A Long Weekend in Orchha

The ruins of the temples and palaces are spectacular, in particular the Jahangir Mahal and the Lakshminarayan Mandir, not only for their architectural merit but for the views of the surrounding countryside. The new Wildlife Park, whilst not exactly teeming with wildlife, has great scenery and, again, wonderful views over the river and temples pointing up through the surrounding forest. The river, if full, is the icing on the cake.

Quick Tips:

Try to be in Orchha when the reservoir upstream has opened the sluices and the river is full--it is spectacular.

Every evening from 8-10pm there is a performance of local music and dance in the grounds of the Betwa Cottages. These are not advertised but are open to non-residents.

Best Way To Get Around:

Most of the major monuments are within easy walking distance of the village. It is possible but unusual to hire a vehicle to tour the buildings. For the Wildlife Park, if you don't have your own transport, then Jeeps can be hired from the park authorities.

Having stayed here 4years ago and been electrocuted in the shower, I was not exactly overly thrilled to discover that our Indian friend had booked us in to stay here again. What a change! Not only had the place been re-wired, but the cottages were all freshly decorated, the gardens beautiful, and the food excellent.

The new manager (and person responsible for these improvements), Vipin Katare, is a charming, efficient, and interesting man. He is genuinely concerned about the welfare of the guests and is always ready to provide information about the area, in particular, the Wildlife Park, which, as of yet, has no leaflets or maps.

The cottages themselves are spread out around the grounds, each with French windows leading out to its own garden area. They are light and airy, with painted murals on the walls both inside and out. The staff is wonderful, and it was no trouble for them to serve dinner in whichever part of the grounds took your fancy. In my experience, state tourist hotels do not usually come up to such high standards. Also worth noting is that, every evening from 8 to 10pm, a troupe of musicians perform local songs and dances in a renovated courtyard area sunk into the side of the hill on the hotel grounds.

The Jahangir Mahal is one of the best-preserved monuments in Orchha. It is one of the 50 or so palaces and forts built by Raja Bir Singh Ju Deo during his reign in the 17th century. This particular palace was built to commemorate the visit of Emporer Jahangir to the city of Orchha.

There is a small museum off the central courtyard, but far more enticing are the steep stone steps leading to the hanging balconies of the upper floors. From these narrow ledges there is a good, if somewhat vertiginous, view down into the courtyard and across to the domes on top of the palace apartments. Numerous apartments and terraces are accessed from these balconies, some still showing traces of the turquoise tile motifs on the walls. The rooms are all light and airy, with beautiful stone lattice-work windows giving great views over the countryside. To the west, the view is over the rooftops of the village and beyond to the Laxminarayana Temple perched on a hill on the skyline. From the eastern windows you look down on the newly restored caravanserai and out across the forest with crumbly temples dotted around. The Betwa River is a blue ribbon in the distance.

The main entrance to the palace is on the east side, but most tour groups seem to enter from the west (by the Sheesh Mahal Hotel), have a quick look around, and then exit the same way. This almost guarantees the luxury of sitting on the steps of the caravanserai with an uninterrupted view of the magnificent exterior of the palace. Two stone elephants guard the entrance (although their tusks have been knocked off), which is intricately carved, and the ceiling above the doorway has been beautifully painted. Again, there are the traces of turquoise tiles on the facade of the building that give an indication of how stunning it must have looked in the past.

Following the path behind the caravanserai there is a pleasant walk through the fields to a group of small ruins that appear to be home to the farmer and his family. The metal spokes of an umbrella used as a TV aerial is a somewhat bizarre sight on top of the monument.

The Laxminarayana Temple sits on a hill about a kilometre NW of the village. The best times to visit are either first thing in the morning or late afternoon, especially if you are walking as there is no shade from the midday sun. The first stage of the walk, through the village, was a bit of a building site, with some fairly major roadworks going on. This was apparently all part of an ongoing plan to build a bypass around the village in order to avoid the bottleneck at the crossroads. Accompanied by several small children who didn't want pens or chocolate (surprise, surprise!), we eventually reached the flagstone road that leads up to the temple. The views across the countryside are impressive, and from this vantage point it is possible to get an idea of just how big an area the old city covered. Ruins can be seen sticking out of the trees in all directions for as far as the eye can see.

