the property are inbound tourists. The domestic visitors are primarily from NCR and Mumbai.
Built like a traditional Rajput palace of Bundelhand, Amar Mahal is a 53 rooms property, with three categories of rooms. Not surprisingly, it is the premier property in the region. “We are lucky to get word of mouth publicity for the property and Orchha as well. Social media has played an important role in terms of marketing,” stated Rathore. He acknowledged that initially tourists came for the property but with time as the awareness of the destination increased, they have been coming to discover the many attractions of Orchha. “It is one of those destinations that has a rich cultural legacy, pilgrimage and adventure as well. We are doing river rafting activities. For pilgrimage Orchha has the only temple where Lord Rama is treated as the king of the place. As a historical location there are so many forts and palace,” added Rathore.
The property has also been the location for a number of film shootings and has hosted many well known film stars. Veteran director Mani Ratnam’s film ‘Ravana’ was shot in the property and Orchha. It was also the location for Hollywood movie ‘Singularity’ starring Josh Hartnett. “Even the Aamsutra Slice ad was shot at the destination and Katrina Kaif stayed with us,” mentioned Rathore.