Ajanta & Ellora Reviews

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Its a Good place for architects ! its an amazing place for people who sketch You need atleast 1 night 2 days to enjoy it.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: I would give it a miss.

Activities & things to do: Just relax and chill at the garden of the hotel kailas.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: By your own vehicle via pune.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: It was a long cherished, well planned, minutely researched and wonderfully traveled holiday experience at Ajanta and Ellora in January 2013. The murals and sculptures of these two famous World Heritage Sites are just unbelievably beautiful and surprising! What a rich and extraordinary culture and craftsman India had, when these rock cut cave temples were constructed during second and seventh century, just by a tool like chisel and hammer. The paintings at Ajanta even some 1500 years later are a pleasing treat to the eyes and extremely wonderful. Built on Basalt, there are 26 rock cut temples (total 31, some are not in watchable condition) that depict the epic story of Buddha and are magnificently sculptured which attract millions of traveler from around the world. These caves are either of Mahayana tradition (literally meaning superior) or of Hinayana tradition (inferior) and are Chaityas (Prayer Hall with a Stupa) or Viharas (Monastery). The world largest free standing monolith (carved from top from a single living rock), Kailashnath Temple at cave 16 Ellora, representing the celebration of thunderous power reflecting the fearsome dance of Shiva, is an architectural wonder that took more than 100 years to complete by Rashtrakutta dynasty in 760 CE and still stands high as one of the finest and most renowned monument of ancient India. The city of Aurangabad (the then named Khirki), is itself a representation of history with so many historical connections. It was a dream destination of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb who founded the city in 1610. He spent last two decades of his life here and dies in 1707 and was buried in nearby Khuldabad. In 1679, Aurangzeb’s son built a replica of the Taj Mahal, the ‘Bibi Ka Maqbara’, also called as the Mini Taj and the Taj of the Deccan, in tribute to his mother Begam Rabia Durani, just at a cost of INR 7 lacs while the Taj Mahal at Agra was built at a cost of INR 320 lacs. We have also been to the historic and gigantic Daulatabad Fort and visited Bharatmata temple inside the fort courtyard. The Grishneshwar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is one of the famous Jyotirlingas nearby. We were also pleasantly surprised at Siddrarth Garden, by its sprawling landscape, exotic animals and a toy train for the kids. All in all, it was a wonderful destination with family, with so much to explore and so much to enjoy!

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: The food at Aurangabad is a mix of Mughal and typical Maharashtrian style of combo! We liked very much the food during our stay at Hotel Panchvati and its Tangdi Kebab and Saoji Chicken are just awesome..! There are plenty of good restaurants all over the not-so-big-city, Bhoj (veg only) near Bharad Ganesh Mandir, Thatt Baat (at Adalat Road), Naivedya on Jalna Road and Swad at Osmanpura to name a few. We have tasted samosas and kachories of Gayatri Chaat Bhandar at Gulmandi and are really delicious and is a must have. You can also try out Pan at Tara Pan centre of Osmanpura for a traditional experience. There are plenty of tourist attractions all over the city. Take a ricksaw to explore some thirteen gates (from a total of around 54) in the City of Gates and the important and architecturally most appealing are Makai Gate (east), Delhi Gate (north), Paithan Gate (south) and Khas Gate (west). There are two all inclusive daily tours operated by MTDC and ITDC and is best to opt for. Day one is for Ajanta caves (106km from Aurangabad) and costs 450 rupees per person while day two is for Daulatabad Fort (also known as Deogiri Fort), Ellora Caves (locally known as Verul Leni), Bibi ka Maqbara and Panchakki for a cost of 300 rupees per person. Remember Ajanta and Ellora are closed for tourists on Monday and Tuesday respectively. In Ajanta, visit the caves in this order 17-16-10-6-4-1 and cover during first half of the day as the caves are east facing. You should have powerful torch as its dark inside the caves and avoid shoes with lace as you require putting on and off quite frequently. Though all caves at Ajanta depicts the story of Buddha, Ellora caves represent three faiths – Cave 1-12 in the south (Buddhist – oldest in the lot from 500-750 CE), Cave 13-29 in the middle (Hindu – from 500-870 CE) and Cave 30-34 in north (Jain – 800-1000 CE). Kailashnath Temple, world’s largest free standing monolith, at Cave 16 is the main attraction in Ellora. Go there in July/ August to find a natural waterfall right above cave 12 at Ellora and the view is spectacular while it gushes the water in the gorge! You can pick up some local, traditional and ethnic Himroo and Mishroo shawls, bedcover and Paithani sarees at Paithani Weaving Centre, New Aurangabad (opposite MGM CIDCO) or from Aurangabad Himroo Industry, Zaffer Gate Mondha Road. Plenty of small and traditional memento of Bidri Pottery and many more curios at small shops near Ajanta cave parking bay. Be aware of bargain!

