[Vipin Kumar]

This trip of mine was a short one. Both in the time spent and in the distance driven.

After finishing a longish work, through which I also had to ignore family matters, a break of some sort was called for. There was particularly a demand from home that we go somewhere, and preferably on a road trip. We did have road trips in between too, to places considerably away from Lucknow. But they were mostly to places like Delhi in north-west or Jamshedpur in the east, and were in the nature of official or specific needs. So, a trip with a free and relaxed mind was the kind that was required.

But the number of days that I could put together would not allow for a long trip, to places like Udaipur/Mount Abu... I had just one weekend at hand, a Monday to be availed as leave, and a Tuesday holiday—the Independence. Four days in all. In that, I consigned the Saturday for rest at home.

The place was finalised rather arbitrarily by me as Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. I thought we could cover the place in a day, excluding the days of arrival and departure, though later I felt that we should have got one more day, for I wanted to suddenly go to Panna National Park also. I have kept it for another time anyway.

Khajuraho was there for long in my mind, as I have been in the north for several years now, I have felt I should have seen the place.

The route

Khajuraho is not that far from Lucknow. Take the shortest route via Kanpur, Mahoba and Rajnagar, it would be roughly 350 kilometers. But I had heard about the horrible condition of the road. I thought we should rather have a smooth drive, even though the distance is longer. I finalised the Kanpur – Jhansi route. My 1.4 Fiesta, six years completed with 88653 on the odometer, itself would take us all the way. Thus, we hit the highway on Sunday, the 13 August, at 5.50 in the morning.

Let me make it more informative about the drive and the roads rather than a travelogue, since there are already great resources of information about the place here on Team-Bhp.

There are really no good places to take breakfast etc on the way till you reach Jhansi. The last time I drove in this route was way back in June 2014. So, I asked for carrying home-made breakfast, so that we can stop somewhere in the shade and have food. You will still get lunch from outside, in Jhansi or wherever, because by lunch-time, people are active in dhabas here.

The drive and the highway

Lucknow to Kanpur is a breeze in the early morning. If you are fast, you can do it in little above one hour. In fact, from the Lucknow Airport area, it will take just an hour. But, if you start after eight, you have to be prepared for facing the bicycle traffic that occupies the entire left lane of yours.
The Nawabganj toll plaza takes Rs. 70 one way.

In Kanpur, after Ganges, you get the new fly-over though you need to get down to Ramadevi and climb again.
(While returning, you do not have to do that. There is a fly-over that begins inconspicuously from between the line that takes you down to Ramadevi and the one that takes you to Allahabad and Kolkata. So, leaving both, you have to carefully “choose” the “middle-path” to proceed to Lucknow. New drivers get confused at this point, for the signage will somewhat tell you to go straight—and there are two straight roads here.)

I touched NH 2 at 7.20 and then Barah—the point that takes us towards Jhansi from NH 2—a minute before 8.10. I must not have been very fast, obviously. Mind you, just two kilometers before you take this diversion, there is a mega toll plaza where we pay a grand Rs. 130 for the single side (for return included, it “saves” your money as they are generous with Rs. 190). Till Jhansi, you will have another three toll gates, where the payment is in the order of 75, 90, 90.

After Pokhrayan, where the train tragedy happened last year, we had stopped at a bus waiting shelter, used by none. And that was for breakfast. (My photos will be of poor quality, and I am apologetic about it. They are taken from my mobile phone only. I had lost the adapter of the small camera which I otherwise possess.)
My vehicle is the same six-years-plus old.



This was a calm and quiet place. One could take one's own time.
The highway appeared pretty smooth, with less vehicles.



Kalpi still remains to be transformed on roads.



The road is still narrow, and uneven at Kalpi.



And it became smooth soon again, with all green around in this season, all the way till Jhansi.



We stopped at this spot, on this road over bridge to take the picture of the lower road which on a straight line is beautifully flanked by trees. But to our disappointment, we could not get a presentable picture. So, we continue ahead on our highway towards Jhansi.



