Planning a trip to Khajuraho EDIT: Now with trip log

[ntomer]

Hi,

I am planning a trip to Khajuraho, here's the plan -

1. Take a train on 21st Dec night to Jhansi, reach Jhansi on 22nd Dec early morning.

2. Take a car from in-laws, leave for Khajuraho by 11:00 AM (about 200 KMs drive).

3. Reach Khajuraho by late-afternoon. Check-in, freshen-up, watch the Amitabh Bachchan light n sound show.

4. 23rd - Spend the whole day at Khajuraho, visit temples, spend night in Khajuraho.

5. 24th - Visit rest of the temples, check-out by 12. Drive to Raneh/Pandav falls.

6. Reach Panna National Park (30 KMs away), check-in, spend night there.

7. 25th - Go for elephant safari and boat-ride in Ken river.

8. Leave Panna by 1-2 PM, reach Jhansi by 6-7 PM.

9. Take the 11 PM train back to Delhi.

Does it sound too hectic and should I drop an item or two from this; or is this manageable. Any pointers guys???

Cheers

Nitin

[hvkumar]

Looks well-paced, but make sure that the Jhansi-Kajuraho road is in good condition, call up in advance and check that out since you arrive at Jhansi at 7 pk to catch a 11 pm train. Normally, the Kajuraho highway is in OK condition.

[ntomer]

Hi Guys,

I visited Khajuraho-Panna-Orchaa from 22nd to 25th Dec. Here is a brief travelogue -

I and a friend with our families reached Jhansi on 22nd Dec morning, after spending a few hours at in-laws place we left for Khajuraho at about 11:00 AM. The choice of vehicles was Scorpio and Esteem; somehow I have never felt confident in Scorpio's cornering abilities so I chose Esteem.

The road from Jhansi to Mau Ranipur is decent but after that it is hell. It is evident why Digvijay Singh lost the last elections. The road is just broad enough to let a car and a two-wheeler pass; anything bigger and one has to go off road. And off road means a drop of 6-8 inches. I really regretted my decision of not taking the Scorpio.

Anyways we reached Khajuraho at about 3:00 PM, there as planned we met fellow t-bhp member maverick_atam, who had driven from Delhi in his new 2.2 VTT Safari. Checking-in/lunch etc took another 2 hours, and we managed to enter the western temple complex by 5:00 PM. And what a sight it was. Khajuraho is hyped for it's erotic sculptures but they are very few and IMO ir-relevant. The real beauty lies in the magnificent architecture of the temples, which are more than 1000 years old.

Vishwanath temple -



Kandaria Mahadeva temple going through some restoration work -



Another pic of Kandaria -



In the evening we attended the light and sound show, where the voice-over is by Amitabh Bachchan. It was very informative and interesting.

Next day, on 23rd Dec we visited the other temples and clicked 100s of photographs. In the evening we went to a cultural show - Lokranjan, which was going on.



Next morning (24th Dec), we went to Panna Tiger Reserve, which is about 30 KMs from Khajuraho. We went there in Atam's Safari. There we spotted umpteen deers, antelopes, spotted deers etc. but no predator.



And guess what we found in the middle of a jungle - a picnic spot. There is a very deep gorge of granite in the middle of Panna, and we found signs of bon-fire, coffee cups, daaru bottles etc. Our guide says that by bribing forest officials many people camp there and party at night.

Atam's Safari, see the dust on it -



In the afternoon, we left for Jhansi, and visited Orchha en-route. It's a beautiful little place.



We spent 25th in Jhansi, and reached Delhi on 26th morning, back to reality :-(

Cheers

Nitin

[hvkumar]

Refreshing to hear about a drive in Central India! MP roads don't show any signs of improvement, this itself being one of the arterial roads (Jhansi-Khajuraho). How are the facilities en route? And any issues of safety that you heard?

[ntomer]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Refreshing to hear about a drive in Central India! MP roads don't show any signs of improvement, this itself being one of the arterial roads (Jhansi-Khajuraho).

I don't think this is an arterial road. It is an national highway - NH 76 if I remember correctly. But this must surely be one of the worst highways in India or anywhere else.

How are the facilities en route? And any issues of safety that you heard?

Road-side dhabas, a prominent feature of north-indian roads are totally absent. Petrol-pumps are very less, we hardly found 5-6 on the 170 KM stretch. At one point - just after crossing Mau Ranipur, I found out that the air in front passenger side tyre was less, and started looking for places where I can get it inflated. And I could not find a place for next 15 KMs.

In general as well, I found Bundelkhand region poverty-stricken. I am used to Wetern UP, Haryana and Punjab villages where farmers hire heli-copters for their weddings, pajeros are common and villagers are prosperous. In Bundelkhand, the difference could not have been more stark.

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