Activities & things to do: Well, nothing much to do in the city of the Tourism Capital of Maharashtra. Just Relax... explore the history at the caves, spend an evening at Bibi ka Maqbara and possibly unwind at the sprawling lawns at Siddarth Garden and Zoo. You can visit nearby Salim Ali Lake and Bird Sanctuary or have a cab to explore Paithan (56km), Lonar Crater (60km) or Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary (70km) if you have specific interests.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Have powerful torch as the caves are quite dark inside. Photography with flash/ tripod is not allowed. Avoid shoes with lace for frequent on and off. Cover Ajanta during first half as the caves are east facing. Have sufficient water and food at the parking bay of Ajanta as nothing is available at the cave upstairs. Be aware of honey bee caves around as at times they get annoyed. Aurangabad is well connected with the rest of the country in all three ways – Air, Rail and Road and you could search on internet that suits your needs. We travelled from Mumbai and found the following is the best option. 17057 Devagiri Express Daily Mumbai (CSTM) 21.05 Aurangabad (AWB) 04.05, 12 stops, 7 hours, 274km, 3AC – Rs.503. 17618 Tapovan Express Daily AWB 14.35 CSTM 22.05, 12 stops, 7 hour 30 minutes, CC – Rs.403

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Ajanta & Ellora are beautiful destinations one has to see in their lifetime. The cave temples, beautiful carvings and paintings shows how mature was the architect in ancient India.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: There are plenty of small hotels to eat. There are plenty of choices in Ellora but not in Ajanta.

Activities & things to do: There is shopping complex at Ajanta. But bargain upto 40-50%. The rates at the entrance shops are 30-40% cheaper.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: It is better to hire vehicle and travel. Winter is best season as the weather will be very cool.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Ajanta and Ellora caves are definitely a place to visit. The amazing sculptures of Ellora and the mesmerizing paintings of the Ajanta caves are worth a watch. Also do not forget to visit the Daulatabad Fort near Ellora. The fort is an amazing example of the strategists who were a part of the glorious history of India.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Caves & Daulatabad Fort.

Activities & things to do: Explore the place and the surroundings..

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Reachable from Aurangabad city.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Ajanta one of the must see destinations, the caves are well maintained, good for strollers and wheel chairs too.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: MTDC servers good food

Activities & things to do: good

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Aurangabad, Ajanta

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: It is a lovely experience visiting this place. The caves are fasinating.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: The resort does not have a kitchen of their own. The food is organized from one of the food joints around.

Activities & things to do: Good place to do the treaking. other than treaking nothing is possible at Ajanta.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: In Ellora it is advisable to use personal vehicle rather than hire the Auto to visit the caves.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: The place was very beautiful and marvelous. The sculpture of the Ajanta Ellora shows the talent in the old peoples. It is surprising to see that with the use of limited technology and resources how they analyse the property of rock to select a location for making caves and other structure.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: No food available in caves. If you are going with kids please carry some eatable products and water

Activities & things to do: Enjoy

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Ladies to wear heal less shoes

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Complete view of the caves along with some trekking & hospitality services.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Not Such.

Activities & things to do: To Experience the old & heritage art of caves & if any other related places close by.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: By Any Means but should be economical & fun filled journey.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: A huge hill cut by old people.'What a bore'(so i thought)!But no, Ajanta & Ellora which have gained the honor of being world heritage sights are truly marvelous.It is amazing to imagine people of 1st Century carving stone to make such enthralling temples and homes. Along with it are added sights in form of water falls and rivers. While Ajanta requires you to first take a bus to the site and then hike a lot over the hill, Ellora is basically at ground level.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Both sites have stalls of cave stone key chains and various items.The hotels here are of very bad quality and charge outrageously so I suggest eating at Aurangabad and then visiting.At both places you get tour guides at 250 or so. Both places have basic quality MTDC restaurants.I Ellora you can take autos to various caves but Ajanta is only walking.Ajanta is horse-shoe shaped and close together but Ellora is more widely spaced. The most amazing is the cave temple Kailash at Ellora.It is a humungous monolithic 2 storey structure and is very must see material.The taxi stand and parking is right in front of it so you can see it first and then see the caves.

