Some cities announce themselves with noise. Khajuraho, instead, sneaks up on you. One minute you're thinking about signal strength on your phone, the next you're standing before temples that look as if they were sewn out of sunlight and wind.
And somewhere between a tiger sighting in Panna, a canyon carved by the Ken River, the chants at Bageshwar Dham, and a bowl of onion kheer that did not taste like onion (magic must have been involved), we realised that at The LaLiT Temple View Khajuraho, hospitality wasn't a service. It felt like... home.
A Luxury Hotel That Introduces Itself Like Family
"This is not a hotel. This is a home, and we are all family. That is what we focus on making for every guest," Mr Ashish Tiwari, LaLiT Temple View Hotel's manager, told us. It sounded like a line you hear often in luxury properties, until the next 48 hours proved it genuinely true.
From the moment we stepped inside the 9-acre estate, just 7 km from the airport and just minutes from the Western Group of Temples, the vibe wasn't intimidating luxury but a warm, lived-in elegance. The kind that wraps around you with ease.
The entrance of LaLiT Temple View Hotel
The first thing we noticed? Every staff member wore LGBTQ+ supporter pins, a quiet but significant reminder that hospitality here meant inclusivity.
The lobby unfurled in soft amber light, scented with champa, and framed by sprawling views of the Western Group of Temples.
Rooms That Wake Up With The Temples
Our room overlooked the temples, and waking up to their silhouettes - still, solemn, touched with morning gold - felt like witnessing a secret exchange between the sun and a thousand-year-old masterpiece.
The room. Photo: LaLiT Temple View Hotel
The property's 60 rooms, spread across the main wing and The LaLiT Traveller, range from well-appointed Deluxe Garden View and Temple View rooms to the opulent Legacy Suites that rise up to Rs 1.2 lakh a night. Yet despite the range and luxury, what threads the experience together is comfort rather than extravagance.
The Temple View rooms are truly the highlight. Waking up with the shikharas glowing gold in early morning light is a memory that stays with you long after checkout.
Lord Krishna temple at the hotel. Photo: LaLiT Temple View Hotel
Where Wellness Is A Ritual
Rejuve, the spa is practically a temple of its own with separate hydro areas for men and women (steam, sauna, soak pool, chill showers), five treatment rooms with attached WC & steam shower, a technogym-equipped fitness centre and a 323 sq m swimming pool holding 4.4 lakh litres of turquoise calm
Sauna. Photo: Author
This is the kind of place where you lose track of time, and somehow your phone becomes irrelevant.
A Bundelkhand Feast Cooked Like A Love Letter
The real heart of The LaLiT, however, revealed itself at the dining table. Chef Zahir Ali prepared a Bundelkhandi thali so deeply rooted in local culture and so rich in flavour that it felt like an edible archive of the region.
The experience began with bhutte ka tawa kebab and hari moong dal wadi, each bite earthy and full of character. The tomato dhaniya shorba warmed like a sip of comfort.
From chena ki tari to the rustic bafauri tarkari, every element carried a whisper of Bundelkhand's culinary personality. Bhune baigan ka bharta carried the smokiness of a home kitchen; the Bundelkhandi kadhi, tempered with gooseberry and curry leaves, tasted of local traditions preserved through generations.
The Bundelkhandi Lunch Thali with locally sourced ingredients. Photo: Author
The dal Bundelkhandi felt like slow-cooked devotion, paired perfectly with jeera-onion rice and the unforgettable thadula.
But nothing surprised us quite like the pyaz ki kheer: creamy, fragrant, velvety, and entirely devoid of the sharpness you'd associate with onion. If no one told us, we would have sworn it was a classic mewa kheer. It was the kind of dish that lingers long after the meal ends.
Chef Zahir called it "deceptive comfort". We couldn't agree more.
When Ancient Stone Begins To Speak
Exploring the Western Group of Monuments felt like walking into a living, breathing canvas. UNESCO calls it a heritage site.
