How to choose where to stay
A small town: everything in Khajuraho is close, and the hotels in and around town put you within minutes of the temple gates.
Why that matters: you can be at the gate as it opens and back for breakfast, and the temples are at their best in the first and last hours of the day.
- Western Group
- On the edge of the bazaar
- Eastern Group
- A short ride through the old village
- Southern Group
- A few minutes' drive south
- Airport
- About 3 km from town
- Our split
- Two nights for temples, two by the forest
- Beyond the town: the land rises into the hills and forests that run south towards Panna.
- The memorable stays: a palace on a lake in the hills, a dry-stone lodge above the forest and an eco-lodge by the river.
- The trade: they are a short drive from the temples, so you give up the walk to the gate for space, quiet and a view.
- The ideal for most guests: two nights for the temples and two by the forest, which our Khajuraho itinerary shows in detail.
- What money buys here: the same as everywhere we work. The right room, a licensed guide who knows the sculpture, a naturalist who knows the forest, and the freedom to see the temples at dawn rather than at noon.
- Compared with Orchha: see our page on where to stay in Orchha and Khajuraho.
The Oberoi Rajgarh Palace
- Opened
- November 2025, by Oberoi
- Built by
- Maharaja Hindupat of the Bundela dynasty, says Oberoi
- Setting
- Slopes of the Maniyagarh hills
- Estate
- About 76 acres with a natural lake
- Spa
- Reached by boat across the lake
- Best for
- Couples, honeymooners, a sense of arrival
A Bundela palace in the hills
Where it stands: on the slopes of the Maniyagarh hills, looking out over forest towards the Vindhya ranges, a short drive from the temples on the Panna side of Khajuraho.
Its history: Oberoi attributes the palace to Maharaja Hindupat of the Bundela dynasty of Panna. The Oberoi group restored it and opened it as a hotel in November 2025.
The estate: about seventy-six acres, with its own natural lake.
- The restoration: it keeps the courtyards, terraces and heavy stone walls of a Bundela hill palace, while adding the polish that Oberoi is known for.
- Rooms: from palace rooms with wide views to suites and villas with private pools.
- The spa: reached by boat across the lake, with treatment rooms by the water.
- Pools and dining: there are pools, a lakeside restaurant and a more formal dining room serving regional and royal recipes.
- Our view: it is the first hotel in Khajuraho that we would put in the same breath as the palace hotels of Rajasthan.
- Who it suits: couples, honeymooners and anyone who wants a palace at the end of a long journey through central India.
- Close to Panna: you can combine dawn jeep drives with afternoons by the pool.
- An honest note: because it is new, we are still learning which rooms we prefer, and we will tell you honestly what our planners have seen when you book.
Hotels close to the temples
- The Lalit
- Most polished in town, spa and pools, temple views
- The Radisson
- Large and reliable, gardens and a big pool
- Other hotels
- Large modern hotels and small guest houses
- Distance
- Minutes from the Western Group
The Lalit Temple View
The most polished in town: a short drive from the Western Group and the airport.
What it offers: a spa, pools and the comfort of a well-run Indian luxury chain.
- The view: as its name suggests, some rooms look towards the temple spires.
- Ask for: an upper-floor room on the temple side, and you may watch the spires turn pink at sunset from your window.
- Who it suits: travellers who want to be close to the temples, families who want a pool, and anyone arriving on a late flight who wants to be settled quickly.
- Its character: a modern hotel rather than a heritage one, and that is part of its appeal after a long day.
The Radisson
What it is: a large, comfortable hotel, long known locally as the Radisson Jass.
Where: about a mile from the Western Group.
- What it offers: a pool in its gardens and the reliable rooms of an international chain.
- Who it suits: a sound, good-value choice, especially for families and for travellers who want space and a big pool to come back to in the afternoons.
- Ask for: a room facing the gardens, away from the event lawns, which can be busy in the wedding season.
Other hotels in town
The range: several other large, well-run modern hotels, some built when the town first became a destination, and a scattering of smaller guest houses.
- Mixed standards: a few are tired and some are excellent, and standards change.
- How we choose: we use only those our planners have inspected recently.
- When they fit: for a simple, comfortable night close to the temples, they are perfectly good.
Lodges by Panna and the Ken River
- Pashan Garh
- Taj Safaris lodge, dry-stone cottages above the forest
- Sarai at Toria
- Eco-lodge on the Ken, mud-walled cottages, no air-conditioning
- Other lodges
- Near the Madla gate, simple to comfortable
- Nights
- Two at least
Pashan Garh, Panna
What it is: Taj's wildlife lodge on the edge of Panna Tiger Reserve, part of its Taj Safaris collection.
How it is built: its cottages are of local dry-stone, without mortar, in the manner of the old field walls of the region.
- The setting: cottages scattered across a rocky hillside above the forest.
