Ajanta and Ellora Caves Travel Guide

Ajanta and Ellora caves are the two caves dating back from the 6th to 11th century are located in the state of Maharashtra in India.These caves are amazingly carved into hillside rock in the middle of nowhere are a great place of interest and regarded as the UNESCO Heritage Site. There are 30 caves at Ajanta 34 caves at Ellora which are from between the 2nd century BC and 6th century AD and6th and 11th centuries AD. Both these caves are located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, and Ajanta 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650 CE and on the other hand in the Ellora caves you can see structures dig out of the upright face of the Charanandri hills and many Hindu,Buddhist, and Jain rock-cut temples, viharas and mathas.

Why Visit Ajanta and Ellora Caves?

Ajanta Caves

The caves include paintings and sculptures described by the government Archaeological Survey of India as "the finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting”, which are distinct work of art of Buddhist religious art, with statutes of the Buddha and representations of the Jataka stories. The caves are deep rooted from the Buddha period and the inscriptions and murals are also from that era. You can also see Mural paintings that are rich and ancient from both the earlier and later era of caves. There are remains of murals are also been conserved from the earlier caves that are effectively unique survivals of court-led painting in India from this period, and "show that by Sātavāhana times, if not earlier, the Indian painter had mastered an easy and fluent naturalistic style. All the paintings appear to be the work of painters at least as used to decorating palaces as temples, and courts of the Buddha Period.The prayer halls of these caves are having a different architecture, as well as the viharas, resemble with the architecture of the Buddhist monasteries. Caves are from all periods so you can see different architecture and painting in different series.

Ellora Caves

In the Ellora Caves you can see different caves on different religious faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Among Hindu Temples, the Kailashnatha is one of the significant dedicated to Lord Shiva whereas you can also visit the Dasavatara caves that is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his ten incarnations.
Among the Jain Caves, you will find five numbers in the Ellora and they are mostly carved in Digambara faith. You can also see a four pillared hall and a shrine. There are various which are also not so important but you must hire a trained guide so that the person can guide you with the best tour of Ajanta and Ellora.

Ajanta and Ellora Caves Tips and Recommendations

• While visiting these caves make sure that you have a better hotel or resort to stay and eat as the nearby hotels and staying places are not so good and they also do not serve you with good food. So a prior arrangement will be a better one.

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