Some places don’t ask questions
They just welcome you

Amarkantak, sandwiched between Madhya Pradesh’s Satpura and Vindhya hills, is one such place. It’s not just a town on maps — it’s where the Narmada River originates, the kind of location where spirituality seeps silently into stone steps, roots of trees, and prayerful murmurs.

I hadn’t come here searching for stories. I came to stop.

Why Amarkantak?

One fellow traveler had earlier spoken to me, If you want to hear yourself again, go where a river is born.

Those words stuck with me.

And so, I was going to Amarkantak — not a big agenda, just a feeling I followed. Nicknamed the “Teerthraj” (king of pilgrimages) by some, Amarkantak is both a spiritual hub and a region where nature seems untouched by urgency.

Finding My Stay — A Gentle Beginning with cheQin.ai

As I ventured on the periphery of Amarkantak, I knew that I did not require a simple hotel room. I required something with trees visible from the window and moist earth scent after rain.

I launched cheQin.ai, an app which I had tried once before, and searched for a homestay which matched my mood. I specified my needs: peaceful, non-touristy, preferably by nature and temples. Within minutes, a few responses from locals came in.

One caught my eye — a small ashram-type homestay along the end of a forest road. It didn’t look posh. But it looked stationary.

When I arrived, it was exactly what I had dreamed of: a simple mud-walled chamber, a verandah and a charpai, and a host who smiled more than he spoke.

The Source of Narmada — Still, Sacred, Unrushed

I woke up early the following morning. Not to chase the sunrise, but to walk beside the source of the river.

The Narmada Udgam Kund, the very source from which the river begins her journey, was calmer than I had imagined. Pilgrims did come by, yes — but there was space between folk. And still more space between words.

The water sparkled gently in the morning sun. No tidal sweep, but a slow emerging, as though the earth were exhaling.

I sat beside it and simply watched.

Forest Trails and Holy Quietude

Beyond the temples, Amarkantak is full of forest tracks — not signposted, not mapped, but charged with meaning. I followed one track that turned among sal trees, where sunlight broke in stripes and bird calls were the only sign.

One of the villagers took me to the Kapildhara Falls, a peaceful spot where the young Narmada plunges for the first time. There were no crowds. A few sadhus sitting on rocks in meditation, and the sound of water falling like quiet hymns.

I didn’t snap a single photograph that afternoon. I just strolled barefoot through the Sacred Grove, where even the trees seem to bow in awe. I’d stop from time to time to listen — not for what was making any sound, but for the silence that surrounded everything here like a mantle.

Meals That Felt Like Prayers

At the homestay, we ate on the floor. Rice, dal, a village sabzi, and chutney with jungle berries. Not too fancy, nothing to Instagram — just what you need, when you need it.

Evening tea, my host would accompany. He knew not too much English, and I knew not much Hindi. But somehow, the words did ring true.

Evening Bells and River Echoes

By dusk, the temples that ring the Narmada kund were aglow. Softly the bells rang. Not crazily like in some other places — here, it felt like a call home.

I sat on temple steps, surrounded by strangers who weren’t really strangers, listening to river and to chant in elegant unison, wordless.

It wasn’t a “spiritual moment.” It was just. real. Present. Full.

What I Took Back

I came back with no souvenirs.
I came back with an empty mind.

Amarkantak didn’t impress. Amarkantak welcomed.
It made the trees speak, the water run, the ground breathe, and the traveler sleep.

My stay, found through cheQin.ai, was not luxury. Yet it was what I needed — a small room smelling of incense and rain, a host who offered space more than instructions, and a location that enabled me to listen to birds over car horns.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been over-stimulated by crowded holidays and jampacked calendars…
If you’re seeking a place where spirituality, forest, and flow meet without publicity…
Amarkantak may be that respite you didn’t know you desired.

And if you are unsure where to find rest, cheQin.ai gently connects you with places that are more of the way and not just an interlude between.

Because at times you don’t need a holiday.
You require a return to your breath.

I Went to Amarkantak to Pause, Not Explore—And It Changed the Way I Travel