Khajuraho: the carved temples of central India

In central India, Khajuraho preserves UNESCO-designated medieval temples decorated with thousands of stone sculptures.

The archaeological site can be comfortably visited on foot.

The Temple of Kandariya Mahadeva, the complex's largest, remains a masterpiece of Hindu temple architecture with over eight hundred carved sculptures.

Just steps away, the Western Group of Temples, the best preserved of the three original groups, safeguards the site's most celebrated and photographed sculptures.

Continuing eastward you visit the Archaeological Museum of Khajuraho, displaying statues recovered from minor temples scattered throughout the surrounding region.

Toward evening, a sound and light show among the illuminated ruins tells the story of the Chandela dynasty that built the temples between the ninth and twelfth centuries.

Of the approximately eighty-five temples originally built by the Chandela dynasty, only twenty-five have survived to the present day, rediscovered by the British in the 19th century after centuries of abandonment in the jungle.

The sculptures of Khajuraho, famous also for their scenes of daily and erotic life, remain subjects of academic debate regarding their religious and symbolic meaning in Hindu tantric tradition, as well as destinations for international study.