The hook
A group of thousand-year-old Hindu and Jain temples in the middle of nowhere, their walls covered in some of the finest stone carving in India, including the frankly erotic sculptures they are famous for.
01Why it's worth it
Built by the Chandela dynasty around the 10th and 11th centuries and then abandoned and swallowed by jungle until the 1800s, the Khajuraho temples are among the great achievements of Indian temple art. Their tall, curved towers are covered from base to peak in bands of exquisitely carved figures: gods, dancers, musicians, animals, everyday life, and, on some, the celebrated erotic scenes that draw the giggling crowds. Those explicit carvings are only a small fraction of the whole, and scholars still debate their meaning, but the real wonder is the overall quality and liveliness of the sculpture, the way the stone figures seem to move. Because the town is remote and off the main circuits, the site is far calmer than the big-name monuments, and you can study the carving up close in peace.
02How to experience it
Go in the morning for raking light on the carvings, and look beyond the famous erotic panels to the sheer quality of the whole sculptural programme; a guide helps decode it. The western group of temples is the finest. It is a detour to reach, which keeps it quiet.