Khajuraho in 2 days: what to see, in what order

The main temple park of Khajuraho and the reason most people come. Inside a garden are the biggest temples, built by the Chandela kings about 1,000 years ago: Kandariya Mahadeva, Lakshmana, Vishwanatha, Chitragupta, Devi Jagadambi and the Varaha shrine. Every wall is covered in carved figures of gods, dancers, musicians, soldiers and couples. Matangeshwar Temple, by the gate, is the only one still in daily worship.

The oldest temple site in Khajuraho, older than the Western Group. It is built of rough granite, not the smooth sandstone of the later temples, and is a rectangle of small empty shrines round an open court, on a low rise above Shiv Sagar lake. There are no carvings left, but it is quiet and few people come.

The Archaeological Survey of India's museum of Khajuraho sculpture, opposite the Western Group. It holds statues and carved panels found round the temples, including a dancing Ganesha, and they are easier to see up close here than high on a temple wall. There is also a newer gallery building, opened in 2016, about 1 km north of the temples.

A state museum of the tribes and folk arts of Madhya Pradesh. It has full-size village houses built by the communities themselves, painted walls, masks, metal work and everyday objects, with signs in Hindi and English. A change from the temples, and it stays open into the evening.

A canyon of the Ken river about 20 km east of Khajuraho, cut through red, pink and grey granite. In and just after the monsoon the river pours over the rocks in many falls; in the dry months it is a deep gorge with pools. It is inside the Ken Gharial Sanctuary, where gharials and crocodiles live in the river below.

A walled compound of Jain temples that are still in use. Parshvanath is the finest, with carvings as fine as the Western Group's; Adinath stands next to it, and Shantinath holds a tall standing statue of the Tirthankara. A small Jain art museum is by the gate.

Three small temples of the Eastern Group, near the old village of Khajuraho. Javari has a tall, slim tower and a carved gateway; Vamana has figures of heavenly women on its walls; the Brahma Temple, by Ninora Tal pond, is one of the oldest here. They are free and usually quiet.

A Shiva temple of the Southern Group by the Khudar river, one of the last built at Khajuraho. Its carvings of dancers and heavenly women are crowded and lively, with jewellery cut in fine detail.

The southernmost temple of Khajuraho, in open fields. Inside stands a 2.7 m statue of Vishnu with four arms, carved from one stone. It is the one big temple here with no erotic carvings, and it faces west across the fields.