Mahoba is associates with the Chandella kings who ruled over Bundelkhand between the 9th and 12th centuries. Mahoba derives its name from ' Mahotsava', which means great celebration performed by its founder Chandravarman, around 800 AD. In the next century, Mahoba became the Chandella capital in preference over Khajuraho.

This one time capital is now a small town with a population of 56,000. The town comprises three distinct areas - the old fort lying to the north of a low granite hill, the inner fort on top of the hill, and Dariba or the betel market on the south. Apart from several picturesque lakes, there are also many places of historical and archaeological interest.

Land of Lakes The most notable feature of Mahoba is its several lakes or tanks, all of which were created by the Chandellas. The Disrapur Sagar is large, though partially silted. The Rahila Sagar was built by Rahila who ruled between 890 and 910 A.D. It is the oldest tank near Mahoba and along with Suraj Kund, is the venue of the Kartiki Fair held in October. At the west of Rahila Sagar is a 9th Century granite Sun Temple. A large sandstone image of Surya, the sun god, was found by the Surya Kund. Vijay Sagar, an immense lake of considerable beauty was built by Vijayvarman (1035-1060 A.D.) Its deep waters are ideal for swimming and water sports. This lake has been converted into the Vijay Sagar Bird Sanctuary. The Kirat Sagar has fine ghats with granite embankments. Bundelkhand's famous Kajli Mela is held here in August. A hill of red earth provides a picturesque backdrop to the lake. On top of the hill in high esteem by Alha and Udal, the revered local heroes who gave their lives fighting Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 AD. A roofless granite structure known as Alha's Baithak is by this lake.

The Madan Sagar, built by Mandanvarman (1129-1162 AD) is particularly beautiful for it has rocky islets containing some ruins. The famous granite Shiva temple, called Kakramath, is located here. The Kakramath Temple is in the same style as the Khajuraho temples. On the nearby island of Majhari are the ruins of a Vishnu temple. The old Chandella fort, known as Qila Mismar is on the northern embankment of the lake.. Within the fort are the ruins of Parmal's palace, the celebrated Maniya Devi Temple a massive granite pillar known as Deewat or Alha Ki Gili and the shrine of Pir Mubarak Shah, a Muslim saint from Arabia who settled in Mahoba in 1252 AD. On the southeastern part of Gokhar Hill are 24 rockhewn images of Jain tirthankaras, with inscriptions dated 1149 AD. The Gokhar Hill, named after Guru Gorakhnath, has dramatic granite rock formations with caves and waterfalls. This spot is ideal for picnics and rock climbing. The Kalyan Sagar, associated with funeral ceremonies, is the sites for several sati memorials. Other places of interest at Mahoba incudes the Alha Udal Chowk, Bari-Chandrika Devi Temple, Ram Kund, Suraj Kund and Siva Temple at Katheswar.