Khajuraho Travel Guide

The temple of Khajuraho  are India’s  unique  gift to theworld representing as they do a paean  to lefe to love to joy-perfect  in expression. Life in every  form  and mood has been captured  in stone testifying  to the craftsman’s  artistry  and extraordinary  breadth of  vision  of the Chandela  Rajputs. Close behind the Taj and up there with Varanasi  Jaipur and Delhi  the temples  of are one of India’s  major  attractions. Once a great Chandela capital Khajuraho is now a quiet village. Large number of visitors comes to Khajuraho in March for the spectacular dance festival. 

The Khajuraho  temples  were built  under later Chandela  kings in the short span of hundred  years  from  950-1050 AD in a truly  inspired  burst  of creativity.
Of the 85 original temples 22 have survived till today constituting one of the world’s  greatest artistic  wonders. Lost among forests for centuries they were accidentally  ‘discovered’ by a British  army engineer in 1838.

The name Khajuraho is derived from Khajura – date palm which grows freely in the area and perhaps because there were two golden Khajura trees on a carved gate here.

Architecturally the Khajuraho temples are unique being very different from the temple prototype of their period. Each stands on a high masonry platform with a marked upward  direction  in the structure  further  enhanced by vertical  projections to create the effect of grace and lightness. Each of the chief compartments is mounted by its own roof grouped  so that the highest  is in the centre and the lowest  over the portico.

A highly imaginative  interpretation  of the risking  peaks of the Himalayas  abode of the Gods. The three main compartments are the entrance (Ardhamandapa) assembly hall (Mandapa) and sanctum (Garbha Griha) with further additions in the more developed  temples. The modern village of Khajuraho is a cluster of hotels, restaurants, shops and stalls near the western group of temples.    

Places of attraction

Kandariya  Mahadev, Chaunsat Yogini, Chitragupta  Temple, Vishvanath  Temple, Lakshmana  Temple, Matangeswara  Temple, Parsvanath  Temple, Ghantai  Temple, Adinath Temple, Duladeo Temple, Chaturbhuj  Temple, Archaeological  Museum.

Local Festivals

The Khajuraho Festival of Dance is a weeklong event held every year in February/March. Many of the country’s most accomplished dancers perform in the spectacular setting of the Western group of Temples.

There is also a relatively  new Music Festival in just it’s third year-held on 28 and 29 November it should become  a regular on the calendar. 

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