Temples of Khajuraho |
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The temples of Khajuraho, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, are famous for there sculptures decorations, especially the erotic ones. The temples are on UNESCO World Heritage list since 1986.
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During the Chandella dynasty about 85 temples where built between 950 and 1050, today only around 20 still exist. When the Chandella dynasty ended in the 13th century the temples where forgotten and first rediscovered in 1838 by the British engineer T S Burt. Most temples are covered with sculptures, some religious, some tells about every day life and some that new married indian couples use as learning material for there honeymoon.
There are three groups of temple, western, eastern and southern group. The Western group, along a main road, are largest, the most visited and probably also holds the most beautiful ones, an entrance fee is charged. If you have enough time, go first with a guide to understand all sculptures and discover some hard to find ones, then take your own tour around the site to get better photos. Near the western group is the archaeological museum that hosts some nice sculptures.
The eastern group are more spread out and near the old village and free to visit.
The southern group are a little bit away and to call it a group is maybe misleading as they are more spread out in the area, but worth visiting if time allows, no fee.
To get around you can hire a bike or go by rickshaws.
To get to Khajuraho you can either fly or take a bus or taxi, nearest train station is roughly 4--5 bus hours away. Prepare for a bumpy ride.
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My favorite spot are the Jain temples belonging to the eastern group, less tourists and the sculptures are in good shape, especially the ones on Adinatha temple.
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I liked to try to find the sometimes hidden sculptures, there are many corners and lines of decoration.
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Along the Jain temple road, between the western and eastern group, there are hotels. I stayed in hotel Surya, it is good, clean with reasonable prices and they have a small garden on the back with restaurant.
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Mediterrano is a italian restaurant in the Jain temple road, serving stone owen baked pizzas, I could just not resist. A good pizza, but expensive.
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As there is not much more to see then the temples in Khajuraho, hire a bike for a day and go out on the country side to see something else and meet local people. The nearby area is more or less flat, there is no excuse for bad condition.
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Published on Friday March 21th, 2008 by martin
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