- Naturalists: the lodge's naturalists know Panna well.
- The rhythm: the whole place is designed around the forest: early starts, long afternoons and quiet evenings.
- Who it suits: travellers who want the temples and the tigers with the polish and service of a fine lodge. It is the most complete way to combine Khajuraho with Panna.
- How we book it: two nights at least, with morning and afternoon jeep drives, a boat on the Ken when the season allows and an afternoon in the buffer forest.
- What we look for: our page on wildlife lodges explains it.
Sarai at Toria, on the Ken
Where: on the banks of the Ken, close to the Madla entrance to Panna.
What it is: a small eco-lodge founded by conservationists, with a handful of mud-walled, thatched cottages.
- The cottages: verandas facing the fields and the river.
- The food: from local farms.
- Power and comfort: it runs on solar power and traditional insulation, without air-conditioning, so it is lovely in winter and warm in April.
- The emphasis: walks, birds, the river and the life of the village next door rather than luxury trappings.
- Who it suits: curious, unhurried travellers who want calm and conversation more than a spa, and who love the idea of a quiet boat on the river at dusk.
- Who it doesn't: if you want room service and a swimming pool, it will not suit you, and we will say so.
Other lodges near Madla
Where: near the Madla gate, on the road between Khajuraho and Panna.
- The range: a few other lodges and resorts, from simple to comfortable.
- When we use them: when the two lodges above are full, choosing those our naturalists recommend that season.
Palace, modern hotel or forest lodge
The palace
- Choose it for: history, grandeur and service, a lake and a spa, and a sense of arrival at the end of a long journey.
- The trade-off: you will drive to the temples rather than walk, but the drive is short.
The modern hotel in town
Choose it if: being at the temple gate at opening time matters most.
- Also if: you are staying only one or two nights, or you want a big pool for children in the afternoons.
- Its character: comfortable rather than characterful, and it does its job well.
The forest lodge
Choose Pashan Garh or Sarai at Toria: if the forest, the river and the wildlife are as important to you as the temples.
- Expect: to be up before dawn for jeep drives, eating under the stars and falling asleep to the sounds of the jungle.
- What guests tell us: most who choose a lodge say it was the highlight of their journey through central India.
A day from each kind of stay
From a hotel in town
Before sunrise: your guide meets you in the lobby, and you walk or drive five minutes to the Western Group as the gates open.
By nine: you have seen Lakshmana and Kandariya in the best light and stepped into the morning worship at Matangeshwar.
- Late morning: back for a late breakfast, a swim and a rest.
- Afternoon: the museum, then the Eastern Group and sunset at Chaturbhuj.
- Evening: dinner in town. It is efficient, easy and very satisfying.
From the palace
Dawn: you wake to mist over the lake and the hills, and drive down to the temples for opening time, or out to Panna for a dawn safari.
Late morning: back for breakfast on a terrace.
- The hottest hours: belong to the pool and the spa across the water.
- Late afternoon: a drive to the Southern Group or Raneh Falls.
- Evening: dinner in a palace courtyard. It feels like a holiday rather than a sightseeing trip.
From a forest lodge
In the dark: a knock on the door, tea and biscuits, and then the jeep to the park gate as the forest wakes.
In the forest: langurs call, a peacock crosses the track, and perhaps there are fresh pugmarks in the dust.
- Late morning: back for breakfast and a long rest.
- Afternoon: out again for a boat on the Ken or an afternoon drive.
- The temples: fit in on a separate day, and the evening is for the stars and the sounds of the jungle.
Eating and drinking well
The most ambitious kitchen: the Oberoi Rajgarh Palace, with a dinner restaurant devoted to regional and royal recipes.
More at the palace: a lakeside restaurant for the rest of the day and a bar overlooking the palace courtyard.
- The large hotels in town: good north Indian food, with buffets at busy times and à la carte menus otherwise.
- The forest lodges: simpler, fresher food, often with vegetables from local farms.
- Special diets: the lodges are happy to adjust for vegetarian, Jain or children's tastes if you tell them in advance.
- Wine and beer: unlike neighbouring Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh is not a dry state, so they are usually available at the larger hotels, although the town itself has few bars.
- Tea by the tank: our things to do in Khajuraho page lists the few simple places in town we enjoy by the Shivsagar tank.
What money really buys at Khajuraho
The difference between a good and a great visit to Khajuraho is almost never the hotel. It is the guide who can read a temple wall, the hour you arrive at the gate, the naturalist in the jeep and the patience to give the forest two mornings rather than one.
Our order of spending: the best guides we know, often for two mornings, then the forest lodges for two nights. Only then do we choose the room.
- How we choose the room: for its view, its quiet and its distance from the temples.
- At the palace: money buys something real. Space, a lake, privacy and the kind of service that makes a long journey restful.
- At the forest lodges: it buys location, naturalists and calm.