Activities & things to do: Panchakki the water mill, Bibi ka Maqbara the duplicate Taj Mahal,Aurangzeb's tomb etc. are also gr8 tourist sites near Aurangabad.Daulatabad was the impenetrable fort is also good but a lot of steps and mazes have to be crossed to reach the top.No guidance is given and you need to find your own way there.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: You can reach Aurangabad by air,road or train.There are also villages closer to the caves which may have train stations.A must is a torch to explore caves forts etc.The ones sold there are of local quality and I don't recommend them.Tickets are for adults only(above fifteen) and are of 5 to 10 rupees for Indian citizens.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Wow .. it is a paradise for the one who love sculpture and paintings. Not to miss these places.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Food is spicy and tasty

Activities & things to do: Enjoy the rich heritege

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: We stayed at Aurangabad and visited Ellora the first day and Ajanta the next day. Ellora is around 40 KM from Aurangabad Ajantha is 110 KM from Aurangabad

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Totally exquisite. All should see the caves at least once in a life time. Very well maintained. Good tourist spot.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: All at the very best. We also get to buy the well known PAITHANI Saree at cheaper price. The food at a Dhaba type hotel on the way is too GOOD. Veg & Non- Veg both.

Activities & things to do: Carry water when going to see the caves especially in the summer time.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Travel by Car to both destinations. Start early so u get good time to see the caves.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Amazing caves must see, not to miss Daulatabad Fort and Bibi ka Makbara.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Buy gauvas and anjir on the way, and himroo and paithani sarees.

Activities & things to do: Go to water park on the way to ellora if you have spare day.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Carry empty haversack/backpack for shoes to put in and walk with while going to Ajanta and Ellora caves as you cannot enter the caves with your shoes on and there are 34/40 caves spread over 1 to 4 km and take small Led torch to see in the caves as it is too dark inside with beautiful carvings and painting.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Made a trip to Aurangabad during Xmas time. Being alone had planned to go to Ajanta in the morning and go to Ellora in the afternoon. It was a Monday. So caught the ST bus from A'bad bus stand to Ajanta which is 100 km. By the time the conductor came to me (I was at the back) we had travelled a good 30-35 km. Shocking news was 'Ajanta Caves are closed on Monday'. Found it absurd that a cave can also be closed. Got down in some village and returned back to A'bad. Caught a bus to Ellora after confirming that the caves are open. Have not visited Ajanta till date.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: If I remember right, there are some 40+ caves in Ellora. It is divided into segments of Hindu caves, Bhuddist caves and Jain caves. Caves are given numbers so you can start from the first and go to the last. Cave 16 which is Kailash cave is the best which also has a temple in it. The sun beats on you and you keep getting soft drinks to quench your thirst. Nothing to do but walk walk and walk and keep peering into all the caves. You have lot of shops which sell beads, etc. Food stalls are plenty.

Activities & things to do: Walk and look around at the Ellora caves and wonder how the people built it. That is it. Pack up leave the place before dusk. Dont go to the corners of the caves as there lot of bats. Daulatbad fort is on the way back from Ellora caves to A'bad. You can cover Ellora caves and Daulatbad fort in one day. It would be very tiring, though. You got lot of shared taxis and buses although the frequency of the buses dont seem to be good. They pack people like cattle in the shared taxis.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: One thing to note is Ajanta caves face the east so visit them in the first half of the day as there is no lights inside. Ellora caves face the west so visit them in the second half of the day. Also make sure on which day the Cave is closed. One day of the week the caves will be closed. Preferable to keep a torch with you when you visit the caves. Some places are dark as there is no electricity in there. Note : Covering Ajanta and Ellora caves in one day is very very difficult considering the distance and walking to do. Best is schedule 3 days for A'bad. 1st day Ellora / Ajanta, 2nd day other spots in A'bad so you get some rest, 3rd day Ajanta / Ellora. This would be ideal.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Went there in the month of April, which meant it was scorching hot. Could have enjoyed more in better weather. Though the paintings of Ajanta are world famous, I enjoyed Ellora caves more than Ajanta.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Food in the MTDC resort was not so great...though the Ajanta cafeteria was much better. The Ellora cafeteria was not too bad either. Always a good idea to carry you own snack and water. On my way back from Ellora, the driver of the taxi took us to two temples. Not so worth your time...you can skip them if you are in a hurry. I bought a showpiece of Buddha's entire family in an Ajanta shop, he quoted rs. 350/- and finally sold it to me for Rs.75/-. So, bargaining is rampant, but nothing so unique about those showpieces!

