Yogini chambers on the rim

Temple from the hill approach

Rainwater channel detail

Hero photograph by Suyash Dwivedi (CC BY-SA 4.0) · source. Remaining gallery slots await licensed imagery.

Tier 4 · Offbeat

Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli

Morena district, Madhya Pradesh

Historical Religious Architecture Offbeat

Directions

Recommended: 2 hrs; min 1 hr
Difficulty: Moderate
Best season: Winter; +1 more
Typical spend: ₹300; per person
Check-in worth: 150 pts; Offbeat
Crowds: Rarely crowded

Why go

A perfect stone circle, 170 ft across, with 64 chambers around the rim and a shrine at the centre, standing alone on a hill with nobody there. The resemblance to Sansad Bhavan is unmistakable once you have seen it.

Built around 1323 CE by the Kachchhapaghata king Devapala, the temple is an Ekattarso Mahadeva — 64 yogini chambers ringing an open court with a central Shiva shrine. Only a handful of yogini temples survive in India and this is the best preserved. The Parliament connection is persistent and unproven: Herbert Baker never wrote it down, but the plan similarity is striking and the ASI signage at the site repeats the claim. The temple also has a sophisticated rainwater system, with the roof of each cell draining to an underground reservoir. It has survived several major earthquakes intact, which has drawn structural engineers here to study the foundations.

Things to do here

6 things · 4 hr 50 min to do all of them

Walk the full inner circleSixty-four chambers, each with its own lingam. Walk the ring and look at the ceiling of each — the joinery is the interesting part.45 min
Stand at the central shrineThe open court with the circle around you is the whole point of the building.20 min
Find the rainwater channelsEach cell roof drains inward to an underground reservoir. Look for the cut channels in the floor slabs.25 min
Views over the Morena plainThe hill is the only high ground for miles.20 min
Combine with Bateshwar35 km away, also Tier 4. Two 150-point check-ins in one morning.2 hrs
Padavali fort temple3 km from Bateshwar — a tenth-century temple inside a fort gateway, with exceptional carving.1 hr

The Morena Tier-4 loop, one long morning

Single day · 8 hr 40 min of planned activity

07:00
Drive from Gwalior
1 hr 15 min
40 km north on NH-44 then district road
08:15
Mitaoli — climb and circle the yogini temple
1 hr 30 min
10:00
Drive to Padavali
40 min
18 km
10:45
Padavali fort temple
1 hr
12:00
Bateshwar temple group
2 hrs
3 km from Padavali
14:15
Lunch in Morena
1 hr
15:30
Return to Gwalior
1 hr 15 min

Location & geofence

The shaded ring is the check-in geofence — 300 m around the site. Your GPS has to fall inside it for a check-in to count.

26.1494, 78.1967 · Open turn-by-turn in Google Maps

Visitor information

Before you go

No water, shade or facilities at the site. The Chambal ravine country around Morena is remote — do not attempt it after dark.

TempleSunrise to sunset, daily

Best time of dayEarly morning. There is no shade on the hill and no water at the top.

40 km north of Gwalior. Take NH-44 towards Morena, turn off at Malanpur for Mitaoli village. Gwalior airport and railway station are the practical bases. No public transport to the site.

Last mile: The last 6 km is a narrow village road, tarred but rough. The car park is at the hill base; the climb is about 100 steps.

Accessibility

WheelchairNo
Senior friendlyNo
Child friendlyYes

About 100 steps up the hill, unshaded, no handrail in places.

Reviews

4.8from 96 explorers

Only explorers with a verified check-in here can leave a review.

Divya Pandey
@shikhara · 11 Jul 2026
Worth the detour, genuinely. The road in is rough for the last stretch and I would not take a low-clearance car after rain, but the site itself is in better condition than I expected.
Tip: Fill up fuel before you turn off the highway — there is nothing after that.
31 found this helpful
Vikram Tomar
@chambal_kid · 31 May 2026
Facilities are basically non-existent, which the listing is honest about. Carry water and use the toilet before you leave the last town.
Tip: No water, no toilets, no signal. Plan accordingly.
19 found this helpful

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