The temple itself contains the most exquisite paintings in Orchha. There are three rooms inside with murals on the walls and ceilings. Although painted between the 17th and 19th centuries, the colours are really fresh and vibrant. There are scenes from the battle of Jhansi and other local historical events, as well as illustrations of the life of Krishna. On a lighter note, there is also an amusing drawing of two British soldiers who are quite obviously drunk. If you are visiting the temple and you want to see the paintings, then get there before closing time at 5pm. If you do miss the interior, well, the sunset is stunning. There are also several walks leading from the temple to smaller ruins in the fields to the north. The Laxminarayana Temple is included in the Orchha 'day passport' ticket, which for 50 rupees gives access to all the main monuments in the area.

The Wildlife Park is situated across the bridge on the south side of the Betwa River. It is a new and, at the time of writing, still-to-be-completed tourist-development project. The administrative office of the park is situated a few hundred yards from the river bank, and the area is currently being tastefully landscaped to provide picnic spots, pavilions, and footpaths down to the river. There are good views of the chhatris on the north bank from here. The main information office for the park is next to the bus station in the village, although we arranged our visit through our hotel. Prices for entrance do not seem to have been fixed yet, and they will vary according to whether you have your own transport. For entry into the park and a park ranger/guide, we paid 200 rupees each and 50 rupees for our car.

The ranger, on a motorbike with one of us on the back, led us off road and into the park area. We drove slowly along smooth dirt tacks leading through the forest. With the exception of numerous termite mounds, there was little evidence of any wildlife. The track eventually led upwards towards a lookout platform towering over the low trees. Walking the last few yards, we reached the base of the tower, and the view was stupendous. The tower was perched on the edge of an escarpment, which, although not particularly steep, was high enough to give a panoramic view over the surrounding countryside. We were looking at a very wide, fast-flowing river full of islands, many of which were forested and had sandy beaches. In some parts, the river flowed over boulders and there was a distant roar of water. Other stretches of the river were beautifully calm and slow-flowing, with clear bathing pools between the boulders. It was such an immense view, it was impossible to photograph without the right type of camera. There are no maps of the park available, but I was told later that the park is situated on a large island in the middle of the Betwa River. Our next stop was on a small, secluded, sandy beach by the river. Bathing pools, enormous boulders, and dragonflies flitting about, it was idyllic. We wound our way out of the forest, passing some crumbling ruins before exiting back onto the main road. Termites and dragonflies - that was it in the way of wildlife. There are turtles in parts of the park, but they are not disturbed during the breeding season. Wildlife park it isn't, but an area of outstanding beauty it certainly is.

On arriving in Orchha, we passed through the village and down the hill towards the bridge and our hotel. As we rounded the corner, we were all amazed to see the river. Four years ago, it had been a boulder-strewn bed with small streams meandering between the rocks. There had even been a few isolated stagnant stretches of water. This year, however, it was in full spate, fast-flowing, and the most wonderful shade of blue. There were waterfalls, rapids, and calm bathing areas in equal measure.

As we had been in Orchha at the same time of year on our previous visit, we wondered where the water had come from, as there had been no significant increase in rainfall this year. The vegetation on both banks was lush and green, and there was a muffled roar from the rapids upstream beyond the chhatris on the north bank. It was impossible to cross the river bed by jumping from boulder to boulder this year, and there was no choice but to use the bridge (which is not for the faint-hearted). Roughly 200 yards long, it is only just wide enough for a fully loaded Tata lorry to cross. Whilst the locals seem happy to balance on the edge when one passes, I'm afraid I can't - I run. The bridge, a beautiful golden sandstone, is actually three bridges that connect rock outcrops in the river.

I discovered that the Betwa River has its source in a reservoir 50km upstream from Orchha. The regional water authority opens the sluice gates on the dam at intervals throughout the dry season, having notified the village councils in advance. Unfortunately, there is no real pattern to this, so it's virtually impossible to guarantee being in Orchha at the right time. On the Sunday, the river banks were a riot of colour as villagers from miles around came to do their washing and bathing. Every boulder and rock had wash drying in the sunshine, Sadhus took up position on the rocks in the river, and hundreds of small children played in the water. There was a real holiday atmosphere about the place. Even if the river is not in full spate, the bridge itself is a beautiful piece of architecture with 20 or so arches spanning the river. There are also some wonderful walks along the river banks, where kingfishers can be seen diving into the water.