Activities & things to do: In Ajanta: the last cave, cave no. 26 was 'the best', the sleeping Buddha was indeed worth the walk upto the last cave. The caves with the frescos were quite a disappointment as the condition of all the paintings were quite dilapidated. Though they were an experience, which was definitely not worth a miss! In Ellora: cave no.16 overshadows everything in my memory. Awesome work!. Its a Shiva temple carved in the shape of a chariot. Its huge with several nitty gritties, like the entire Ramayana sculpted out on one wall, and several others. I took an Archaeological Survey of India guide in this particular cave, paid him Rs. 200/-. I could have negotiated, I thought later!! But nevertheless, the explanation he gave was worth having him.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Note that Ajanta is about 1 hour from Jalgaon while Ellora is about 45 mins from Aurangabad. Ajanta and Ellora are about 2 hours apart. so, if you are dependent on a train, then you might want to see things in the order Jalgaon-Ajanta-Ellora-Aurangabad, or vice versa. Also note that if you are going there from Mumbai, then the frequency of trains is more for Jalgaon than from Auarangabad. wht i did was, i went from mumbai to jalgaon, reached there at 6.30 am after an overnight (6.5 hr) train journey.From Jalgaon railway station i took a rickshaw to the state transport bus stand. It was a 1 hour drive from Jalgaon bus stand to Fardapur, when u get off the bus in Fardapur, there is an MTDC resort bang opposite the road. We checked in there and freshened up. Ajanta caves is 5 mins rickshaw ride, rs. 40 for an entire rickshaw you hire, from the resort.Ajanta opens at 9 am. So we reached ajanta by 9.30 am. Went throught the caves in detail. We were done by about 12.30. Eating at the ajanta cafeteria was a better idea than in the MTDC resort, because the restaurant in MTDC reort had very few options. We relaxed in the resort for the rest of the day, next morning we checked out, had a two hour cab drive worth Rs. 1350 ( both ways to and fro ellora), to Ellora, reached there around noon. Went about till 3 pm, and returned in the same cab all the way to Fardapur and then took the state transport bus to Jalgaon to catch my train. The mistake I made was, I shouldnt have returned to Jalgaon, should have gone to aurangabad from ELlora , and caught a train from there. It would have saved me a lot of fatigue! Tips: Try to go to the caves in the morning time. It saves you from heat, and also the crowd, as the day passes, there tend to be more people in the caves, from around aurangabad ( the locals), and that makes things a little irritating! In ajanta, dont take a full guide for all caves, the more imp caves have care-takers who will tell you the basic stuff, and you can tip them accordingly. If you make use of them you will end up paying not more than Rs. 150/- for the entire set of Ajanta caves. ( Keep tenners handy to pay them).

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Excellent place to go to... The monolithic rock cut caves are a treat to watch. The scintillating caves and the sculptures in them are mind boggling. The Buddha / shiv statues are exquisitely and painstakingly carved. A definite place to visit along when on your Maharashtra trip.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Food isn't a problem: Quite a few restaurants around.

Activities & things to do: Sight-seeing / trekking spots.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Accessible from Aurangabad.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: Beautiful work of art, Artistic perseverance of some really capable people for all of us to see and admire before it hide itself into envelope of time. Such serenity around that one feels like becoming a monk himself.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: -ITDC and private travellers buses for sightseeing. -MTDC restaurants near the caves to eat, not many menu options though. -Handicrafts, Hingroo or Paithani saarees and shawls for shopping.

Activities & things to do: Just enjoy the caves and do not forget to take a learned guide or a good book about those caves along.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: -Ellora caves are closed on mondays and Ajanta caves are closed on Tuesday, that makes it a truly weekend destination. -Try to start early in the morning so that you get more time in the caves as closing time is about 6 PM. -Stay at Aurangabad as Ajanta and Ellora are very well connected to the city, and in addition you can enjoy places in Aurangabad like Daulatabad Fort, Bibi ka Makbara (Mini Tajmahal), Paithan Garden, Panchakki etc.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: One should stay at Aurangabad.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Keep one day for Ajanta & one day for Ellora. One day is also required for Aurangabad & Paithan.

Activities & things to do: Buddhist caves & paintings are very good.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: There are direct trains from Mumbai. MTDC & private hotels are there.

Ajanta & Ellora Experience: these two places offer an absolutely amazing account of buddhist and jain culture. destination and sight seeing are akin. art and ornamentation, are but of course praiseworthy, the arrangements too. provision for water, drainage, beds have even pillows carved out on them. there are some popular caves but its best if u can see all, only u’ll have to quicken your steps. If you want the fullest experience, pay 5, 10 bucks to the guard at the cave and have him explain its signifance. After seeing ajanta, ellora is no great shake, though if u have the time, do see

Food, sight-seeing and shopping: out and out sight-seeing material. dont ignore the unfinished caves, they're a beauty in their own right. unmissable- shining bead necklace painting and cave 26. Shopping-could bring back a CD for keepsake. Stores outside have a rare collection of encyclopedias and folk literature, makes great reading for kids and adults alike. Awesome hats, woodwork, lamps, bags, jewellery but bargain well

Activities & things to do: this site seeing could be really exhaustive, especially the amount of walking it involves. there isnt much other than the caves, except shops and cafeteria (lunch served at ajanta's cafetria serves the palate and stomach quite well); nothing else is required either.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: Its best to take a maharashtra state tourist bus from aurangabad or other towns from where they operate, especially if u're travelling alone. Summer time dont forget to carry a hat and water bottle. hats are available there, but expensive. do buy one if u forget to take along because the heat is killing. keep sipping water as you walk.