On the Road: From the Temples Of Khajuraho to Agra’s Monument of Love

40 Cities, 17 States, 65 Days: Follow the entire My Way On Highway road trip here.

The bright and sunny morning of Day 64 of My Way On Highway was going to take us on a journey through the centre of India to where her heart lies. Yes, it was time for us to depart from Khajuraho and take the roads oscillating through the states of Madhya and Uttar Pradesh finally reaching our destination – Agra! By the way, it is pretty rad how my husband Tariq and I are up every morning at seven without the need of a wake-up call.

Bye Bye Khajuraho

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Before that one last goodbye to Khajuraho, we lingered on the city’s reticent charm. The sensational temples were covered at leisure yesterday, so we inquired about other things to do. We learnt about the raw beauty of the Raneh Falls (20 kilometres away), a canyon rooted from a volcano that used to be near the Ken River. Another gorgeous point of interest is the Pandav Falls that originates from the same water source and is believed to have been inhabited by the five Pandava Brothers and their wife Draupadi during their 14 year exile. Sadly, we had to pass on them both as neither lay in our route – Khajuraho – Nowgong – Jhansi – Gwalior – Morena – Agra. It was a total of 400 kilometres spanning narrow and bumpy roads that rockstar driver Tariq covered in nine hours!

Queen of MP

Khoob ladi mardani woh toh Jhansi waali rani thi… Suddenly the words from a school poem about the brave Rani Lakshmi Bai flashed in my mind as we entered the city of Jhansi. Unfortunately, the destination does not carry the same grandeur of the days gone by and in fact, seems to be a little lost. That said, if you do have time, unlike us today, please do make a visit to the Fort of Jhansi, Rani Mahal and the Government Museum to where Jhansi regains the charm.

The Land of Peacocks

A few hours later, we could see the brown arid landscape of Morena – the town known to inhabit peacocks and Paan Singh Tomar, the famous Robin Hood-esque dacoit who used to live here. Don’t worry, the place is safe now and attracts several travellers keen to dive deep in the history of the Kachwaha Kingdom. We spotted a fine looking palace from the highway that belonged to them. And it was by this time that Gulabo, our beloved car, completed 1 lakh kilometres on road.

Agra, Where Art Thou?

 

Honestly, there was a moment when we had started to feel a little sore driving non-stop and wondering, ‘When will we reach Agra?’ Finally, the precincts of the city of love were entered and we headed straight for the first pizzeria we saw to grab a late lunch at 5 pm. After our hunger was satiated, we once again took off in search of our hotel. Love Kush International is located rather well on the prominent Fatehbad Road right next to the ITC Mughal. Thanks to pre-booking on MakeMyTrip, we had a speedy check-in and are now settled in our clean and comfy room. Good value for money if you ask me!

Come back tomorrow to know how we spent the last day of our epic road trip.

Yes, you read it right – the last day of My Way On Highway. (Pictures courtesy Tariq Khan)