Khajuraho

Getting here was another one of those near day long missions but thankfully this time it was on a train and not a rickety old bus. Sleeper trains here are great, once you get comfortable and settled into a book, the time can pass pretty quickly, you just have to hope that the 'chai wallah' is on board so you don't get too parched.

Snacks are a good shout as the ones offered at stations are pretty dodgy looking most of the time and considering I'm still not trusting some of the food around here due to my earlier Delhi belly, loads of water and packaged snacks do just the job. 

Upon arrival late in the night at Khajuraho, there was a throng of touts. The town with the smallest population on my itinerary, but greeted by some thirty strong men all shouting that their rickshaw was the best. I may as well have crowd surfed into the one that we eventually chose.

The main draw of this small town is to visit the Western temple complex and if you have time, the Eastern and Jain temples too. These temples, especially the Western ones are some 1000 years old, well preserved with some intricate carvings depicting images of people in erotic poses and sexual positions. Most of the carvings are of everyday life though, with the naughtier ones quite some distance from the temple deity.

The Western complex boasts some well preserved temples, with only one currently under renovation and missing most of its original work. One can only assume that given the Karma Sutra nature some of these temples suggest, had the complex not been hidden by the growth of the jungle around it, it would have been destroyed for sure. Thankfully it was rediscovered by the British some 150 years ago and was saved from destruction, and has since become a World Heritage site that is well maintained and looked after.

The designs of the temples are similar, with steps leading up to the higher tier, where the temple itself lies housing a shrine. Most of the carvings are mundane but it's fun to look for the numerous tantric poses and other carvings including horses and elephants, orgies, couples and even the odd bit of beastiality. Yes there is a design of a man and a horse, or is it an elephant, but I couldn't find it.

Western Complex

Lakshmana Temple from a distance

Lakshmana up close

Vishnu's ride, maybe Shiva's I'm not sure

Erotic carving

Lots of erotic carvings

Perhaps the most famous one

Can't help themselves

Jain and Eastern Temples

Adinath temple

Adinath

Similar reliefs to the Western temples

A whole wall of a temple covered in carvings

Another famous one

They're everywhere

Phew, after all that I need a break I think. Next stop, Agra for India's most famous attraction, the Taj Mahal.