Aurangabad is located in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, about an overnight train journey away from Mumbai. Its the central location used for visiting the Ajanta and Ellora caves, as well as there are some places of interest in Aurangabad itself. Ellora is about 30 kms away from Aurangabad, and takes about an hour or so to reach from Aurangabad while Ajanta is 120 kms away, taking about 2-3 hours to reach there.
The three major differences (according to me) between the two sets of caves is that the Ajanta caves are famous for their paintings, while Ellora for their sculptures The second would be that Ajanta was built about 2200 years ago from second century BC till fourth century AD, while Ellora is relatively new and built about 1600 years ago from the fifth to the eighth century AD. Lastly, Ellora caves were never lost to human civilisation, hence they are still relatively in good condition. However Ajanta had been completely lost and forgotten for centuries till in 1819, it was re-discovered by a British officer. Years of neglect and erosion have led to the Ajanta paintings being in a dilapidated condition now.
Our first day in Aurangabad, we did a day trip to the Ellora caves, as well as visited the sights of Aurangabad. Ellora is a set of 34 caves of which the main ones are mostly shown by the guides and the rest you can visit if you want. The first set of 12 caves are Buddhist caves, then 17 Hinduism based caves and then 5 Jain caves. All of them have perfectly crafted sculptures made by sculptors, artists and Buddhist monks who stayed at this site for years to work on them. The cave constructions were sponsored by the kings, and the artists continued to work for as long as the funds came in, and when the funds dried up, the artists left, leaving some of the caves incomplete.
All the caves have been dug out of the stone, and some of the structures are difficult to imagine. One of the main temples is No. 16 which is a Shiv temple, called Kailasa temple. Look here, to the depth upto which the stone was cut to make the temple. This is the photo from a Jain cave. The sculptures in these caves are slightly different based on the religion they portray, in subtle ways but on the whole they are all dug out of stone, and involve various intricate works.
The sculptures are beautiful, intricate and would have taken years to carve. Its just amazing to walk around these man-made caves. Some of the sculptures are geometric designs while a lot are of the gods and goddesses depicting mythological stories. Some of the caves are viharas, where monks could stay, which some are temples or monasteries to pray. All of the caves are so much cooler than the weather outside too! Its quite a relief during summers, you just dont feel like getting out of the caves!! Its just so wonderful to walk through the years of work, is difficult to put it into words actually, its just something to experience, how years ago something of this beauty could have been built. Ellora unlike Ajanta caves have never been "lost", so on the whole they are in a relatively good condition too (thankfully).
The same day, we also visited Aurangzeb's tomb as well as his wife's tomb, which is also called the mini Taj Mahal. It looks like its been built with the Taj Mahal as its inspiration, isn't it?
We also had a stop at the Daulatabad fort, but did not get time to spend time to explore it. Apparently its one of the best forts in India, with multiple levels of security at each level. Take a look there if you can.
The next day, we went to visit Ajanta caves, and it was a completely different and out of this world experience. The first view which greets you when you climb the mountain out of which these caves are carved is breathtaking. 30 caves cut out on one face of the mountain and which were lost on to civilization for ages.. As you walk through these caves, you will see the ornately decorated gates and the interiors painted in resplendent colours. Imagine, this was done like 2000 years ago! and imagine what it was when it was in perfect condition, the walls and ceilings in bright colours!!!! I could spend hours just admiring that work!
Ajanta caves are 30 in number and are all Buddhist caves. They again have some caves designed as viharas (as in the photo) and some as monasteries and prayer halls to pray. Also, a lot of the caves are incomplete as when the funds died down, the artisans stopped working on them and moved onto other locations. Also, the caves at Ajanta have both paintings, as well as some sculptures also.
Over the years when these caves were "lost:, the overgrowth from the forests destroyed the caves, plus water came in during rains and destroyed all the paintings. There is restoration work going on massively, however a lot has been already lost. What is left is amazing too though, just amazing. The colours, the paintings, the expressions on the faces, the whole stories told in one canvas, the jatakas tales, there is so much to appreciate and absorb..
Interesting facts which I still remember are that there is one cave with dragon paintings in it. Does this mean we had contact with the Chinese even then? Also, there is this painting in one of the caves, where if you shine the torch, the necklace lights up as if it is sparkling. This is one of the most famous photo from Ajanta.
Here are some more photos from Ajanta. Just put together some good ones...
The guides at both the caves however are not good. They hurry you through, not really giving time to you to enjoy and appreciate the art there. That is one thing which really was not too positive. Flash cameras are not allowed inside the caves so as not to harm the paintings. However given how rule-following we Indians are, people continue to use it all the time!! Otherwise, the caves were just mind-blowing. Hopefully they would be preserved well for the coming generations.