- In town: paying more buys a nicer pool and a quieter room, which is pleasant but not transformative.
- Value across the region: our page on what a luxury Rajasthan journey costs explains how we think about it.
Rooms, timing and booking advice
In town: ask for an upper-floor room facing the temples, away from wedding lawns and kitchens.
For the dance festival: in the second half of February, book as early as you can. The town fills up and the best rooms go first.
- Book earliest
- Dance festival, Christmas, New Year
- Cold nights
- December and January
- Very hot
- April to June
- Lodges quiet
- July to September
- Cold in winter: December and January nights can be cold, especially in open jeeps at dawn. Bring warm layers, a hat and gloves for the forest, even if the afternoons feel like summer.
- Hot in summer: from April to June, Khajuraho is very hot. If you travel then, choose a hotel with a good pool and keep the temples for dawn and dusk.
- Monsoon closure: Panna's core zone closes through the monsoon, so forest lodges are quieter or closed from July to September. Check before you book.
- Winter fog: morning flights in December and January can be delayed by fog in north India. Allow a buffer night if you have an onward connection.
Staying for the dance festival
The festival: the Khajuraho Dance Festival runs for about a week in the second half of February, with performances each evening on an open-air stage before the Western Group.
If it is the reason for your trip: stay in town, within easy reach of the venue.
- Held since
- 1975, every year
- When
- About a week, second half of February
- Venue
- Open-air stage before the Western Group
- Book
- At least four or five months ahead
- Why in town: you can return to your hotel between the temples in the morning and the performances at night, without a long drive in the dark.
- Book early: at least four or five months ahead, and ask us early for the best rooms.
- From the palace or a lodge: it still works. We arrange your car to wait after the performance and take you back, and we plan quieter mornings after the late nights.
- Pair it with Mahashivratri: in some years it falls close to the festival and brings a great fair to the Matangeshwar temple.
- The season month by month: our page on the best time to visit Khajuraho.
Arriving and leaving
By air: Khajuraho Airport is only about three kilometres from town, so a hotel near the temples makes sense for a late arrival or an early departure.
- By road from Orchha: a drive of four to five hours. Arrive at a forest lodge or the palace in the afternoon and leave the temples for the following dawn.
- Flying on: to Varanasi or Delhi, keep your last night in town or at the palace, close to the airport, and allow for winter fog delays.
- By the overnight train from Delhi: ask for an early check-in so you can sleep for a few hours before your first afternoon at the temples.
Pairing Khajuraho with Orchha, Gwalior and Varanasi
Orchha first: most of our guests reach Khajuraho by way of Orchha, four to five hours to the west.
Where to stay there: heritage-style hotels by the Betwa River, or the state tourism hotel inside the palace complex, make a lovely stop.
- Orchha
- Heritage-style hotels by the Betwa
- Gwalior
- Taj Usha Kiran Palace
- Agra
- The Oberoi Amarvilas
- Varanasi
- BrijRama Palace, Taj Nadesar Palace
- Further west: Gwalior, with its great hill fort and the Taj Usha Kiran Palace, a former royal guest house of the Scindias.
- From Agra: many journeys begin with a night at The Oberoi Amarvilas facing the Taj Mahal, then the fast train to Jhansi for Orchha.
- To the east: Varanasi is best reached by air when flights run.
- In Varanasi: BrijRama Palace on the ghats and the Taj Nadesar Palace in its gardens are the stays we love.
- One continuous journey: our Rajasthan, Orchha and Khajuraho journey and Rajasthan and Varanasi journey show how these hotels link together.
Staying with children or older parents
Young children: a hotel in town with a big pool and gardens is usually best.
Short bursts: the temples are a few minutes away, so you can visit at the best hours and return for a swim.
- Older children who love animals: two nights at a forest lodge, with jeep drives and a boat on the Ken, are the highlight.
- Lodges and families: Sarai at Toria and Pashan Garh both welcome families, though the lodge rhythm of early mornings suits children of about eight and over.
- Limited mobility: the temple platforms have steep steps, and the interiors are dark and uneven.
- Easier ways to see it: a guide can show you the outer sculpture from the garden paths, and the Archaeological Museum is level and easy.
- What we arrange: ground-floor rooms where possible, vehicles close to the gates and short drives.
- More general advice: our page on accessible travel.
Our honest view
For the temples alone, one or two nights: stay in town and spend your money on a superb guide rather than a superb room.
For a sense of occasion: or if you are celebrating, the Oberoi Rajgarh Palace now gives Khajuraho the grandeur it always lacked, and it is close enough to the temples and the forest to make both easy.
- For wildlife lovers: give the forest at least two nights at Pashan Garh or Sarai at Toria, and treat the temples as a gift at the edges of the day.
- See how the days fill up: read our things to do in Khajuraho.
- Before you fix your dates: read our guide to the best time to visit Khajuraho.
