One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval temples famous for their erotic sculpture. The name Khajuraho is derived from the Hindi word khajur meaning a date palm.
The city was once the religious capital of the Chandela Rajputs, a tribal dynasty who ruled this part of India from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of a hundred years, from 950-1050 AD. The whole area was enclosed by a wall with eight gates, each flanked by two golden palm trees. There were originally over 80 temples, of which only 22 now stand in a reasonable state of preservation, scattered over an area of about eight square miles.
The Khajuraho group of monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.