Kajuraho
Date arrived: 26th February 2024
Date Departed: 29th February 2024
Favourite sight: Western Group of Temples
Average Cost: £30.61 PPPD
Most people haven't heard of Kajuraho, a small city in the very heart of Northern India. It's well known on the tourist trail, however, for its millenium old temples, which are not only some of the finest in India, but also adorned with a selection of erotic carvings - amongst others.
26th February 2024
After 10 hours of travelling we were met off the train by not just a taxi driver, but our homestay host as well. This was very kind, and put the establishment into our good books from the off. The town of Kajuraho is not big, but has it's own airport which actually includes bth civil and military flight schools, which we passed on the way back from the station.
We were checked into our very nice accommodation quickly, and unpacked and settled down for a much needed night's sleep in a very comfy bed.
27th February
As breakfast was included with ou accommodation (thanks Booking.com Genius scheme!) we ate on a covered verandah upstairs - and watched the rain coming down outside. This was not on the plan! Unfortunately it somewhat clobbered our morning, which we ended up spending sat in our hotel room, catching up on a bit of work and writing. The power also went off after a while, but fortunately we had a big window to let in some natural light.
After a few hours the rain seemed to be letting up, and as the largest area of temples was within easy walking distance of the homestay, we decided to a) go and grab some coffee and a bite to eat, and b) go and look at some temples! We duly grabbed our umbrellas and set out into the (quite muddy) streets.
That'll be why the power and Internet are down then!
Kajuraho is clearly ramping up for more tourists, as the original entrance to the western group of temples, which was right in the centre of town, had been moved half a mile down the road. We eventually found it after a couple of false starts - it's well labelled from the new car park, but not from the town - and paid our 600 Rupee entrance fee, which also includes access to the archeological museum up the road.
The temples in Kajuraho were built by the massive Chandela empire between about 900 and 1100 AD, and are famous for their detailed and intricate carvings depicting all aspects of life. This area is believed to have held around 80 temples at one stage, and at present there are still 25 in existence - some of them are almost perfect condition and very beautiful.
Below are a few pictures of temples from the western group of temples, including some of the friezes. One other thing that these temples are famous for is that some of the carvings depict more erotic aspects of life. I've included some examples of these, but I've put them on a separate page, just so that nobody gets offended!
The carvings on the left are about 15 cm high,and run right around some of the temples They have retained this level of detail for over 1,000 years!
The quantity and detail of the carvings on these temples is just astounding - again, 1,000 years old!
Selfie requests were as prevalent as ever - you can just about make out Julie posing at this family's request
ne briefly visited the archeological museum, up the road from the temples. This is a big and well laid out museum, although it doesn't have much information, and largely contains more examples of the carvings from some of the other temples.
From here we returned to our accommodation - just as the power came back on. A little bit of a rest now that we had lights, and then back out for dinner to the very good Raja Cafe, just opposite the western temples. This place had a good selection of international dishes, including the spaghetti bolognese that I enjoyed!
28th February
Today we set out to visit the remainder of the main temple groups, which are 2-5KM away from the town. We did this by hiring mountain bikes from Bilal Bikes on the main road. These were some of the best bikes we've found in India, with working gears and disk brakes. Bravo Bilal!
Excellent mountain bikes from Bilal's Bikes in Kajuraho
Julie runs into another road user while out and about in Kajuraho. Pose for the camera!
Whilst a bit further afield, the other temple groups showed a good variety of styles and construction, and were in various states of repair - including one that has completely collapsed. This made for quite a nice day out, getting out on the bikes and seeing a bit more of the quite tranquil countryside in this part of India.
29th February
We headed to the train station after breakfast today ready for the 8 hour train ride to Agra. Apart from being long, this was a fairly straightforward train ride, and we got to Agra about 20 minutes late, just as night was falling.
