Aurangabad Tourism

Aurangabad is an important city in the state of Maharashtra, India. It sees a lot of international tourist traffic due to world heritage sites, Ajanta & Ellora caves. Aurangabad, a dream destination of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, founded in 1610, is known today, as one of the four important cities in Maharashtra. The city is heading towards rapid industrial growth, but retains its past glory and charms, heritage and traditions. Conspicuously seen on the Deccan plateau, it has a rich culture and a plethora of magnificent arts on display.

The historical caves of Ajanta are situated at a distance of 6.5 kilometers from Fardapur, a village that is 101 kilometers in the northern direction of Aurangabad and just 55 kilometers from Jalgaon. There is a regular bus service to the caves up to the T-Junction which is 4 kilometers short of the caves. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) offers accommodation in resorts near this junction and semi-luxury and regular accommodation at Fardapur.

There are 30 Buddhist caves at Ajanta out of which five are ‘chaityagrihas’ and the rest ‘viharas’. These caves, dated from 2ndcentury BCE to 6thcentury CE are adorned with beautiful sculptures and paintings. Ajanta is located on an ancient trade route known in historic literature as ‘Dakshinapatha’. Most of the donors at Ajanta, especially of the earlier caves, were traders. The site received support from the mightiest donor during its second phase and that was the royal patronage of the Vakatakas. Ajanta is known for its narrative murals based on Buddhist themes like life scenes from the Buddha, Avadana stories of Bodhisattva, Jataka stories and panels based on Mahayana themes from Vaipulya Sutras.

One of the most fascinating archaeological sites in Maharashtra, Ellora dates back to the Rashtrakuta dynasty, about 1,500 years ago, and is the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 caves are actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the hills of Charanandriand you will find here evidence of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain ‘viharas’ and ‘mathas’ which tell the story of how social and economic order was often represented through religion. The caves of Ellora are located 31 kilometers from Aurangabad. The closest government guesthouse near Ellora is in Khuladabad on the way from Aurangabad.