Western Group Of Temples in Khajuraho. Photo: Author
Kandariya Mahadev stood tall, shimmering with over 870 sculptures. Lakshmana and Vishvanatha temples carried their own symphonies of carved dancers, warriors and celestial beings.
Western Group Of Temples in Khajuraho. Photo: Author
Every inch of stone felt intentional. A mother played with her child, a dancer adjusted her anklet, musicians tuned their instruments, lovers leaned into each other, a scribe bent over a manuscript, and an elephant stumbled in a procession, causing a ripple of reactions carved in eternal motion.
Western Group Of Temples in Khajuraho. Photo: Author
The erotic sculptures, often sensationalised, were merely a small, balanced part of a much larger, more intricate narrative of everyday life, devotion, humour and human experience.
The Quiet Grace Of The Eastern Group Temples
The Eastern Group Of temples, especially the Jain shrines of Parshvanath, Adinath and Shantinath, offered a gentler rhythm. Their carvings were delicate, their details layered with serenity.
It felt like stepping into the more introspective pages of an ancient manuscript.
Eastern Group Of Temples in Khajuraho. Photo: Author
At the Khajuraho Archaeological Museum, the past lay scattered in beautifully fragile fragments: torsos, pedestals, broken sculptures, each piece a page torn but still eloquent.
Raneh Falls, The Canyon Of Colours
About 20 km from town, the Ken River slices open the earth to reveal: Basalt, granite and quartzite. In colours ranging from blush pink to jet black.
The Ken River. Photo: Author
During the rains, the sound of water hitting the canyon walls echoes like thunder rehearsing for a performance.
Raneh Waterfalls in Khajuraho. Photo: Author
Into The Wild Heart Of Panna
Panna National Park was a world that existed on its own terms. At dawn, as our jeep entered through Madla Gate, the forest felt ancient and watchful. Golden grasslands stretched into the horizon. Teak forests rose in quiet majesty. And then, suddenly, the jungle parted for a tiger.
The entrance of Panna Tiger Reserve. Photo: Author
A massive female stepped out from the foliage along with her cubs with the regal calm of a creature who knows she belongs. Muscles rippled under his striped coat as the sunlight touched him.
Spotted tiger and her cubs on safari. Photo: Author
Deer stamped in warning; birds stirred; the air tightened. We watched in stunned silence as he crossed before us and disappeared as quietly as she had arrived.
The spotted deer. Photo: Author
Later, at Dhundwa Seha gorge, hundreds of vultures circled above, their wings casting fleeting shadows on the rocks. We saw chousingha disappear into thickets, kingfishers slice through streams with flashes of blue, chinkara grazing in shy elegance, gharials and crocodiles lying like ancient relics along the Ken River, and langur families huddled in peaceful contemplation. Panna felt raw, humbling, and unexpectedly emotional.
The Roar Of Devotion At Bageshwar Dham
Our visit to Bageshwar Dham brought an entirely different energy. The chants, the crowds, the devotional fervour, all of it wrapped the space in an energy that was almost electric. It was impossible not to feel the pulsing faith around us. The experience stood in stunning contrast to the quiet intensity of Khajuraho's temples.
Bageshwar Dham. Photo: Author
Leaving With More Than We Came For
By the time the trip drew to a close, we realised The LaLiT Temple View had fulfilled its promise. It truly had felt like home, a home framed by UNESCO heritage, warmed by thoughtful hospitality, flavoured by Bundelkhand's culinary soul, and surrounded by landscapes and temples that refused to stay silent.
What we brought back wasn't just footage or notes. It was stories. Textures. Flavours. Light falling on ancient stone. A tiger rolling in dust. A hotel that felt like family. And a bowl of onion kheer, we still can't stop talking about.
LaLiT Temple View Hotel
Khajuraho isn't just a destination. It's an experience that moves through time, through art, through faith, and finds a home inside you.
Just like The LaLiT Temple View intended. And succeeded.