The Best of Central India: 12 Days of Khajuraho, Orchha and Tiger Safaris in Bandhavgarh and Kanha

Arrive in Khajuraho

Fly into Khajuraho, connecting via Delhi if needed, and transfer to your hotel. Khajuraho is a small, quiet town, almost a village, set among farmland in the Bundelkhand region of northern Madhya Pradesh, and its temples are close by. After the big cities, the pace here is slow and the air is clean.

The rest of the day is free. If you feel like a short outing in the late afternoon, walk to the Matangeshwar Temple beside the Western Group. Unlike the other temples, it is still in daily worship, and its huge stone lingam draws local pilgrims at dusk. Shoes come off at the entrance. Nearby, Shiv Sagar, a small lake, is a pleasant place to watch the light fade.

In the evening, you can watch the sound and light show at the Western Group of Temples, which tells the story of the Chandela kings who built them. For dinner, keep it simple with dal, fresh rotis and seasonal vegetables, and get an early night before tomorrow's full day at the temples.

• ArrivalMeet and greet at Khajuraho airport
• Late afternoonOptional visit to the Matangeshwar Temple
• EveningOptional sound and light show

OvernightKhajuraho, 2 nights.

The Western and Eastern temple groups

Spend the day at Khajuraho's temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built between about 950 and 1050 by the Chandela dynasty. Of around 85 temples, about 25 survive. Their sandstone walls are covered in sculptures of gods and goddesses, celestial dancers, musicians, warriors, animals and daily life, including the famous erotic carvings, which make up only a small part of the whole.

Start early in the Western Group, when the light is soft on the sandstone and there is still some shade. It is the most elaborate group, led by the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, whose towers rise like a mountain range, and the Lakshmana Temple, with a frieze of soldiers, hunters and elephants around its base. In the afternoon, visit the quieter Eastern Group, with its Jain temples, including the finely carved Parsvanath Temple, and the Chaturbhuj Temple in the south.

Your guide explains the symbolism of the carvings and how the temples were built without mortar. If you have time, the small Archaeological Museum opposite the Western Group displays sculptures found around the site. Wear a hat and comfortable shoes, and carry water: there is little shade in the middle of the day.

• MorningWestern Group, including the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple
• AfternoonEastern Group and Jain temples

OvernightKhajuraho.

To Orchha on the Betwa River

Drive north-west through the countryside of Bundelkhand, a land of rocky hills, small reservoirs and old fortified villages, passing through the market town of Chhatarpur. The road is mostly good, with a stop for tea on the way. You reach Orchha, a small town on the Betwa River that was the capital of the Bundela Rajput kings from the 16th century and has changed remarkably little since. Founded in 1531, it was later overshadowed by other capitals, which is why so much of it survives intact.

Check in to your heritage hotel, several of which are converted royal buildings, and take time to settle in. In the late afternoon, wander along the river or through the small market, where stalls sell flowers and sweets for the temples.

In the evening, walk to the Ram Raja Temple for the evening prayers; it is the only temple in India where Rama is worshipped as a king, with a guard of honour each day. Dress modestly, leave your shoes outside, and expect photography to be restricted inside.

• DayDrive to Orchha
• Late afternoonRiverside and the small market
• EveningEvening prayers at the Ram Raja Temple

OvernightOrchha, 2 nights.

Palaces and cenotaphs

Explore the Orchha Fort complex, crossing a stone bridge to the Raja Mahal, with painted ceilings and murals of the Ramayana, and the Jahangir Mahal, a palace of domes and balconies built to welcome the Mughal emperor Jahangir in the early 17th century. Climb to the upper terraces for views over the river and the temple spires.

In the afternoon, visit the Chaturbhuj Temple, built on a huge scale, and walk down to the chhatris, the royal cenotaphs on the bank of the Betwa. At sunset they are reflected in the river, and vultures nest in their domes.