Isolated unevenness.



A mile-stone that we crossed, this time on the odo.



I entered Jhansi at 11.20, as I was a little slow too. Rani Jhansi to welcome you at the entry circle that was constructed a year back.



Entering Betwa



There I also came across this bus. Everyone said "a BEST bus here!" But I said it had a UP 93 registration (?) How does this happen?



While returning too, we came across the same bus at one place.



At the diversion point to Orcha, we had a short break for tea. And then we proceeded further. This was NH 39. The landscape became greener and purer.



It was green, smooth and soothing, as we cruised ahead.



A stop for a little diversion. From here, we walked around just like that.



Then you reach Mau Ranipur, a small town, where you have to cross a railway gate. The fly-over facility is under construction.



We approached the Ken river; by then it was already 2 pm.
The bridge at Ken. It has a dam and reservoir on your right though not seen in this picture.



Before Harpalpur, we have the diversion from this highway into NH 75. The road became narrower, though smooth. But it was also very green and unadulterated by "the" cement and concrete development.



It only became better.



The agrarian landscape. So clean, so green...




(We took this particular picture while returning.)

And "the" ORVM take...



There were small monuments on the way. My younger daughter shouted 'another Taj Mahal!'. We corrected her. And this was not another Charminar too.



"Sangeerna pul"... I asked my wife and she said the same which was written in English, "narrow bridge". Confirmation. There were, of course, so many of them on this highway. In my language, "sangeernam" means "complex", and I had the constant tendency to render it as "complex bridges". The word gets an additional meaning. This is the richness, I thought then, that the language diversities can give us here



Khajuraho came still later. There was Nowgong, a small town to cross. My lunch stop was just before Nowgong. At the Motel Maharaja. Good place with a huge shop for "Indian" exotics. But food was nothing special.

After Nowgong, you reach 'Maharaja Chattrasal' Chattarpur, the district headquarters. A town of some significance after Jhansi, but after a long time after Jhansi. Khajuraho is in Chattarpur district.

The road continued, but still better.



And a level crossing where there is absolutely no rush.



The road after Chattarpur was like these.



Lot of sangeerna puls...





It was one of the most pleasurable drives. We were actually able to see a lot of nature in its best form, clean and refreshing, all the way till we entered Khajuraho.
And, we realised that Khajuraho is no crowded place too. It is no town of crowd and hurry. Turn left at Bamitha, soon after a railway under bridge you are welcomed to Khajuraho.



We came across the Khajuraho Airport gate. It is an airport in the middle of the green field, with no big market or even shops around. Interestingly, the airport is closer to Khajuraho town than the railway station is.

We were in Khajuraho at 5.30 in the evening. I know I was slow, or that one could have reached earlier. But driving itself is an integral part of the trip.

Vip.

[Vipin Kumar]

Times in Khajuraho

After settling in a small hotel called Euro Star Inn, we headed in the evening towards the famous Light and Sound Show. I felt that it was worthwhile to be present for that, though, largely, it provided only the 'amar chithra katha'-like stories about the origins and existence of the temples. I was looking for more historical information.

Three things nonetheless fascinated me.
One, the most famous of them, the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, was built in about 1080 AD. It is said that this temple was built to celebrate Mohd Ghazni's agreement not to invade Kalinjan, Yeshovarman's kingdom. It was said that this temple was the best of the ones built ever in Kalinjan. It was also said that this is the one reclaimed by archaeology in the best way possible and is still intact.

Two, the temples, as many as 85 of them in the early medieval India, were for sometime maintained and run by sadhus who were healers. This was particularly after the royal patronage for the temples was forever lost. It tells us that this fact is registered in the accounts of the Moroccan traveller "historian" Ibn Batutta. It was fascinating to know that we were in a place visited by this legendary traveller in 1335 AD.

