In 1838, British army captain T.S. Burt was travelling through the jungles of central India when he stumbled upon a group of temples.
The story goes, Burt wrote to his superiors that the temples were 'most beautifully and exquisitely carved as to workmanship, but the sculptor had at times allowed his subject to grow rather warmer than there was any absolute necessity for his doing; indeed, some of the sculptures here were extremely indecent and offensive ...'
Burt might have been brought to blushes by the sculptures of full-breasted women and sensually entwined couples that adorn the temples of Khajuraho, but these magnificent medieval temples draw hordes of tourists each year to the remote destination.
Located in Madhya Pradesh state in central India, Khajuraho was the cultural capital of the Chandelas of Bundelkhand, who built the temples between AD950 and AD1150. When the Chandela dynasty began to decline, so did Khajuraho's importance and the temples were eventually swallowed up by the surrounding jungle.
Today, the temples of Khajuraho are a designated Unesco World Heritage site. Of the 80 temples originally built, 25 remain, split into the eastern, southern and western groups of temples.
The western group of temples located in the centre of town is the best preserved and attracts the most tourists. Visitors can rent an audio guide for 50 rupees (HK$8.50) or hire a guide for 600 rupees. But you don't need a guide to point the famous erotic friezes out to you - just look for groups of people staring at the walls in fascination.
One of the panels on the outer wall, for instance, has couples engaged in all possible combinations of sexual poses.