Khajuraho Group of Monuments

Getting there

• By air

  Khajuraho airport is about 2 km from the temple sites, with flights from Delhi and Varanasi. Local cabs are available at the airport.

• By train

  Khajuraho station is about 5 km from the main town. Mahoba, about 78 km away, is the nearest major railhead, with trains from Jhansi, Gwalior and Jabalpur.

• By road

  Khajuraho is about 175 km by road from Jhansi and about 46 km from Chhatarpur. Buses run to nearby cities and private cabs are easy to hire.

Rules to know

• The Western Group is an ASI protected site and needs an entry ticket; buy it at the gate before you go in.
• Puja is offered only at Matangeshwar; the other Hindu temples are protected monuments without daily worship.
• The Eastern Group's Jain temples belong to the Digambara tradition, so visit them as you would any shrine.
• The evening sound and light show has its own entrance, a short walk further along the Bamitha road.

Why devotees come here

Khajuraho, in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hindu and Jain temples built by the Chandela kings around 950 to 1050 CE. About 25 of the original 85 temples survive. Matangeshwar, in the Western Group, is still a living Shiva temple where devotees offer puja.

The Chandela kings made Khajuraho their capital and built 85 temples here between about 950 and 1050 CE. The name comes from the Sanskrit kharjura, the date palm. Local legend says two golden date palms once stood at the temple gate. After the 13th century the town fell into neglect, and about 25 temples survive today. UNESCO listed them as a World Heritage Site in 1986.

The temples sit in three groups. The Western Group holds the largest, Kandariya Mahadeva, a Shiva temple whose spire rises 116 feet and carries more than 870 statues. Beside the Lakshmana temple, on the bank of the Shiva Sagar tank, stands Matangeshwar. It is the only Chandela-era Hindu temple here still in daily worship, with a polished linga about 2.5 metres high.

The Eastern Group has four major Digambara Jain temples, including Parshvanatha, Adinatha and Shantinatha. The Southern Group has Duladeo, a Shiva temple, and Chaturbhuj, a Vishnu temple. Khajuraho is famous for its carvings of lovers, but they are fewer than one in ten. Most show deities, apsaras, musicians and daily life.

Festivals

• February or MarchMaha Shivratri

  Matangeshwar holds a three-day celebration of Shiva's wedding that draws devotees from across India.

• 20 to 26 February 2027Khajuraho Dance Festival

  Classical dance against the lit-up temples; entry is free.

Tips for your visit

• Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the midday heat, which is hardest on elderly visitors.
• The three groups are spread over about 6 square km, so take an auto or cab to the Eastern and Southern temples.
• Nights from November to January get cold, so carry a shawl if you plan to stay for the evening show.
• The ASI Archaeological Museum, with sculptures from the Chandela period, is close to the Western Group.

Questions people ask