Orchha fits in one day by cab: Ram Raja and Chaturbhuj temples in the morning, the fort palaces before lunch, then Rai Praveen Mahal, Laxmi Narayan Temple and the Chhatris by the Betwa. A second day goes to Datia for Pitambara Peeth and the seven-storey palace, then Jhansi Fort and Rani Mahal. The light and sound show at Raja Mahal is on foot in the evening.
Each plan is a real route by cab, timed against opening hours.
Call or message a local Orchha operator with this plan. Tell them your hotel and dates, and they send a price for the car and driver.
We are still listing Orchha operators. Write to [email protected] and we will put you in touch.
With the best time to go and how long to stay.
| Place | Open | Best time | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ram Raja Temple | Morning darshan about 09:00 to 13:00 from November to February and 08:00 to 12:30 from March to October; evening darshan about 19:00 to 21:30 in winter and 20:00 to 22:30 in summer. Closed in between | First thing in the morning, when the doors open. | 45 min |
| Chaturbhuj Temple | About 09:00 to 17:00 every day; some listings give a midday closure, so the morning is safest | In the morning, straight after Ram Raja. | 30 min |
| Orchha Fort: Raja Mahal and Jahangir Mahal | About 09:00 to 17:00 every day (officially sunrise to sunset) | Late morning, after the temples. | 2 h 30 min |
| Rai Praveen Mahal | About 09:00 to 17:00 every day, with the fort? | Straight after the fort, on foot. | 30 min |
| Laxmi Narayan Temple | About 09:00 to 17:00 every day | In the afternoon, for the view back over town. | 45 min |
| Royal Chhatris on the Betwa | About 09:00 to 17:00 inside the garden; the riverbank outside is open all day? | Late afternoon, and stay on the bank for sunset. | 45 min |
| Orchha Wildlife Sanctuary | About 09:00 to 17:00 (some listings say 07:00 to 18:00); usually closed in the monsoon, about July to September? | Early, for birds, before the Ram Raja doors close. | 2 h |
| Light and sound show | Every evening at Raja Mahal. October to March: English 18:30, Hindi 19:45. April to September: about an hour later | After dark, the evening of your first day. | 1 h |
| Pitambara Peeth, Datia | About 06:00 to 12:00 and 16:30 to 21:30 every day? | In the morning, before it closes at midday. | 1 h |
| Datia Palace (Bir Singh Palace) | About 10:00 to 17:00; one listing says closed on Sundays? | Mid-morning, after Pitambara Peeth. | 1 h |
The only temple in India where Ram is worshipped as a king. The story goes that Queen Ganesh Kunwari brought the idol from Ayodhya, and it would not move from her palace, so the palace became the temple. Police give the king a gun salute at the aarti. Phool Bagh, the garden next door, has the Sawan Bhadon towers and Palki Mahal.
In the 1-day plan
A huge temple on a high stone platform, built for the Ram idol that never moved in. Inside it is tall and almost empty, like a cathedral, with lotus carvings on the ceiling. Its spires are the tallest thing in Orchha.
In the 1-day plan
The fort sits on an island in the Betwa, reached by an old stone bridge. Raja Mahal, the king's palace, has rooms painted with gods, hunts and court scenes. Jahangir Mahal next door was built by Bir Singh Deo for a visit by the Mughal emperor Jahangir: three floors of domes, balconies and blue tiles round a courtyard, with views from the top over the whole town.
In the 1-day plan
A small two-storey palace in a garden, built for Rai Praveen, a poet and singer at the Orchha court. When the emperor Akbar called her to Delhi, she talked her way back home with a poem. Inside are faded paintings of her and of dancers.
In the 1-day plan
A temple built like a fort on a hill west of town, with no idol inside. People come for the wall paintings: the Ramayana, Krishna's life, and scenes from 1857, including the Rani of Jhansi fighting the British. From the walls you see Orchha's spires and palaces across the fields.
In the 1-day plan
Fourteen tall memorials to the Bundela kings on Kanchan Ghat, by the Betwa. The biggest is Bir Singh Deo's. Vultures nest on the domes, and from the far bank or the bridge the row of spires over the river is the picture of Orchha.
In the 1-day planA forest on an island between the Betwa and the Jamni rivers, just south of town. Trails run past rocky river channels; you may see langurs, nilgai, peacocks and many river birds.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.An hour-long show in the Raja Mahal courtyard that tells the story of Orchha's kings with lights on the palace walls.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
A temple of Baglamukhi Devi in Datia, one of the best known shakti temples in central India. Devotees come in yellow, her colour, and see the goddess through a small window. Dhumavati Devi's shrine opens only at her aarti.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
A seven-storey palace on a rock, built about 1620 by Bir Singh Deo, the king who built Jahangir Mahal in Orchha. Nobody ever lived in it. Stairs and dark corridors lead up to painted rooms and a roof that looks over Datia's lake and old town.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
The hill fort of Rani Lakshmibai, the queen of Jhansi who fought the British in 1857. Inside the walls are the Kadak Bijli cannon, a Shiva temple, and the spot where, the story says, she jumped her horse over the wall to escape. The views run over the whole city.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
The queen's palace in the old city, where Lakshmibai lived. The painted rooms now hold a collection of stone sculptures from the 9th to the 12th century found around Jhansi.
Day 2 of the 2-day planThe state museum of Bundelkhand, at the foot of Jhansi Fort. It has galleries on the Rani of Jhansi and 1857, with weapons and portraits, plus sculptures, coins and paintings from the region.
Day 2 of the 2-day planOne day covers the town: Ram Raja and Chaturbhuj temples, the fort palaces, Laxmi Narayan Temple and the Chhatris. Take two days to add Datia's palace and Pitambara Peeth, and the Rani of Jhansi's fort in Jhansi.
From November to February, about 09:00 to 13:00 and 19:00 to 21:30. From March to October, about 08:00 to 12:30 and 20:00 to 22:30. It is closed in between. Phones, cameras and leather are not allowed inside.
Yes. One ticket from the counter at the fort covers Raja Mahal, Jahangir Mahal, Rai Praveen Mahal, the Chhatris, Chaturbhuj and Laxmi Narayan, on the day you buy it. Ram Raja Temple is free. The light and sound show has its own ticket.
Every evening at Raja Mahal. From October to March the English show is at 18:30 and the Hindi show at 19:45; from April to September about an hour later.
The nearest big railway station is Jhansi, about 18 km away, half an hour by cab. Orchha has its own small station, but few trains stop there. These plans start at the top of Orchha's main street, near the hotels.
Yes, on the Betwa, usually from about October to December, when the water is right. MP Tourism runs the trips; ask at Sheesh Mahal or Betwa Retreat. The raft passes the Chhatris.
The Chandrashekhar Azad memorial at Satar, where he hid from the British in the 1920s; the Barua Sagar lake and fort with the old Jarai ka Math temple, on the Khajuraho road; and Garh Kundar fort, about 45 km away. They are not in these plans. Khajuraho is about 175 km away, a separate trip.
October to March, when days are mild. April to June is very hot, so see the palaces early. The wildlife sanctuary usually closes from about July to September.
