Jalgaon is on the main railway line between New Delhi and Bombay and between Bombay and Calcutta.

The Punjab Mail, the Amritsar-Dadar Express pull in daily from Bombay and New Delhi. The Howrah-Bombay Mail and the Howrah-Kurla Express pull in daily from Bombay and Calcutta. A number of other trains pull into Jalgaon daily from New Delhi, Bombay, Goa, Bhopal, Pune, Nagpur, Calcutta daily.

Bombay is 420 km away (7 hours), New Delhi is away 1,122 km away (19 hours), Calcutta is 1,549 km away and Nagpur is 437 km away. The Ajanta and Ellora caves are 50 km away and Jalgaon is the closest rail junction to the caves.

Morako hotel in the centre of town offers AC and non-AC rooms at reasonable rates and has an in-house restaurant.

Hotel Jasnagra, Gaddam Plot road, near the railway station, tel # 0724-439471, 439473, fax # 0724-439474 offers 23 AC rooms at reasonable rates. Jasnagra has an inhouse multicuisine restaurant.

Jagdalpur is eight hours away from Raipur by road. There is a rail connection between Jagdalpur and Andhra Pradesh, but the city is much more accessible from Raipur.

The town has a few decent hotels and accommodation is also available in Government Circuit House. The best way for reserving a roomt in advance is to contact Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation. Contact:

• Bhopal: Central Reservations Division, 4th Floor, Gangotri, T T Nagar, tel # 0755-778383, 774340, 774342.

• Calcutta: Chitrakoot, 6th Floor, 230 A, AJ C Bose road, tel # 033-2478 543.

• Bombay: 74, World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade, Colaba, tel # 022-2187 603.

• New Delhi: 204 - 205, 2nd floor, Kanishka Shopping Plaza, 19, Ashoka road, tel # 011-3341187.

Baroda Fast Facts

Indian Airlines flies into Baroda daily from Bombay. IC 689 departs from Bombay at 1540 hours and reaches Bhuj at 1635 hours. The one way economy airfare is Rs 2,280. The one way business class airfare is Rs 3,335.

Jet Airways flies twice a day to Bhuj from Bombay. 9W 341 departs from Bombay at 0550 hours and reaches Bhuj at 0640 hours. 9W 343 departs from Bombay at 1800 hours and reaches Bhuj at 1850 hours. The one way economy airfare is Rs 2,470. The one way business class airfare is Rs 3,760.

Gujarat Airways flies thrice a week to Bhuj from Bombay. G8 106 departs from Bombay on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1930 hours and reaches Bhuj at 2040 hours.

The Rajdhani, the Gujarat Mail, the Saurashtra Express, the Saurashtra Mail, the Gujarat Express and a number of other trains pull into Baroda daily from Bombay. The Shatabdi Express arrives in Baroda six days a week. Bombay is 392 km and seven hours away from Baroda. The Rajdhani however reaches Baroda in 5 hours.

The Rajdhani, the August Kranti Rajdhani, the Paschim Express, the Golden Temple Mail and a number of other trains pull into Baroda from New Delhi. New Delhi is 997 km and 15 hours away from Baroda. The Rajdhani however reaches Baroda in 12 hours.

Hotel Welcomgroup Vadodara, R C Dutt road, tel # 0265-330033, fax # 0265-330050 offers AC double rooms for Rs 2,000 per night. A luxury hotel, the Welcomgroup Vadodara has a business centre, a cyber club, a swimming pool apart from a multi-cuisine restaurant.

Hotel Express, R C Dutt road, tel # 0265-330750, 330960, fax # 0265-330980, a four star hotel, offers AC double rooms for Rs 1,500 per night. Its in-house restaurant serves Indian, Chinese, continental and Punjabi food.

Hotel Utsav, Navrang Complex, Prof Manekrao, Raopura, tel # 0265-435859, 434871, 434872, 434873, fax # 0265-425567 offers AC double rooms for Rs 540 per night. Its in-house restaurant serves Indian, Chinese, Gujarati, South Indian food.

Orissa Tourism organises tours out of Bhubaneshwar and Jeypore. Permissions to visit tribal areas are required from Bhubaneshwar and they can be long in coming. But it is reported that in Jeypore permissions arrive much quicker.

A daily train connects Jeypore with Visakhapatnam, the nearest airport. Indian Airlines flies into Visakhapatnam several times a week from New Delhi, Hyderabad, Madras and Bombay. One could reach Jeypore from Bhubaneshwar, which is over 24 hours away by road via Berhampore. Bhubaneshwar is the place to organise tours of Jeypore and tribal districts beyond and obtain special passes that allow you to visit tribal areas.

You could also try contacting Mr Pujari, Travel Care, Jeypore, tel # 06854-22291, 22791 (R) or fax # 06854-30031. They can organise hotel bookings, tours to Koraput and around and necessary permissions if given some notice.

Madhumati, Bikram Nagar, offers decent rooms and an AC restaurant. The tariff for a double room is Rs 110 and Rs 250 for a deluxe room.

Srikakulam is 100 odd km away from Visakhapatnam and a road journey would take about five hours. It is advisable to do the journey as a day trip from Visakhapatnam and it is also suggested that one start early in the morning and head back immediately after the eclipse is over.

Srikakulam is also linked by rail to Visakhapatnam.

There are a number of decent hotels to put up at in Visakhapatnam. Try any of these:

• Grand Bay, Beach road, tel # 0891-560101. US $ 65 to 85 for a standard double room on twin sharing basis.

• Taj Residency, Beach road, tel # 0891-567756, 564874. US $ 85 for a standard double room on twin sharing basis.

• Dolphin, Dabagardens, tel # 0891-567000. Rs 795 to Rs 995 for a standard double room on twin sharing basis.

• The Park, Beach road, tel # 0891-554488, 555185. US $ 45 for a standard double room on twin sharing basis.

• Green Park, Waltair Main road, tel # 0891-564444. Rs 795 to Rs 1,050 for a standard double room on twin sharing basis.

• Meghalaya, Asilmetta Junction, tel # 0891-555141, 555142. Rs 415 for a standard double room on twin sharing basis.