If you have energy, walk or drive up to the Lakshminarayan Temple on the hill above town, an unusual blend of temple and fort with colourful 19th-century murals of battles, processions and scenes from the life of Krishna. Orchha is compact and easy to explore on foot, but the palaces involve many steep steps and dark passages, so wear good shoes and bring a small torch.

For a quieter hour, the forest across the river is a small wildlife sanctuary, good for birdwatching in the early morning or late afternoon.

• MorningRaja Mahal and Jahangir Mahal
• AfternoonChaturbhuj Temple
• SunsetThe chhatris on the Betwa River

OvernightOrchha.

Into tiger country

A long drive south-east across Madhya Pradesh to Bandhavgarh National Park, with stops for lunch and tea. Leave soon after breakfast. The road crosses the plateau country of Bundelkhand and the Vindhya hills, past wheat fields, small market towns and long stretches of teak and mixed forest. Your driver knows the clean places to stop, and we can pack a lunch if you prefer to keep going. The landscape turns greener and hillier as you approach the forest.

Check in to your lodge near the park's Tala gate in time for a sunset drink. Many lodges sit right on the forest edge, and you may hear langurs, peacocks and the alarm calls of deer as evening falls.

Your naturalist will brief you on tomorrow's safaris: what to wear, what to bring and how the drives work. Safari permits are issued against the passport details given at booking, so keep your passport with you in the jeep. Neutral colours, a warm layer for the early start and binoculars all help.

• MorningLeave Orchha after breakfast
• DayDrive to Bandhavgarh
• EveningSafari briefing at the lodge

OvernightBandhavgarh, 2 nights.

Tiger safaris in Bandhavgarh

Head into Bandhavgarh National Park at dawn in an open jeep with your naturalist. Once the hunting reserve of the Maharajas of Rewa, it has been a tiger reserve since 1993 and is known for one of the highest densities of tigers in India. Grassy valleys below a central hill make sightings easier than in thicker forest. The park is divided into zones, of which Tala, below the fort, is the best known, and each permit is for one zone. Breakfast is usually a packed picnic eaten at a forest rest point.

Rest at the lodge in the middle of the day, then return for an afternoon safari. Look out for leopards, sloth bears, sambar and spotted deer, and the ancient rock-cut caves and inscriptions below Bandhavgarh Fort.

Madhya Pradesh parks close for one safari a week, usually Wednesday afternoon, so we plan around it. In winter, dawn drives are bitterly cold in an open jeep, so bring a hat, gloves and a warm jacket.

• DawnMorning safari
• MiddayRest at the lodge
• AfternoonSecond safari

OvernightBandhavgarh.

A last safari, then on to Kanha

Take an early morning safari if your permits allow; it is a last chance to look for tigers in Bandhavgarh. Back at the lodge, have a late breakfast and check out.

Then drive south to Kanha National Park through farmland and forest, passing small villages of the Gond and Baiga tribal communities, rice fields and stretches of sal woodland. The roads are slower than the highways, so the drive takes most of the day, with a stop for lunch on the way.

Kanha's sal forests and wide meadows are often linked with Kipling's The Jungle Book, which was set in these Central Indian forests. Check in to your eco-lodge, inspired by Gond tribal architecture and set in forest bordering the park's buffer zone. In the evening, your naturalist explains how Kanha differs from Bandhavgarh: larger, with more open grassland and a wider range of animals, so sightings depend more on patience and tracking.

• DawnOptional morning safari
• DayDrive to Kanha
• EveningCheck in at your eco-lodge and a briefing with your naturalist

OvernightKanha, 3 nights.

Tigers and the hard-ground barasingha

Spend the day on morning and afternoon safaris through Kanha, one of India's largest and best-managed tiger reserves. Its meadows are the last natural stronghold of the hard-ground barasingha, a swamp deer that was brought back from the brink of extinction here, with fewer than a hundred animals left in the 1970s. Today there are many hundreds, and the herds grazing in the morning mist are one of the classic sights of the park.

