Khajuraho

The Khajuraho group of Monuments is one of the most popular sites in Madhya Pradesh and is being recognized by UNESCO as world heritage site and among one of the seven wonders in India. The Khajuraho is basically known as the temple town located in Chhattarpur district, about 280 km from Bandhavgarh. It has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples and the erotic sculptures are its most famed feature that attracts many of the tourists from all over the world.

The name Khajuraho, ancient “Kharjuravāhaka”, is derived from the Sanskrit words kharjura = date palm and vāhaka = “one who carries”. In the 19th century, a British engineer T.S. Burt arrived in the Khajuraho area followed by General Alexander Cunningham. When Cunningham explored the site of Khajuraho, he was so impressed and pleased that he put the site on the world map on the behalf of the Archaeological Survey of India.

This ethnic group of temples has awed generation of people with its architectural brilliance, intricate carvings and sculptures. Earlier it was believed to be 80 temples at Khajuraho out of which about 22 remain today. These temples are divided into three sections or zones, namely, western, eastern and southern, according to their location. Out of all the western temples are the major attractions for the tourists where they can find many number of temples of different gods. The temples have become the synonyms with love and erotica.