Khajuraho
It’s easy to label Khajuraho for its ‘erotic’ (read ‘explicit’) sculptures, and indeed this is probably the main draw for most visitors. But the town is not a UNESCO World Heritage inscribed site for nothing, and the temples are so much more than kinky renditions of acrobatics from the Kama Sutra.
It’s astonishing how well preserved the buildings are. Compare them to Angkor or Ayutthaya and the difference is obvious – and then note that the architecture in Khajuraho dates from about 1000AD, a full three to five centuries earlier than the masterpieces of Southeast Asian civilisations.
Then again, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Khajuraho is certainly breathtaking (or shocking, depending how deep your blue-rinse runs) but a lot of the sculpture is pretty much the same, mass produced, even. Nevertheless, when you tire of temple gazing, the resident langur monkeys will keep you entertained too.