A good place to stay in Aurangabad would be the Lemontree hotel. Its quite a reasonable place, with high standards and is relatively new too. The food is nothing much to write home about though! But the service at the hotel is top-class, highly flexible and helpful. Definitely would recommend it.
The three major differences (according to me) between the two sets of caves is that the Ajanta caves are famous for their paintings, while Ellora for their sculptures The second would be that Ajanta was built about 2200 years ago from second century BC till fourth century AD, while Ellora is relatively new and built about 1600 years ago from the fifth to the eighth century AD. Lastly, Ellora caves were never lost to human civilisation, hence they are still relatively in good condition. However Ajanta had been completely lost and forgotten for centuries till in 1819, it was re-discovered by a British officer. Years of neglect and erosion have led to the Ajanta paintings being in a dilapidated condition now.
Our first day in Aurangabad, we did a day trip to the Ellora caves, as well as visited the sights of Aurangabad. Ellora is a set of 34 caves of which the main ones are mostly shown by the guides and the rest you can visit if you want. The first set of 12 caves are Buddhist caves, then 17 Hinduism based caves and then 5 Jain caves. All of them have perfectly crafted sculptures made by sculptors, artists and Buddhist monks who stayed at this site for years to work on them. The cave constructions were sponsored by the kings, and the artists continued to work for as long as the funds came in, and when the funds dried up, the artists left, leaving some of the caves incomplete.
All the caves have been dug out of the stone, and some of the structures are difficult to imagine. One of the main temples is No. 16 which is a Shiv temple, called Kailasa temple. Look here, to the depth upto which the stone was cut to make the temple. This is the photo from a Jain cave. The sculptures in these caves are slightly different based on the religion they portray, in subtle ways but on the whole they are all dug out of stone, and involve various intricate works.
The sculptures are beautiful, intricate and would have taken years to carve. Its just amazing to walk around these man-made caves. Some of the sculptures are geometric designs while a lot are of the gods and goddesses depicting mythological stories. Some of the caves are viharas, where monks could stay, which some are temples or monasteries to pray. All of the caves are so much cooler than the weather outside too! Its quite a relief during summers, you just dont feel like getting out of the caves!! Its just so wonderful to walk through the years of work, is difficult to put it into words actually, its just something to experience, how years ago something of this beauty could have been built. Ellora unlike Ajanta caves have never been "lost", so on the whole they are in a relatively good condition too (thankfully). 
The same day, we also visited Aurangzeb's tomb as well as his wife's tomb, which is also called the mini Taj Mahal. It looks like its been built with the Taj Mahal as its inspiration, isn't it?
We also had a stop at the Daulatabad fort, but did not get time to spend time to explore it. Apparently its one of the best forts in India, with multiple levels of security at each level. Take a look there if you can.
The next day, we went to visit Ajanta caves, and it was a completely different and out of this world experience. The first view which greets you when you climb the mountain out of which these caves are carved is breathtaking. 30 caves cut out on one face of the mountain and which were lost on to civilization for ages.. As you walk through these caves, you will see the ornately decorated gates and the interiors painted in resplendent colours. Imagine, this was done like 2000 years ago! and imagine what it was when it was in perfect condition, the walls and ceilings in bright colours!!!! I could spend hours just admiring that work!
Ajanta caves are 30 in number and are all Buddhist caves. They again have some caves designed as viharas (as in the photo) and some as monasteries and prayer halls to pray. Also, a lot of the caves are incomplete as when the funds died down, the artisans stopped working on them and moved onto other locations. Also, the caves at Ajanta have both paintings, as well as some sculptures also.Over the years when these caves were "lost:, the overgrowth from the forests destroyed the caves, plus water came in during rains and destroyed all the paintings. There is restoration work going on massively, however a lot has been already lost. What is left is amazing too though, just amazing. The colours, the paintings, the expressions on the faces, the whole stories told in one canvas, the jatakas tales, there is so much to appreciate and absorb..
Interesting facts which I still remember are that there is one cave with dragon paintings in it. Does this mean we had contact with the Chinese even then? Also, there is this painting in one of the caves, where if you shine the torch, the necklace lights up as if it is sparkling. This is one of the most famous photo from Ajanta.Here are some more photos from Ajanta. Just put together some good ones...
The guides at both the caves however are not good. They hurry you through, not really giving time to you to enjoy and appreciate the art there. That is one thing which really was not too positive. Flash cameras are not allowed inside the caves so as not to harm the paintings. However given how rule-following we Indians are, people continue to use it all the time!! Otherwise, the caves were just mind-blowing. Hopefully they would be preserved well for the coming generations.
A good place to stay in Aurangabad would be the Lemontree hotel. Its quite a reasonable place, with high standards and is relatively new too. The food is nothing much to write home about though! But the service at the hotel is top-class, highly flexible and helpful. Definitely would recommend it.
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