Located in the southern parts of the state of Chhattisgarh, Bastar is surrounded by the district of Dantewra in the south and Kanker in the North. It shares its borders with the states of Maharashtra in the west and Orissa in the east. It is situated on 2000 feet plateau and the district headquarters of Jagdalpur is placed around 300 kms from the state capital of Raipur.
Once the largest district in the Indian subcontinent, Bastar, was even larger than the state of Kerala and also some countries in Europe. Nearly 75% of the total area of the district is covered with thick and dense forests, popularly known as the Dandakaranya. Irrigated by the meandering Indravati and the Godavari Rivers, these forests are inhabited by various species of flora and fauna and also have the largest population of various tribes.
According to history of the area, Bastar was established in the 11th century by the Nagvanshi kings. The region also known as the Dakshin Koshal was ruled by the Kaluchuri kings and also the Marathas at a point of time. The Bastar Raj family, although, claims their descendance from the Pandu kings of the north. There are many ancient weapons which are believed to be offered to the rulers by the reigning deities and are worshipped till date.
As per the legends it is the area where Lord Ram with his brother and wife stayed in these very jungles during their exile of 14 years.
But Bastar is most famous for its beautiful landscape and various tribes, homogenous to the area alone. Some of the tribes have no contact and connection with the outside world and have become the subject of study for the anthropologists.
