Orchha, two and a half hours west, is the better surprise: a river town of cenotaphs and a palace on an island, almost nobody staying overnight, and a sunset over the Betwa that guests remember longer than the carving.

Two nights split between the two works well. Khajuraho's western group needs a full unhurried morning with someone who can read iconography; Orchha needs an evening and a dawn, not an afternoon on the way through.

Both sit on the Delhi - Agra - Varanasi line, which is why they appear mid-itinerary. Khajuraho has flights; Orchha is reached from Jhansi, where the fast trains from Delhi and Agra stop.