Experience the best of Orccha

Orchha was the capital of the Bundela rulers from the sixteenth century, set on an island and bank of the Betwa River in Madhya Pradesh. A stone causeway leads to the palace complex, where the Jahangir Mahal, built in the seventeenth century by Bir Singh Deo to welcome the Mughal emperor, rises in tiers of balconies and domes, and the Raj Mahal holds painted walls.

The Ram Raja Temple, a former palace, is unusual in worshipping Rama as a king and still draws crowds, the Chaturbhuj Temple towers above the town, and the Lakshmi Narayan Temple has colourful murals. Along the river, fourteen domed cenotaphs of the Bundela rulers stand against the sky. Jhansi lies a short distance north, Gwalior is to the north-west, and the temples of Khajuraho are to the east.

Simple vegetarian meals, sweet milky tea and hot kachoris are served in the cafés near the palaces and riverbank. The Betwa is wide enough for gentle rafting after the rains. Ram Navami, in spring, is the great festival at the Ram Raja Temple.