Besides tigers, look for leopards, gaur, the Indian bison, packs of dhole, the wild dog, and around 300 species of birds. Kanha's naturalists are among the best in India. Days follow a set rhythm: an early wake-up with tea, the gates opening around sunrise, a packed breakfast in the forest, then rest at the lodge through the heat of the day.

On the afternoon drive, if your zone allows, go up to Bamni Dadar, a plateau known as sunset point, for long views over the forest as the light fades. The small park museum near the Kanha gate is also worth a short stop.

• DawnMorning safari
• MiddayRest at the lodge
• AfternoonSecond safari, perhaps to Bamni Dadar at sunset

OvernightKanha.

A nature walk and a Gond village

A change of pace. Take a guided nature walk through the forest around the lodge in the cool of the morning, looking for birds, butterflies and tracks, with a naturalist who explains the plants and their traditional uses. On foot you notice the small things the jeep passes by: termite mounds, pug marks in the dust, the medicinal bark of trees and the calls of the forest's many birds.

Later, visit a nearby Gond village to see traditional mud houses with painted walls and learn about daily life and farming away from the safari circuit. The Gond are one of the largest tribal communities in India, known for their vivid art, which spread far beyond the forests through the work of painters such as Jangarh Singh Shyam. Ask before taking photographs, and let your guide lead introductions. Rest at the lodge in the afternoon, or try a little birdwatching from the grounds.

If you would like more time in the park, we can add another safari instead.

• MorningGuided nature walk
• MiddayGond village visit
• AfternoonRest, or an extra safari

OvernightKanha.

To Jabalpur and the marble rocks of Bhedaghat

Drive north to Jabalpur through the forested hills of Mandla district, crossing the Narmada, one of India's holiest rivers, along the way. Check in at your hotel and rest before an afternoon outing.

In the late afternoon, visit Bhedaghat, where the Narmada River flows through a gorge of white and grey marble cliffs about 30 metres high. Take a rowing boat between the cliffs as they catch the late light; the boatmen are known for their running commentary of local stories and film trivia. Then see the Dhuandhar Falls, the smoke cascade, nearby, where the river drops into a cloud of spray. Stalls along the path sell small carvings in local stone.

Above the gorge, up a flight of steps, stands the 10th-century Chausath Yogini temple, a circular courtyard lined with shrines and carved figures of the yogini goddesses. Boats do not run during the monsoon, from about July to September.

• DayDrive to Jabalpur
• Late afternoonBoat through the Bhedaghat marble rocks and Dhuandhar Falls

OvernightJabalpur, 2 nights.

A free day

A free day to rest after several early-morning safaris. Sleep in, have a slow breakfast and catch up on photographs and notes from the parks. Your driver is available if you would like to go out.

If you would like to see more, return to Bhedaghat for a second boat ride at a different time of day; on full-moon nights, the marble glows in the moonlight. In the city, Madan Mahal is a small Gond fort on a granite ridge, with views over Jabalpur, and close by is the Balancing Rock, a huge boulder resting on a tiny point of contact. The Rani Durgavati Museum has sculpture from around the region and is named after the 16th-century Gond queen who died fighting the Mughals.

Before you leave, try khoya jalebi, a Jabalpur speciality, a dark, rich version of the classic sweet made with milk solids. In the evening, have a quiet dinner and pack for tomorrow's flight.

• MorningRest
• DayFree, or Madan Mahal, the Balancing Rock and a second visit to Bhedaghat
• EveningPack and a quiet dinner

OvernightJabalpur.

Fly home from Jabalpur

After breakfast, transfer to Jabalpur's Dumna airport, outside the city, for your flight to Delhi or Mumbai and your connection home. The airport is small and check-in is quick, but allow about two hours before domestic flights.

Flights from Jabalpur are limited, so we time the transfer to your booking and recommend leaving a comfortable gap before any international connection. If you have a free day in Delhi or Mumbai, we can arrange a hotel near the airport and a guide or driver.

• MorningTransfer to Jabalpur airport