Ajanta & Ellora Caves Tour
Duration:
05 Nights / 06 Days
Destinations:
Mumbai - Aurangabad - Mumbai
Day
01: Arrive Mumbai Arrive at Mumbai airport or station. Transfer to
hotel.
Check in and relax for the evening.
Mumbai's
skyline is recognisable in advertisements and pictorial depictions stating
the country's technological and financial hub. It's an imposing skyline. The
contours are hazy but the residents don't seem to mind. They love this place
and this all-encompassing love is infectious.
What are the few
nail-on-the-head characteristics of the city? A walk on marine drive, the
gateway of India, warden road, university buildings, fort, townhall, Mumbai
high court to name a few. The waves splashing against the embankment
establish an essence of Mumbai too, much in the same genre as the skyline.
The pub and bar scenario here is quite state of the art and ranges from the
sophisticated ones in the five stars to the hip and trendy ones in colaba
and the suburbs. Mumbai is also known as the Hollywood of India or Bollywood
(from the names Bombay and Hollywood) and is the biggest film industry of
the world.
Overnight will be at Mumbai.
Day 02:
Mumbai – Aurangabad Breakfast will be at hotel or onboard the
aircraft.
Relax in the morning or visit the local market. Transfer to
airport for flight to Aurangabad.
Reach and check in at hotel.
The city of Aurangabad was founded in 1610, on the site of a village, Khirki
by Malik Ambar - the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam Shah II. When Fateh
Khan, Malik Ambar's son turned successor in 1626, he gave the city the name
'Fatehpur'. Later in 1653, when Prince Aurangzeb became Viceroy of the
Deccan, he made the city his capital and called it Aurangabad. Aurangzeb
added the walls that enclose the central part of the city in 1686 in order
to withstand attacks from the Marathas. There are four principle gateways to
the city - the Delhi Darwaza, the Jalna Darwaza, the Paithan Darwaza and the
Mecca Darwaza. Nine secondary gateways also formed a part of the defensive
system of this city.
Aurangabad district has always been a prominent
region on the Deccan plateau. Having been inhabited since the Stone Age, it
has a long artistic and cultural history - to which several dynasties have
made major contributions over the years. Maurya rule marked the arrival of
Buddhism in Maharashtra.
Aurangabad today is a bustling city of
Maharashtra with diverse big and small industries, fine silken textiles, and
exquisite hand woven brocades of silver and gold fabrics, Himroo of world
frame. To scholars and lovers of art and culture the city is more familiar
as the gateway to the ancient caves of Ajanta and Ellora, both famous as
treasure houses of Indian Art and Sculpture.
Overnight will be at
Aurangabad.
Day
03: Aurangabad Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
Proceed
for a full day sightseeing with excursion to Ajanta Caves.
Ajanta
caves: Nestling in an inner fold of the Sahyardi hills, 100 km from
Aurangabad in the shape of a mammoth horse- shoe, are the 30 rock-hewn caves
of Ajanta. The Caves date from the 2nd century BC. Discovered in 1819 by a
group of British army officers, these startling achievements took around 600
years to create. Carved with little more than a hammer and chisel, Ajanta,
once the retreat of Buddhist monastic orders features several 'chaityas'
(chapels) and 'viharas' (monasteries). The exquisite wall and ceiling
paintings, panels and sculptures of Buddha's life are famous throughout the
world as the earliest and finest examples of Buddhist pictorial art.
Return to Aurangabad and overnight will be at Aurangabad.
Day 04: Aurangabad Breakfast will be at the hotel.
Proceed for a visit to the Ellora Caves, Daulatabad Fort and Aurangabad
Caves.
Ellora Caves: Impressive in their own right is the
rock-hewn temples and monasteries of Ellora that lie just 30 km away from
Aurangabad city. In all, there are 34 cave temples, 12 Mahayana Buddhist
caves (550-750 AD), 17 Hindu caves (600-875 AD) and 5 caves of the Jain
faith (800-1000 AD) 22 more caves, dedicated to Lord Shiva, were recently
discovered. Kailas Temple (cave16), the central attraction at Ellora, is the
most remarkable. Chiseled by hand from a single massive rock, it includes a
gateway, pavilion, courtyard, vestibule, sanctum, sanctorum and tower which
bear testimony to the excellence of Dravidian art. It is believed to have
taken 7000 laborers, working in continuous shifts and 150 years to build.
Ever since the first European visitors in 18th Century, Ellora has attracted
chroniclers, antiquarians, scholars and in more recent years, ever-
increasing number of tourists.
Aurangabad
Caves: The almost forgotten caves of Aurangabad lie just outside the
city. Excavated between the 2nd and 6th century AD, they reflect TANTRIC
influences in their iconography and architectural designs. In all there are
nine caves which are mainly viharas (monasteries).
The most
interesting among these are
Caves 3 and 7. The former is supported
on 12 highly ornate columns and has sculptures depicting scenes from the
legendary 'Jakata' tales. Cave 7 with its detailed figures of bejeweled
women also has a dominating sculpture of a 'Bodhisattva' praying for
deliverance.
Daulatabad Fort: Once known as 'Devgiri', this
magnificent 12th century fortress stands on a hill just 13 km. from
Aurangabad. It was given the name Daulatabad, the 'city of fortune', by
Muhammad Tughlaq, Sultan of Delhi. Initially a Yadav stronghold, it passed
through the hands of several dynasties in the Deccan. One of the world's
best preserved fort of medieval times, surviving virtually unaltered,
Daulatabad yet displays the character that made it invincible.
This is a Fortress that was conquered only by treachery. A series of secret,
quizzical, subterranean passages lie coiled like a python amidst the fort.
Here flaring torches were thrust upon an unwary enemy. Or hot oil poured
down his path, as he deliberated in the labyrinth. Also the heat from a
brazier was blown into the passage by a process of suction suffocating the
entire garrison within. The Fort itself lies in the body of an isolated
hill; the steep hill - sides at the base falling so sharply to the moat that
no hostile troops could scale the height.
The moat, 40 ft. deep
with mechanical drawbridges teemed with crocodiles. A 5-kilometer sturdy
wall, artificial scarping and a complicated series of defenses made
Daulatabad impregnable. The 30-meter high Chand Minar (Tower) built much
later with 3 circular galleries had a defensive and religious role in the
fortress.
0vernight will be at Aurangabad.
Day
05: Aurangabad – Mumbai Breakfast will be at hotel or onboard
the aircraft.
Reach Mumbai and transfer to hotel. Proceed for an
excursion to the ELEPHANTA CAVES.
On your way back, proceed to see the
interesting sites of Mumbai.
Overnight will be in Mumbai.
Day 06: Mumbai – Home Breakfast will be at hotel.
Transfer in time to international airport for flight home.
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