Orchha

Orchha, on the banks of the Betwa river in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, is one of India's most atmospheric and underrated heritage towns — a Bundela Rajput capital founded in the early 16th century by Rudra Pratap Singh and then, remarkably, left largely untouched by later development, so that its 16th- and 17th-century palaces, temples, and cenotaphs still rise above a small riverside town much as they did 400 years ago.

• The walled palace complex on the river island is the centrepiece: the Jahangir Mahal, a magnificent symmetrical palace of domes, arched balconies, and corner towers built to honour a visit by the Mughal emperor Jahangir, and the older Raja Mahal, whose inner chambers retain vivid Bundela murals of court and religious scenes.
• The town's most beloved temple is the Ram Raja Temple — one of the very few temples in India where Lord Rama is worshipped as a reigning king rather than as a deity, complete with a daily guard of honour and an armed salute, born of a legend in which an idol installed temporarily in the palace refused to be moved.
• The towering Chaturbhuj Temple and the Lakshminarayan Temple (with some of the finest surviving Bundela wall paintings) complete the sacred circuit.
• Along the right bank of the Betwa stand the Chhatris of Orchha — fourteen graceful sandstone cenotaphs raised as memorials to the Bundela kings, their spires reflected in the river at sunset in one of central India's most photographed views.
• The Betwa also offers gentle river rafting and the Kanchana Ghat sunset.
• The Phool Bagh garden, cooled by an ingenious Sawan-Bhadon fountain system, and the nightly sound-and-light show at the palace complex round out a visit.
• For vegetarian travellers, Orchha serves Bundeli vegetarian fare — poha-jalebi, kachori, dal-bafla (the Malwa-Bundelkhand cousin of dal-baati), and simple riverside thali at the cafes facing the cenotaphs.
• October to March is the comfortable season; Orchha pairs naturally with Khajuraho and Gwalior.