Three, the temples were begun to be reclaimed through archaeological efforts after a British colonial engineer T.S. Burte travelled the Khajuraho way while mapping central India. They were covered by mud and other things. Roughly only around 25 of them were eventually recovered, and many only in partial form. Others must have got ruined by time and rough weather. The site is thus an archaeological marvel too.

It was again interesting to go through them the next morning, in daylight. The first visit was to the western group of temples, among which one is given for purposes of worship. This is a temple constructed in 900 AD or so.

So, our first visit was to that temple where worship is still done.



This view below is from the adjacent temple.



Then we entered the site of the other temples. This way.



There was immediately the Lakshmana temple, and many others around in a beautifully maintained area.



Facing the Lakshmana temple, there are smaller temples, and one of these is the Varaha temple. So, one among them.



Another smaller one.



The entry of the Visvanatha temple, located on the other end.



Visvanatha temple. It is again a great monument to come across, with detailed work.



Two kinds of view of the Visvanatha temple from below:





The temples at a distance. We were yet to reach there.



There was one monument such as this, which was just 150 years old, as we were told. It is a combination of different architectural methods as well as symbolic traditions.



The entire triangle, comprising also that one and the Parvati temple...



Another one... one of those we saw at a distance.



The full view of the Chitragupta temple from two sides:





The flower-beds...



And, then there were the military activities re-created on the walls.







Other wall sides and the detailed carvings, including an erotic one from the wall of the Lakshmana temple...











The Nandi temple is somewhat in bad shape only.



From the inside of the temples...



The sanctum in one of them:



A carving inside.



By the time we visited the temples in the western group, we were quite exhausted. Some refreshment was badly required. We decided to move out.

[Vipin Kumar]

So, we were on our way to exit the complex. I thought a few more pictures were required, though for quite a while I had just given up taking pictures. One needs time to behold the monuments too.

Yet, while on the way, one would turn back.



The line behind. On the right is the Chitragupta temple, middle is the Devi Jagadamba temple and on the left is the most elaborate Kandariya Mahadev temple.



Ganesha temple and Lakshmana temple were just next to each other.



And this one too...



Soon, we were outside, taking some lime juice. I made my daughter sit on a bench and asked her how she found the monuments. She, of course, could not comprehend what we were so attentively looking at on such ancient-looking stones. Very quietly she told me her honest opinion, that things were really bad there: gattiya thaa.

We took an auto from there and headed towards the Eastern Group, where the Jain Mandir was the foremost but a modern one. Yet there were a couple of old ones too though, in them also, certain small parts are evidently re-made.





Next to the Parsvanath mandir, there was this Adinath temple which had one of the most intricately carved towers.



But in a few others, the archaeologists could recover only certain pillars and the top.



Others were in the modern form, as this sky-line shows.



We returned to the hotel for taking rest for sometime. By another auto. The car had rest time. Our plan was to have lunch at one, and proceed to Raneh Falls. It is located around 22 kilometers away from Khajuraho.

At 2.15, we took the car and were on our way to Raneh Falls. The route was through still smaller villages.



The whole area was very thinly populated. We could hardly see anyone.



We felt like stopping too.



Finally reached the gate of the forest. Without taking the comprehensive pass, you cannot go inside.



Then, we entered the forest... After the gate, where you have to get a pass for Rs. 450/- in all (which includes the vehicle pass and the compulsory guide charges), it was like this.



The tarmac gives way to this kind of road.



And we stopped once again. It looked as though a possibility of safari would be there, but no...



Lot of teak-wood too:



The Fall, however, was extremely disappointing since, it was told to us, MP did not get enough rain this time. But we could see the granite rocks in the Ken river (also called Karnavati river here).



What they called the two Canyon points.



We were told that there was an accident a couple of years back here, and four or five of a family from Punjab were washed away. After that, the authorities constructed proper pathways and preventive lines. So, you are guided by authorised people here. They do not allow you to wander.



Landscape on our way back to Khajuraho from Ken:



We directly went past Khajuraho, towards Beni Sagar, another small place to visit. Parked the car below.



