Tigers and the Ganges (2 of 4): Palaces and Temples

The small village of Orchha, sitting along the Betwa river, was a welcome change from the big cities. The atmospheric village is dominated by several old palaces and Hindu temples the like of which I've never seen before.

The main palace was built in the 16th Century during the Bundela Dynasty. The King, Rudra Pratep, apparently tried to save a Cow from a Tiger and was killed.

[Mental note: Let the Tiger eat the Cow]

Moving on from Orchha we drove through farmland and forests and arrived at the town of Khajuraho.

Khajuraho also has temples, lots of them. Dating back to the 10th Century they lay hidden and forgotten in the forest until the British discovered them in the 1830's. 22 out of around 80 temples have survived the ravages of time.

Their design and artistic detail is simply amazing. Boy did the Brits get a shock when they found them! These temples are famed for the outrageous erotic sculptures that cover their outside walls. Here's an example:


On seeing this my first thought was 'that is a small horse'. Our local guide was very keen to tell us all about the graphic scenes depicted. For the last scene of a series of threesome sculptures he said 'see his balls, they are smaller now'. Made me blush.

Time to see some wildlife...