Ajanta and Ellora

A comparative secret, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites of Ajanta and Ellora are considered masterpieces of religious art and are well worth the effort it takes to reach them.

Unknown for 1,500 years except by wild animals and perhaps the local Bhil people, the spellbinding Ajanta Caves were rediscovered by accident in 1819 by John Smith, a young British cavalry officer on a tiger hunt. A two-hour drive from Aurangabad in eastern Maharashtra, this magnificent work of art, architecture and contemplation was abandoned around 500 AD and comprises 30 stunning Buddhist prayer halls and monasteries carved into a horseshoe-shaped rock face. Ajanta’s paintings and sculptures present a joyous vision of divine beauty and are magnificent examples of Graeco-Indian art.

Later in date, the Ellora Caves represent the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture and were constructed between the 5th and 10th centuries AD. The 34 ‘caves’ were hewn from the Charanandri hills by Hindu, Buddhist and Jain devotees and demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.

Nearby is the 14th-century fortress of Daulatabad, a site that was famously once the capital of the megalomaniac sultan Muhammed bin Tughluq who forcibly moved Delhi’s entire population to this remote spot. Named after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the city of Aurangabad is the base for discovering Ajanta and Ellora. Founded in 1610 and known as the ‘City of Gates’, Aurangabad reached its apogee in the late Mughal period. Attractions include the Bibi Ka Maqbara – a miniature version of the Taj Mahal, the magnificent Juma Mosque (1692), and the remains of Aurangzeb’s great citadel – the Quila-E-Ark.