Varanasi to Gwalior itinerary: 7 days in Varanasi, Khajuraho, Panna, Orchha and Gwalior
7 days · 6 nights · 5 stays · sample itinerary
A week from the ghats of Varanasi westwards: the Khajuraho temples, a night at the edge of Panna’s tiger reserve, Orchha’s temples and cenotaphs on the Betwa, and Gwalior’s fort.
It is a sample itinerary — a starting point, not a timetable. Each night has a place to stay, named where one is known; check that it is open and has room before you book. No flight or train is named, and the times in the plan are placeholders. Open it in the planner and it becomes a trip of your own, starting a month from today, with the places to see already on their days.
Day by day
Day 1
Stay: Taj Nadesar Palace, Varanasi
2 nights
Day 2
The ghats and riverside rituals
Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Sarnath: the ruins and the museum
Day 3
Varanasi → Khajuraho
Journey · 09:00–12:00
How is not stated. Times approximate.
Stay: Place to stay in Khajuraho (not named — choose one), Khajuraho
1 night
The Khajuraho temples
Kalinjar Fort
An optional excursion.
Day 4
Khajuraho → Panna
Journey · 09:00–10:00
How is not stated. Times approximate.
Stay: Sarai at Toria, Panna
1 night
Panna jeep safari
Boat safari on the Ken River
Day 5
Panna → Orchha
By road · 09:00–14:00
By road, along the Betwa. Times approximate.
Stay: Place to stay in Orchha (not named — choose one), Orchha
1 night
Orchha: the temples and cenotaphs
Day 6
Orchha → Gwalior
Journey · 09:00–12:00
How is not stated. Times approximate.
Stay: Taj Usha Kiran Palace, Gwalior
1 night
Gwalior Fort and Jai Vilas Palace
Day 7
Gwalior → Varanasi
Journey · 10:00–18:00
Added so the trip ends where it began, in Varanasi: change it to wherever you go next. How is not stated. Times approximate.
How the route runs
Two nights in Varanasi for the ghats and Sarnath, then one night each going west: Khajuraho for its temples, Panna for a safari in the tiger reserve, Orchha on the Betwa, and Gwalior below its fort.
What is left for you to fill in
No flight or train is named, and every time in the plan is a placeholder, marked approximate: choose the services that suit, and set the drive times with whoever is driving. Where a journey says how is not stated, choose how. The places to see have no time of day; add one if it helps.
A stay that reads "not named" is a night with no place to stay yet: choose one. A stay whose note lists others has alternatives worth comparing. Check that each is open and has room for your dates before you book.