Orchha - destroyed ....

wdp4

This past weekend I was in Orchha. Had been there in early 2006, and had found it to be an extremely quiet and a beautiful place. It was still one of those places which was free of touts and instant nirvana hippies. I really enjoyed my time there and was looking forward to this weekend with the girl.

Unfortunately the whole place is now ruined - turned into a garbage dump !! Last time around, many monuments were undergoing reconstruction work most of which is now covered with graffiti - I love you Rekha engraved deep into the pillars !! Every corner was stained forever with Pan spit and bidi buds all over !! This was the scene everywhere I went, be it the palaces, the chattris or the temples.

The Betwa river was choked with plastic, flowers and muck and we couldn't even sit on the banks for five minutes !! The entire weekend was spent cooped up in our room in the palace watching TV !!

My advice to anyone heading to Orchha soon - DON'T !!! However, I did manage to click some decent pics - you can check them here

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Bhaswaran

bad news for such a historical place

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deeps79

This is really sad.......when i was there in Dec 2006 restoration work was going on in the fort.......though the conditions u described was quite visible in the fort and chattris.......still i found it more beautiful than the much lauded khajuraho.............

link to pics from my trip : Orchaa Pics

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arijitraja

Oh No !!!! I am planning to go there Sep End and was just about to post a thread on it.. Shi* !!!
But i guess, i would still go before its actually too late.

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wonderwomanusa

There will be people going to Orchha and finding it lovely and wonderful for years ... just like Calangute or Mammalapuram. <sigh>

aadil

I am sure it will still be worth going there and seeing whatever is left of the grand place than not seeing it at all. When I was there a couple of years ago there was reconstruction and restoration work going on and there is no doubt that there will always be pan stains and beedi and cigarette butts left all over the place and plastic choking the rivers but then that for you and me is India. Take it or clean it!!! I still tell people who throw rubbish or ill treat these monuments all over the country in the best possible way so that they also respect our heritage sites and keep them clean and free from destruction besides what takes toll from the ravages of time. I hope it will be a better place than you found it the last time around.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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haydn

we were in orccha in early '06 too... and loved it. friendly,peaceful(except for the hordes bathing for makara sankranti and the all night drumming and chanting at the ram temple!). for a quiet outing away from all but the monkeys, hire a bicycle and ride out of town across the bridge past the entrance to the wildlife sanctuary until a gap in the fence about a km along the road (unless they fixed it) and relax by the confluence of the betwa and a small stream. enjoy!

timbotron

I agree with deeps79. I was in Orchha last winter and I thought it was a great place. Sure there's a bit of work going on, and there IS a lot of graffiti everywhere, but I found it a pleasant spot to spend a few days; definitely more relaxing than Khajuraho. It's true that tourism is encroaching but it's still very authentic in this traveller's view.

There was no rubbish in the river, the palaces were cleanly swept, and the kids I met didn't ask me for money but only wanted the usual - a photo and a bit of attention.

So, my advice for anyone heading to Orchha soon - DO !!

NeeliAankhen

I hope anyone else who's been there recently will post his/her impressions, I was just about to firm up a plan to go there as part of a February trip. I'd put Orchha in the itinerary specifically for the idea of a calming place between Varanasi and Agra - now I am hesitating for sure.

Baba

I was in Orcha in Jan 07, stayed at the Palace and spent altogether 4 or 5 days there. This was my first visit, so I cannot compare it to former times.

I actually liked the all-day chanting at the temple and went back there often. People explained to me that it was a festival called "Pok", but I have not found any explanation of this festival. The whole village was chock-full of beautiful women. I also liked the bazaar and the general feeling of the place.
What I did not like: I could hardly take a picture without being asked for money. Orcha was the only place where I experienced this. Also quite a few busloads of Korean tourists arrived while I stayed there and I have a certain aversion to busloads of anything.

I did not notice an excessive amount of garbage.

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NeeliAankhen

So - anybody been to Orchha in the last month or two? I'm still hoping for more new information - planning my route between Agra and Varanasi.

singsub

well if Orcha is going downhill, then it is very bad news. It was one of the best places i visited in india.

Magsemail

Yes, I'm also wondering if anyone's been to Orcha in the last month or two, and what the situation is like?

gianni66

I'm going in 45 days!!

And I hope it's still that great place that everybody reports...

rtandon

Yes, I have been there twice in the past year. I do visit there frequently.

We had a really wonderful time both the times.

Just a month before, it was quite good. Most comfortable weather scenes. Of course some reconstruction was going on but it did not cause much trouble. (road was being re constructed as well, which must have been completed by now.)

Link to recent Orchha pics by me
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rajeevt...7603547214339/