Visiting Ajanta & Ellora.
These UNESCO world heritage sites can be conveniently accessed from Aurangabad though Ajanta is located closer to Jalgaon city that has a rail junction and also a good highway connection. To reach Aurangabad we have rail, road, and air links. Once in Aurangabad, one can easily and cheaply manage one’s trips to the main sites of Ajanta (100 Km to the northeast), Daulatabad, and Ellora (30 Km to the northwest). Daulatabad fort (15 Km) is on the way to Ellora.
How many days?
Doing Ajanta & Ellora in one day is just not possible. It requires at least two days, better to earmark three. I spent five days including one day for complete rest. That’s my style of leisure cum exploratory travel. Here’s how to go at it:
D1: Arrive at Aurangabad and do local sightseeing including the Bibi ka maqbara (a must) and the Aurangabad caves (optional).
D2: Take the Ajanta tour. One can hire a taxi, a shared 7-seater, or the Maharashtra tourism bus. The bus leaves at 0830 hr and brings you back to the bus station by 1745 hr. The bus costs Rs 695 per seat and the time allowed at the caves is roughly 4 hours. Taxis can demand anything from Rs 4500 and Rs 5000 (depending upon the tourist traffic). One can always negotiate the amount. It is worthwhile to start early as the Aurangabad – Jalgaon highway is under renovation / upgradation, as a result, the 100 Km distance would require about 3 hours to complete. It requires more than four hours to do the 29 Ajanta caves. However, it again depends upon one’s tastes and interest in these marvels. It took me more than four hours to cover the 26 caves. Cave no. 26 is the last one open to visitors. The rest are closed.
D3: Take the Ellora tour. One needs at least 6 hours to cover the widespread 34 caves. This is my personal experience. Going there is very easy. Take a regular bus (about one hour, Rs 40) to Kannad and get down at the main gate of the caves. A taxi asks for Rs 2000 and an auto rickshaw Rs 1200-1500. Negotiate with the autorickshaw man and you will get the price lowered to Rs 700 for a trip to Ellora with Daulatabad and Aurangzeb’s mausoleum thrown in.
D4: Do the Daulatabad Fort (15 km, Rs 20 one way by local bus). This fort has the distinction of being an invincible fort that was never lost or won in a battle. It is said to have changed hands only by treachery and betrayal.
An inspiration
I have chanced upon meeting some senior travelers who trek long distances defying their years. One such traveller I met was in Cambodia and another one in Jordan.
Luckily this time also I met an inspiring figure in this Indian villager. The experienced ideal farmer with me is Mr Ranganath Vittal Pawar, 74 year young traveller from Satara, Maharashtrra, who never got tired going up a track like walking without a pause to the topmost level of the Daulatabad Fort. I enviously salute you Mr Pawar.
Some photos
Ajanta
Ellora
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| The rock cut wonder at Ellora - the Kailasa Temple. Truly a marvel. |
The Fort
Bibi ka maqbara
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| A Taj Mahal look alike in Aurangabad |
All your posts are very informative and the photos brilliant! Eagerly waiting to read about all your upcoming adventures!
ReplyDeleteLove, Tany
Thanks Tany,
ReplyDeleteThe biggest handicap I faced was the lack of a fast ultrawide lens in my arsenal. The canon 10-18 is super slow at the maximum 4.5, as a result, I had to bump up the ISO to 3200 and 6400 to get any worthwhile shots inside the dimly lit caves. They don't allow firing of the flash and my pocket torch was not enough to illuminate the subject wide enough. Need to buy a fast one. Well, next in line could be Pattadkal, Badami, and Aihole or somewhere in the NE.