A Heritage Escape To Ajanta And Ellora Caves

A

cluster of ancient caves located in the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Ajanta, and Ellora is a UNESCO recognized heritage site and a world famous tourist attraction. Read more to know how to plan a perfect weekend getaway trip to the caves.

Creatively carved out of the rock, Ajanta and Ellora caves are a famed tourist destination for people all around the globe. These caves are situated on the northern side of Maharashtra in the city of Aurangabad. The caves are one of the archeological gems of India as some of them date back to the 2nd century. The caves are located about 100 kilometers away from each other, which make it very hectic to explore both of them on the same day. It is best suggested to take out ample time to visit these caves and delve into the historical retreat of world heritage sites.

Also Read: Ajanta and Ellora Caves: History, facts, Best Time to visit & Information 

The city of Aurangabad is located about 350 kilometers from Mumbai and is a perfect place for a weekend getaway. We booked our 3 Days Private Ajanta and Ellora Tour with Return Flights from Mumbai last month. As we reached there, we decided to visit our first destination, which were the Ellora caves. It was a long journey from Mumbai to Aurangabad so we decided to have lunch before starting our day’s excursion. We booked our Aurangabad tour package online, in advance so a tourist guide was already assigned to us for the rest of the day.

Ellora caves are the world’s largest rock-cut temple complex in the world with over 100 different caves exhumed out of the Chanranandari Hills. These ancient caves are dated back to 600–100 CE period and have different monuments featuring Jain, Buddhist and Hindu temples and antique artwork. As we had the whole day to explore the Ellora caves, we decided to visit every cave in the complex. The most interesting cave out of the all was cave 16, featuring the largest monolithic excavated structure in the world, the Kailasha Temple. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and highlights other structures depicting the gods, goddesses, and mythologies.

Also Read: Add New Circuit to Your Bucket List: – Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad

After our day 1 excursion to the Ellora caves, we headed back to the city to stay overnight and get our bodies some rest to explore the Ajanta caves. Ajanta cave is a cluster of approximately 30 caves which are dated back to the 2nd century and are believed to be older than the Ellora caves. Unlike Ellora caves, Ajanta caves only feature mythical Buddhist artwork and religious artwork. It took us about a whole day to cover every cave, knowing about its significance, history, and architecture. The caves are an epitome of the ancient artwork, paintings, and structures.

If nothing else, Ajanta and Ellora is a must visit if you plan to have a getaway full of excitement and curiosity. Not only the monuments, but if you visit the place from November to March, the surreal lush green surroundings also add up to the place. If you are willing to witness the heritage site, you can book your online city tour packages from websites like TripAdvisor, Indiator, Get your Guide, etc.