At Beni Sagar, it was all very quiet...



It was vast too. I wished if MP got more rains this time.



By twilight, we were back in the Khajuraho temple circle:



Our plan was to have tea, do a little shopping of small items, and eat at Raja Cafe which we found as the better restaurants there. In the previous night, we had dinner at Bamboori Treat, which was also fine. Nothing very good but nothing bad too. Bamboo, incidentally, is found everywhere in this region. It could be seen on the road-sides when you drive from Chattarpur to Panna also.

There is also a Madras Coffee House at the circle which, its owner told me, has been there for 65 years. The person from Salem himself has spent 58 years there. You get fine coffee from him.

We wanted to go and visit the Panna National Park also. But time would not permit us this time. That was one disappointing part. Next day, in the morning, we left for Jhansi and Lucknow, on the same route. We had made up our mind to have a stop-over at Barua Sagar near Orcha, but eventually, we saw no water there. Barua Sagar is also alarmingly dried up. It was both surprising and disappointing because we saw this place exactly four years earlier in full water glory. We returned to Lucknow in the afternoon from Barua Sagar, and reached home by 8 in the night.

We felt that it was too brief a break. Still, till the next trip.

Vip.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[BUXX]

Thank you for refreshing my trip as well ! Made it a few years back , roads after Jhansi were still pathetic with pothole the size of craters (looks much better now, in your pics) . Food is a huge issue in these parts , dhabas are sparse and mostly have trucker gentry. But the scenery is to die for. I missed out Raneh falls , but looks like I didn't miss much.

Looks like Panna National Park and the Pandav Falls will have to wait for another day , another year !

[PapaBravo]

Nice Report Vipin. I have been regular around this area & your pictures were a delight to watch. I was near Jhansi-Orcha area two months back & Khajuraho around 4 months back. Good that you did not take the Mahoba route. It is in shambles. Barring the Narrow Kalpi stretch, the highway till Jhansi is perfect. Also, the joy of driving on the green belt from Orcha to Khajuraho is superb.

Good to see TLs coming from Bhpians from my hometown Lucknow.

Regards,

Pawan

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Nice Report Vipin. I have been regular around this area & your pictures were a delight to watch.

Good that you did not take the Mahoba route. It is in shambles. Barring the Narrow Kalpi stretch, the highway till Jhansi is perfect.

Good to see TLs coming from Bhpians from my hometown Lucknow.
Pawan

Thanks Pawan!
I had heard ealier that the Mahoba route is in shambles. I did not know the present condition. But I thought it is better not to take chances and not to make the drive a pain. Plus, the green belt anyway compensated for the longer distance.

Kalpi can be difficult at times, with lot of trucks parked here and there.

In fact, from Lucknow there are lot of places to explore, like Kushinagar, Sravasti, Allahabad, Lumbini and so on. Even Pokhara in Nepal. I have been doing some as time permits.

Vipin.

[akbaree]

The Fall, however, was extremely disappointing since, it was told to us, MP did not get enough rain this time. But we could see the granite rocks in the Ken river (also called Karnavati river here).

Attachment 1669873

Hi Vipin, I went to Raneh falls last monsoon and it was amazing. Couldn't took a lot of pictures as it was raining. But sharing one on your thread, I hope you don't mind it.

Just reminds of my trip there, thanks for penning your travelogue.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by akbaree

Hi Vipin, I went to Raneh falls last monsoon and it was amazing. Couldn't took a lot of pictures as it was raining. But sharing one on your thread, I hope you don't mind it.
Just reminds of my trip there, thanks for penning your travelogue.

In your picture, it appears to be so much water gushing. You saw the better time.

The lack of rain is a matter of worry everywhere in MP this time, as I am told (UP and Bihar have floods though).

I was still wondering if the Ken river is ever seen with full-level water, covering the entire width, in the way we see Betwa during monsoons (though there also the level is low this time).