It took me almost a day of traveling—including a long layover in Kuala Lumpur—before I landed at Nagpur Airport from Mumbai. Upon arrival, I immediately rendezvoused with my friend Karla at her hotel. Wasting no time, we met our driver from Pench who was already waiting in the lobby to drive us on a three-hour ride to Pench in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh.
Pench Tree Lodge: A Quaint Den for Nature Lovers
Karla and I were invited to attend and cover the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Summit happening a week later. Fortunately, the good people from Pench Tree Lodge and Pugdundee Safaris invited us for a complimentary stay and to experience a safari tour inside Pench National Park.
While I expected the safari—my first ever—to be an experience to remember, I never thought the place where we would be staying would add another layer of awesomeness to this trip.
As our car passed through small villages spread far and in between over a long stretch of highway flanked by the interchanging landscapes of lush farms and dry soils, I resisted dozing off mightily. After a couple of hours, our vehicle rolled into the off-road part of the countryside. “This is already part of the buffer zone of Pench National Park,” our driver told us. Jolted to full awareness, I immediately felt the great nature vibe of the place we were approaching.
“Look, that’s a Kingfisher bird,” said our driver as he pointed out the striking avian wildlife. “There, another kind of bird, there are a lot of different birds seen here,” he added.
I felt my excitement shoot up as we pulled into the driveway before being greeted by the amiable staff of Pench Tree Lodge. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, we were led to our treehouse. A five-minute walk from the reception hall and the common area, we finally saw our treehouse standing in the middle of a long pathway surrounded by tall grasses and blending in with the other trees.
Straight Out of my Childhood’s Fantasy
Almost every child growing up dreamed about living in a treehouse. I remember when I was eight or nine, together with a few friends, we tried building a wooden platform on the body of a mango tree. We used wood salvaged from a nearby construction site and took turns hammering until we were able to build a small podium where all four of us sat and played jackstones every afternoon after school.
Since then, I’ve had actual experiences sleeping inside a treehouse. The one in Antique comes to mind first. But the one at Pench Tree Lodge where Karla and I stayed for three nights was every bit the kind of treehouse from my childhood fantasy.
Ours was a spacious abode of creaking wooden floors and walls framed with appealing artworks and fancy corners. Every inch of our room blended beautifully with the Mahua tree it was built on. The Mahua tree is an Indian tropical tree found in the northern and central plains and forests of India. It grows to an average of twenty meters tall and possesses a lush evergreen foliage.
It was one of six treehouses built inside the property of Pench Tree Lodge. Supported by stilts and made of local Sal wood, our treehouse spread into a veranda where one could enjoy a view of the multitudes of birds and butterflies. A lounger that doubled as a daybed sat beside the large French windows while two single beds, a working desk, two side tables, and a walk-in closet led to the bathroom.
Activities | Wildlife Safari, Birdwatching, Village Cycling
Aside from the wildlife safari activities, the staff of Pench Tree Lodge also took us on a birdwatching session near a small lake inside the resort. On our first sunset at Pench, we were served chewy cookies and tea as the beautiful sun started its slow descent from the sky. We saw an assembly of a variety of bird species while Chinmay—the in-house naturalist of Pench Tree Lodge—briefed us on what to expect on our safari tour.
👉 Read more about our Safari experience HERE
In between our safari tours, Chinmay also took us on a cycling exploration of the nearby villages, giving us an opportunity to mingle with the townspeople. Each of whom welcomed us with a smile and engaged us in interesting small talk.
👉 Read more about our Village Cycling tour experience HERE
Candlelit Dinner, Organic Farm and more...
Other than starting our day with a hearty breakfast by the pool, the chef and the kitchen crew of Pench Tree Lodge treated us to a list of romantic dining settings. Bush dinner—check; organic farm dinner—check. Each meal we had at Pench further enamored me with Indian cuisine.
The food was mostly vegan with the exception of a couple of chicken and lamb dishes.
Hotel Fact Box
Accommodation Categories
Luxury Treehouse Built eighteen feet high inside the sturdy branches of indigenous evergreen Mahua trees. Handcrafted using sustainable local Sal wood elements, featuring large French glass windows, twin or king bedding configurations, a dedicated workspace desk, a walk-in closet, and a sprawling private wooden veranda balcony deck framing views of local birds and butterflies.Luxury Cottage Sprawling ground-level country-style stone and wood structures. Showcases native architectural trims, localized textures, a private viewing veranda porch, and an attached open-air shower courtyard bathroom enclosure.
Dining Options & Gastronomy
Central Dining Pavilion A grand open-air architecture dining hall illuminated beautifully by soft lanterns. Presents authentic central Indian specialties, local organic spices, international selections, and traditional multi-dish Thali platters.Experiential & Farm-to-Table Dining Menus are sourced directly from the lodge's expansive on-site organic kitchen garden. Features custom poolside breakfasts, unique atmospheric candlelit "Bush Dinners" under forest canopies, and romantic open-air organic farm dinners.
