The regeneration of a heritage as rich as the Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu, would normally fall within the ambit of the government. In a unique departure, more than 40 years ago, Orient Express went into the hinterlands of India's central forests and discovered in the village of Khajuraho - and later even insisted upon the restoration of - a group of thousand-year-old temples.
 
Orient Express had uncovered an exotic tourism destination - and brought to the doorstep of the world, a forgotten treasure house of a rich natural heritage.
 

The splendid carvings of the Khajuraho Temples

Hotel Chandela, Khajuraho

The result - the temples were declared World Heritage Monuments by UNESCO; the rich wildlife has been brought under protection in the form of the Panna National Park, now a Project Tiger Reserve; and, the sleepy little village of Khajuraho has become a unique example of how tourism can generate economic benefits for an impoverished village community. Today, Khajuraho is an internationally acclaimed tourist centre, and a 'must' on every itinerary of the North-Indian circuit.