Bastar's indigenous groups live the lifestyle of a king. An insight into the lifestyle of the state leaves a deep imprint as it is a memorable experience that is adored by every tourist.The Bastar tribe dominates the last frontier of central India, located in Chhattisgarh and this region is one of the bio-diversity hotspots of North India and abounds with its dense tribal population. Here, every tribal group has its own culture of spirits, deities, dialects, customs, dance forms, dress code and experitses in food connoisseur. Fiercely protective about their tradition the Bastar cult has remain hidden from the notice of the world and the Bastar tribal retains its antiquity literally on their sleeves.

The Bastar tribes are sub-divided into two groups – the Gonds and Non- Gonds. The Gonds are the people like the Marias, Murias, Abhujmarias, Dhurwas and Dorias and the Non Gonds are the tribals like Bhatras and Halbas. There are some peculiar ways of the tribals. The aboriginal tribals practice barter system, age-old customs and traditions. The Abhujmarias for example have an attire of their own as they get themselves typically dressed wearing a bison-horn headgear during ethnic dance festivals.

The 'weekly haat' is the best place to observe the tribal folk cultures or to participate in the festivities of the numerous tribes that have a thumping presence in the place. One of the biggest haat in the Bastar District is the Narainpur haat held on every sunday. Here the tribals drop their inhibitions to have a blast of their culture. A sunday afternoon so can be spent collecting locally brewed alcohol, snacking on chapra, the chutney made out of red ants and wagging bets on cockfights. Apart from it there are stalls installed by the villagers that sell local vegetables, herbs, meat, fish, utensils, clothes, farm implements and terracotta and then there are many others hawking fermented brew in earthen pots. Then there are also other speialties of the locals that can be tasted here. Some of these are Landa ( brewed from rice), mand (from local mohua flower) and sulphi ( Bastar beer made from palm tree) are rather popular.

Music and dance forms is also showcased by the variety of tribal culture of Bastar. This clan of tribes is also known to celebrate Dussera, where interestingly they are not known to celebrate Lord Rama and his glorious return to Ayodhya, but interestingly worship the Goddess Danteshwari Mai, who is a reigning deity and has an immense presence in the lives of the tribal people. The temple of Kacchhingudi, is however, the chosen site for the worship of this goddess. During the worship a young girl is placed on a swing of thorns as it is believed that the goddess descends from the heavens to save her. This act indicates the godesses approval of the festivities. Any season is considered to be the best season to visit Bastar.