Last Friday as my husband got four days leave we planned to visit the famous Ajantha and Ellora caves ,which is situated in Aurangabad ,Maharashtra.As we are now staying in Hyderabad we got train from here to Aurangabad.And it took almost 10 hours journey to reach.And we got a shelter from our friend in Aurangabad.
So After having our lunch we decided to first visit pan chakki.It is around 1 k.m distance from the city.
At first we didn't get any idea about pan chakki but on reaching there we realized that it is a water mill which runs from 17 th century to grind grains for the pilgrims.There is also a durgha of Baba Sha Musafir.But i didn't feel anything interesting there except the water mill which is still working .The water for the mill is supplied through the earthen pipes from a river at around eight kilometers distance.
Then from there we went to see Bibi Ka Maqbara a replica of Taj.Which is situated around 3 k.m distance from the city.Which was built by prince Azam Shah son of Aurangazeb for his mother.It is also known as Taj of Deccan .But if you compare the Taj and Bibi Ka Maqbara you can feel a lot of differences though the outlook of both are almost the same.Some one told me that the construction cost was only Rs 700000/- while that of Taj is 30 million rupees approximately.
But still i love the place because it holds some kind of beauty in it.
Then we moved to the famous Ellora caves which is about 30 k.m away from the city.On the way to Ellora we can see the famous Daulatabad fort.During our school days we all learn about Ajantha and Ellora caves and now i got the chance to visit there .When i am writing this i am feeling so lucky.
There are numerous buses running between Ellora to Aurangabad.It is considered as the largest rock -hewn monastic temple complexes.The cave temples are considered to be the product of three religions Buddhism,Jainism,Brahmanism.
The caves in Ellora numbered as a total of 34.In which it contains several sculptures telling us different stories like shiva dancing as Natraj,Durga killing demon buffalo,Shiva and parvathi playing chausar,Vishnu in varah avthar....etc.In one of the cave they created the Indra Sabha and Indrani under the mango tree.There is also a temple in which the Shiva lingam is believed to be self originated.Lots and lots of wonders are there to full fill our journey.As time limit being a great issue we just started returning from there.And we were in hurry to reach the Daulatabad fort but unfortunately it was closed and we miss it.But we got the outlook of the fort.
For those who wish to go there remember the things like Ellora caves are closed on Tuesdays. And it is open from morning 6 am to evening 6 p.m.
And the next day morning we start our journey to Ajanta which is about 100 k.m away from Ellora.So from the bus station we got bus to Jalgoan and ajanta is on the way to Jalgoan .It took almost two and half hours of journey to reach Ajanta from Aurangabad.On reaching the stop conductor asked us to step down there.And there we noticed a board like this.
From there we got another bus of Maharashtra Tourism ,which will take us to Ajanta Caves.There are 30 caves in Ajanta some are unfinished.Ajanta is famous for its wall paintings and great Buddha sculptors.
If you are going to climb the hill to view the caves you have to get some food stuff from the entrance.There is one hotel inside Ajanta at the starting point but common people can't afford it because everything is over priced there .For example a 600 ml bottle of mirinda which cost
Rs 25/ they charged us Rs 40/-.So be careful before ordering the food items.
And by evening around 5.30 pm we returned from there ,for that also buses are available .And from there we got another bus to Jalgoan which is about 59 km away from Ajanta,which is the nearest Railway station.
Let me give some information which will be helpful for those who want to visit there.
Distance from Aurangabad
Ellora is 30 k.m away from Aurangabad
Ajantha is 100 k.m away from Aurangabad How to reach there
By Air : Aurangabad is the nearest airport.
By Road : There are state buses running from Aurangabad to both Ajantha and Ellora.Also buses from Mumbai ,Pune,Shirdi,New Delhi,Ahamad Nagar,Nasik are available to Aurangabad.
From Aurangabad you will get buses to Jalgaon which is the nearest place to Ajantha.
By Rail : Jalgaon is the railway station if you wish to go to Ajantha.From Jalgaon, you can pick up Taxi/ state transport department bus to reach ajanta.Jalgaon is 59 k.m away from Ajantha. And Aurangabad is the nearest station if you wish to go to Ellora.
Timings:
9.00AM to 17.30PM Indian Standard Time (IST)
Ajanta Caves remain closed on Monday and Ellora Caves remain closed on Tuesday.
Cave Charges:
1. For Indians below 15 years : FREE of Charge
2. For Indians above 15 years : Rs. 10/- per head
3. For Foreigners above 15 years : US $5 or equivalent in Indian rupees per head
4. For Photo Camera/ Video Camera: Rs. 5/- (Camera to be used without flash)
