Bastar District is located in the southern part of
Chhattisgarh and is situated 2000 ft above sea level. It covers an area of around 17,016 sq km and has a population of around 1.3 million. The total forest area is more than 75% of the total area.
Jagdalpur, the district headquarters, is situated approximately 300 km from
Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh.
The largest river is the Indravati which has numerous tributaries. The major languages are Hindi, Halbi,
Telugu, Bhatri and the various dialects of Gondi. The tribal society is famous for their exotic handicrafts with a variety of designs and shapes, including wood-carvings, bell-metal items, terracotta items, and bamboo items. Wooden crafts are made out of the finest teak wood and white wood.
Bastar is enriched with natural beauty and pleasant atmosphere. It is surrounded with dense forests, hilly mountains, streams, waterfalls, natural caves and natural parks. The most important festival is Dusshera, when all the deities from all the villages congregate at the
temple of Danteshwari in Jagdalpur. Country dances are the chief amusements of all the tribes of Bastar and cock-fighting is the favorite pastime in the bazars. The important tourist places are the
Chitrakot and
Tiratgarh waterfalls,
Kutumsar and Kailash caves, and the
Kanger Valley National Park.
