Sightseeing
Mandu has over 40 monuments to choose from. For convenience, these are divided into three broad groups: the Central Village Group, the Royal Enclave Group, and the Rewa Kund Group. You can easily spend all day in Mandu, wandering in and out of palaces, pausing to admire the beauty of the Champa Baoli, the former baths, and the huge 15th-century Jami Masjid, the finest example of Afghan architecture in India. Then there are the beautiful Jahaz Mahal (ship palace), where the architectural illusion is completed by the two surrounding lakes; the Hindola Mahal, or swing palace; the romantic Baz Bahadur's Palace and Roopmati's Pavilion; and Hoshang Shah's Tomb, the final resting place of the founder of Ghuri Dynasty. Besides, there are many palaces, pavilions, and reservoirs where you can spend a leisurely day taking in the city's rather turbulent history, which is not revealed by the monuments that speak of luxurious royal lifestyles.



Excursions
Mandu can be made the base for visiting several important destination of south Madhya Pradesh. The Bagh Caves (50 km) are Buddhist viharas that were excavated on the perpendicular rock face of a hill. Of particular interest here are the mural paintings drawn by master painters of ancient India. Another religious place near Mandu is Omkareswar. The site of the famous Omkareswar Mahadeo temple, Omkareswar houses one of the 12 jyotirlingas of India. Then there is Maheshwar, a temple city that finds mention in the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Mahishmati of yore, Maheshwar is also a household name for its unique Maheshwari saris.