Wildlife tourism company Pugdundee Safaris has announced the second edition of its Mahua Festival, scheduled to take place from April 1 to 8 April, 2026, across five of its jungle lodges in Central India.
The week-long festival will be hosted at Kings Lodge and Tree House Hideaway in Bandhavgarh, Kanha Earth Lodge in Kanha, Pench Tree Lodge in Pench, and Denwa Backwater Escape in Satpura. The initiative aims to celebrate the ecological, cultural and economic importance of the Mahua tree, which holds deep significance for indigenous communities across central India.
Conceptualised as a tribute to the tree and the traditions surrounding it, the festival is designed to showcase the close relationship between forests and local communities. It has been curated by Pugdundee Safaris’ team of naturalists and chefs in consultation with Chef Harshita Kakwani, a forest food curator and consulting chef with the organisation.
Each spring, Mahua trees shed their fragrant golden flowers, which are traditionally gathered from the forest floor rather than plucked. In many Adivasi communities, women venture into the forest before dawn to collect the fallen blossoms, which are then dried and stored for use throughout the year.
For generations, Mahua has played a vital role in sustaining tribal households across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. The tree’s flowers and other parts are used for nutrition, medicine, rituals and income, making it one of the most important forest resources across these regions.
Through the Mahua Festival, guests will be able to experience this living heritage through a range of curated activities. The programme will include guided spring foraging walks led by naturalists, interactive sessions on making natural Holi colours using forest ingredients such as palash flowers and turmeric, and forest-to-table experiences highlighting traditional practices like pattal making followed by curated meals.
Evenings during the festival will feature storytelling sessions, art-based activities, Mahua-infused beverages and local cultural performances reflecting the traditions of forest communities.
Speaking about the idea behind the festival, Manav Khanduja, Co-Founder, Pugdundee Safaris, said, “The Mahua Festival is our way of honouring a tree that quietly sustains entire ecosystems and communities. This is not about showcasing a product, but about recognising Mahua as a symbol of coexistence, where forests, people and culture thrive together. By creating these immersive experiences, we hope guests leave with a deeper understanding of indigenous knowledge systems and the responsibility that comes with engaging meaningfully with the wild.”
The festival will also feature cooking and tasting sessions that explore Mahua in different traditional forms—fresh, dried, soaked and roasted—demonstrating how forest produce is used with care and restraint in local cuisines. Each participating lodge will introduce a limited-edition Mahua-inspired menu available only during the festival, with dishes shaped by the culinary traditions of surrounding communities.
Beyond the lodge experiences, visitors will also have the chance to observe aspects of seasonal village life, including early morning Mahua flower collection and visits to local markets where forest produce plays a key role in livelihoods. Cultural performances during the week will further offer insights into rituals and traditions where the Mahua tree holds sacred value.
With the festival, Pugdundee Safaris says it aims to promote responsible tourism that recognises living cultures, supports local communities and highlights the relationship between conservation and livelihoods. The Mahua Festival is positioned as a tribute to forest communities that continue to safeguard this heritage, ensuring that the Mahua tree remains a symbol of resilience and harmony with nature.
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