Aura of India: Madhya Pradesh Temples: Khajuraho, Ujjain, Omkareshwar and More

The Duladeo temple at Khajuraho in early light

Photo: Marcin Białek, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

Madhya Pradesh, from the carved towers of Khajuraho to the banks of the Narmada.

In the middle of India, the temples are old enough to have been lost and found again.

The towers of Khajuraho

Khajuraho, in the north of the state, is a village with a field of temples beside it. They were built by the Chandela kings between about 950 and 1050, and of some eighty temples, around twenty-five survive. Their sandstone towers rise in layers like a mountain range, and every wall is carved: gods, dancers, musicians, warriors, lovers and ordinary life. The largest, Kandariya Mahadev, is a temple of Shiva. Khajuraho is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and each February a dance festival is held with the temples as the stage.

Shiva on the rivers

Ujjain, one of India's seven sacred cities, sits on the Shipra river. Its Mahakaleshwar temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the shrines of Shiva as a column of light, and its pre-dawn Bhasma Aarti, a ritual with sacred ash, is booked weeks ahead. Nearby, the Kal Bhairav temple is known for an unusual offering: liquor. South of Ujjain, Omkareshwar stands on an island in the Narmada, and pilgrims walk the path around it. At Bhojpur, near Bhopal, an unfinished eleventh-century temple holds one of the largest lingams in India.

Why people come

Every twelve years Ujjain hosts the Simhastha Kumbh Mela, one of the largest gatherings on earth, on the banks of the Shipra. Pilgrims also come to Omkareshwar and Maheshwar on the Narmada, a river so sacred that some people walk its whole length. Visitors from abroad come for Khajuraho, and increasingly for Orchha, a riverside town of palaces and temples, where the tall Chaturbhuj stands beside the Ram Raja temple, the only one in India where Rama is worshipped as a king.

Getting there

Khajuraho has a small airport and a railway station, and trains from Delhi. Indore has the nearest big airport to Ujjain, about an hour away, and to Omkareshwar, about two and a half hours. Bhopal, the capital, is the base for Bhojpur and the Buddhist stupas at Sanchi. Orchha is about half an hour from the railway town of Jhansi.

Booking the Bhasma Aarti

The Bhasma Aarti at Mahakaleshwar begins at 4 am, and places are limited. Since April 2026 it can be booked only online, through the temple website. Regular bookings open at 8 am on the first day of the month before your visit; a small Tatkal quota opens at 8 am the day before.

A fee applies, and those who enter for the aarti are asked to wear traditional dress. Check both when you book. If you miss a place, ordinary darshan runs through the day without a booking, and the Mahakal Mahalok corridor beside the temple is open to all.

A ten-day route

Fly into Indore. Ujjain is about an hour away. Give it two days: Mahakaleshwar, Harsiddhi and Kal Bhairav, and the ghats on the Shipra at dusk. Omkareshwar, two and a half hours from Indore, needs a full day, with time to walk the path that circles the island.

Go on to Bhopal for the great unfinished Shiva temple at Bhojpur, a short drive south-east. Then turn north to Orchha, about 30 minutes from Jhansi, and the Pitambara Peeth at Datia nearby. End at Khajuraho, which has its own airport and station. For the rest of the state, see the Madhya Pradesh guide; for size alone, compare India's largest temples.

Temples to know

Kandariya Mahadev, Khajuraho: the largest of the carved temples.
Lakshmana and Matangeshwar, Khajuraho: one of the finest, and one still in worship.
Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain: a Jyotirlinga with the dawn ash ritual.
Kal Bhairav, Ujjain: the city's guardian god.
Omkareshwar, Khandwa district: a Jyotirlinga on a Narmada island.
Bhojpur, near Bhopal: an unfinished temple with a giant lingam.
Chaturbhuj, Orchha: a towering temple above the town.
Pitambara Peeth, Datia: a goddess temple of the Bundelkhand region.

At Khajuraho, walk the western group at opening time. The stone is pink before it turns gold.

Plan your visit

Best season	October to March. The Khajuraho Dance Festival runs from 20 to 26 February 2027, with free entry. Mahashivratri and the month of Shravan bring the biggest crowds to Ujjain and Omkareshwar.
How to reach	Indore airport for Ujjain and Omkareshwar; Bhopal for Bhojpur; Jhansi station for Orchha and Datia. Khajuraho's airport is about 2 km from town and its station about 5 km.
Getting around	Trains link Bhopal, Jhansi and Ujjain. Omkareshwar, Bhojpur, Orchha and Khajuraho's outer temples need a car or taxi from the nearest town.
Where to stay	Near Mahakaleshwar or Freeganj in Ujjain; the old town by the Narmada at Omkareshwar; the lanes around the Ram Raja temple in Orchha; the streets by the Western Group in Khajuraho.
How long to spend	Eight to ten days for the whole route; three days for Indore, Ujjain and Omkareshwar alone.
Entry fee	Khajuraho's Western Group: ₹40 for Indian visitors and ₹600 for foreign visitors, as of October 2026; under-15s free. Open sunrise to sunset. For other sites, check at the gate.
Dress and rules	Cover shoulders and knees at working temples and leave shoes at the gate. Bhasma Aarti dress rules are set by the temple; check before you go.

Open Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh in Google Maps

Questions people ask

How do I book the Bhasma Aarti at Mahakaleshwar?

Online only, on the temple's official website. Regular bookings open at 8 am on the first of the previous month, and a Tatkal quota opens at 8 am the day before.

What does it cost to enter Khajuraho?

The Archaeological Survey of India charges ₹40 for Indian visitors and ₹600 for foreign visitors at the Western Group, as of October 2026. Children under 15 enter free.

When is the next Simhastha in Ujjain?

The Madhya Pradesh government has set it for 27 March to 27 May 2028, with the three main bathing days proposed between 9 April and 8 May.

When is the Khajuraho Dance Festival?

The 53rd festival runs from 20 to 26 February 2027 against the Western Group temples. Entry is free.

Pages

Madhya Pradesh Temples: Khajuraho, Ujjain, Omkareshwar and More