Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves Trip: The Largest Rock-Cut Caves in the World

Once you arrive in Aurangabad airport, our driver will come to pick you up.
Then you can check-in at the hotel.

If you are planning to an weekend/extended weekend trip to an exotic cultural location in India, then you might try Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves. You will be blown away not only by the magnificent caves like Kailasa Temple of Ellora, but you can also visit Daulatabad Fort and Bibi Ka Maqbara during your trip.

The Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They are in Aurangabad, near Pune of India. It is approximately 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments, which date from the 2nd century to about 480 CE. The caves include numerous paintings and rock-cut sculptures. These are undoubtedly some of the finest surviving examples of ancient World art.

The caves were built in two phases. While the first phase started around the 2nd century BCE, the second phase was built around 400–650 CE. However, there are some contradictions on the exact dates. Nonetheless, it is the exquisite work of art that draws millions across the globe to the Caves.

The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries. Among the many cave paintings, the ones that stand out are those which involve the Buddha. There are also worship-halls of different Buddhist traditions,  which are carved into a 75-metre (246 ft) wall of rock. So, you can see the past lives and rebirths and rock-cut sculptures of Buddhist deities. The Ajanta Caves 16, 17, 1 and 2 form the largest corpus of surviving ancient Indian wall-painting.

Needless to say, the site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India.  Since you are most likely to stay in Aurangabad, keep a full day for your Trip to Ajanta Caves.

At day’s end, return to your hotel in the evening.

If you are planning to an weekend/extended weekend trip to an exotic cultural location in India, then you might try Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves. You will be blown away not only by the magnificent caves like Kailasa Temple of Ellora, but you can also visit Daulatabad Fort and Bibi Ka Maqbara during your trip.

After breakfast, check-out of the hotel and visit the following places :

Ellora Caves is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world. The caves features Hindu, Buddhist and Jain monuments artwork, which dates from the 600–1000 CE period.

The most famous of all is the Kailasha temple, which is in Cave 16. It is the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world. The Kailasha temple excavation also features sculptures depicting the gods, goddesses and mythologies found in Vaishnavism, Shaktism.

Out of the total 100 caves there are 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves. All of the Ellora monuments were built during Hindu dynasties. For example, the Rashtrakuta dynasty constructed part of the Hindu and Buddhist caves.

The Bibi Ka Maqbara is a tomb, which was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It is built in the memory of his first wife Dilras Banu Begum. It is also called the mini Taj because of its striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal. This building has its own charm.

Daulatabad Fort, which is also known as Devagiri Fort, lies 11km north-west of Aurangabad. It is only 16 km away from the famous Ellora Caves. The Daulatabad Fort, which is one of the most powerful forts of the medieval deccan period,  is among the most famous forts in India.

If you are planning to an weekend/extended weekend trip to an exotic cultural location in India, then you might try Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves. You will be blown away not only by the magnificent caves like Kailasa Temple of Ellora, but you can also visit Daulatabad Fort and Bibi Ka Maqbara during your trip.

After breakfast check out from your hotel and proceed towards the airport.

If you are planning to an weekend/extended weekend trip to an exotic cultural location in India, then you might try Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves. You will be blown away not only by the magnificent caves like Kailasa Temple of Ellora, but you can also visit Daulatabad Fort and Bibi Ka Maqbara during your trip.