3 Best Sights in Southern Group of Temples, Side Trips from Delhi

As part of continuing explorations since 1999, the largest temple yet—4 meters longer than the Kandariya Mahadeva—has been partially unearthed. On the Bijamandala you can see multiple tiers of beautifully carved moldings and a Shiva lingam placed on a marble pedestal. Images of Vishnu and Brahma have been found as well, and it also houses a lovely image of Saraswati. Archaeologists surmise that the temple, begun in the late 10th or early 11th century and between the Duladeo and the Chaturbhuj, may never have been completed, judging by the remains and unfinished statues found on the site.

This small 12th-century temple, nearly 3 km (2 miles) south of Duladeo, is often ignored given its distance from the main complex. It has an attractive colonnade entrance and a feeling of verticality thanks to its single spire. Inside, its impressive four-armed image of Vishnu in a sunken sanctum, may be the single most striking piece of sculpture in Khajuraho. The exterior sculpture here is not nearly as impressive as other examples in the area, but the temple is definitely the best place in Khajuraho to watch the sun set. In the north corner there is a rare image of the goddess Narsimhi, who has a lion's face and a human body.

Though built in the customary five-shrine style, this 12th-century temple looks flatter and more massive than most Khajuraho shrines. About 900 yards south of the Eastern Group's Ghantai, it stands near the Khudar rivulet. Probably the last temple built in Khajuraho, the Duladeo lacks the usual ambulatory passage and crowning lotus-shaped finials. Here, too, in this temple dedicated to Shiva, eroticism works its way in, though the amorous figures are discreetly placed.