India Day Fourteen: A Morning Walk In Khajuraho And Long Ride To Bandhavgarh.

We saw a lot on my  first two weeks in India traveling with my Royal Q Travels group. New and Old Delhi, historic palaces, tigers in two National Parks, the breathtaking beauty of the Taj Mahal, a celebration of  Diwali, and so much more. Seeing so much meant we were traveling a lot. And we were on the road again on Thursday morning, leaving Khajuraho and heading to our third National Park in Bandhavgarh. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive.

However we weren’t leaving until 10 a.m which meant I had time to explore the town of Khajuraho before we left. I was up before the sun and first walked through the grounds of our hotel,

where I saw this purple sunbird .

I left the hotel grounds , and walked toward the downtown and the Temple Complex we visited the previous afternoon.

The road was quiet. There was no traffic just a few folks on bicycles.

I walked toward  the downtown area, and the Temple Complex we visited the previous afternoon.

I did not see many people but I saw a lot of friendly dogs along the road,

and a few large billed crows on the road.

As I walked into the mostly deserted streets in the town, I saw a few cows along the road,

this one with her calf.

I came to the lake that I walked along the previous afternoon,

And found some folks preparing their small shops for the tourist who will be arriving later to visit the temples.

The gates to the temple were closed and I began my walk back to the hotel.

There were now a lot more people on the road.

Many  were visiting the active Hindu  temple,

that we saw the previous afternoon. Curious, I walked toward the temple,

and found this elderly couple along the path. I gave I gave them ₹500 about six American dollars and they were very grateful. The gentleman performed the heartfelt song for me. It was a very moving experience. I walked up to the temple,  stairs remove my shoes and walked up to thestep stairs to the  sanctum. Here I found people deep in pray.  I was warmly greeted and  directed to walk around the center of the temple and join them.  I spent a few minutes reflecting in this peaceful and holy place. I left the sanctum and, as I was leaving the temple an elderly man with a small candle, came up to me, said a prayer and marked my forehead with a red circle. I don’t know what he said, but it was a very moving experience. I enjoy these hikes on my own and and learn so much  about the local people.

I began my  walk back to the hotel ,

past the billboards,

and mural along  the way

I walked past he restaurant we are had dinner  the previous day, the Pinch of Salt.

It was a nice quiet walk back to the hotel.

I returned around 9 o’clock. I took another quick walk by the pool and found these frogs in a stream along the pool,

and this pretty butterfly,

near some flowers.  It was a great 3 mile hike. Here is a link to a photo gallery on my blog page with more photos from my morning hike. India Day Fourteen Khajuraho morning walk October 23, 2025.

I returned to the hotel and  had a nice breakfast before  our bus arrived for the 6 1/2 hour drive to Bandhavgarh National Park.

Out guide and tour operator Aparana continued to provide us information about the local area and various topics on Indian life on our long rides.  We soon drove past the Ken River,

and through the  mostly rural and wooded countryside.

Unfortunately, our bus broke down and we were stranded along the highway for about an hour. We were all seasoned travelers and expected to encounter the unexpected so we left the bus and waited  in the woods for a replacement bus to arrive.

 I didn’t; the delay one bit. it let me walk into the  forest along the road where,

I found a dung beetle.

I enjoyed exploring the woods along the road and the teak trees,

with their dry brittle leaves that were growing there.

I also saw this chocolate pansy butterfly, and

These blue sage flowers growing in the woods along the highway.

A replacement bus pick us up and we continued on our long journey to Bandhavgarh.

We made a few rest stops along the way, including one at this small hotel decorated for the Diwali celebration.

We drove through many small towns, and rural countryside.

We then climbed some hills with some nice overlooks of some cliffs below.

Occasionally, we had to slow down because of herd of cows along the road.

We made another interesting rest stop, with some interesting bathroom conditions. I woudn’t recommend this one.

We continued on through some more small towns with the usual vendors,

and also through some rural countyside

It was late afternoon and getting dark when we finally arrived at the Aranyak Resort located in lush jungle. I loved the place. While we were having our luggage and move from the bus and checking into the rooms, I took a quick walk to the jungle and found a spotted owl perched on the tree. I also heard many monkeys crawling through the trees.

 

It was a long day and so I ate early and edited  some photos. I went to bed early,  looking forward to another safari in the morning it was an early one. Our wake up call was at 4:30 but again it was worth it since I hoped to see another tiger  before I left India. Here is a link to another photo gallery in my blog webpage with some more photos from our long days drive. India Day Fourteen Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh drive. October 22, 2025.

“I noted that people are happy here in India. When I went back home, people had everything in the materialistic sense and were surrounded with abundance, but they were not happy.” – Goldie Hawn

 “India lives in several centuries at the same time.” – Arundhati Roy