Orchha

Rudra Pratap Singh chose this island in the Betwa for his capital in 1531, and the Bundelas built here for a century before Mughal politics and the later move to Tikamgarh left Orchha to the river and the ruins. The Raja Mahal, Jahangir Mahal and Rai Praveen Mahal stand together on the fortified island, linked to the town by a stone bridge. Jahangir Mahal, raised by Bir Singh Deo for the emperor's single visit, is a three-storey square of domed chhatris and screened balconies; climb to the top for a view over the whole plateau.

Orchha's peculiarity is the Ram Raja Temple, a palace turned shrine, where Rama is worshipped as ruler and the Madhya Pradesh Police present a guard of honour at the daily aarti. The Chaturbhuj Temple next door, built to house that same idol, is a vast empty basilica of pointed arches with a shikhara you can climb, and the Lakshmi Narayan Temple on the ridge keeps the best surviving Bundela murals. Down at Kanchana Ghat, fourteen chhatris, the Bundela cenotaphs, rise from the riverbank, best seen from the far side at sunset when long-billed vultures settle on the spires.

Days here are slow: a morning of palaces, a raft or boat on the Betwa, an afternoon in the bazaar and at the temple aarti, then the sound and light show on the island. Orchha is 16 km from Jhansi and works as a base for both Khajuraho and Gwalior.