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Aurangabad places to visit including Ajanta & Ellora Caves

Aurangabad places to visit including Ajanta & Ellora Caves – Irrespective of wherever you are staying across the country in India or you are planning to visit India, you should definitely once in your lifetime visit the majestic city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra which is home to the UNESCO world heritage sites of Ajanta and Ellora Caves. In this blog, we will talk about how we planned a 2 nights and 3 days trip to Aurangabad, Ajanta & Ellora Caves in details from Pune city. This blog not only covers Ajanta and Ellora caves but also Aurangabad places to visit too.

History of Aurangabad

Aurangabad or currently Shambaji Nagar is very popularly known as the City of Gates in India. The city was founded in the year 1610 by Malik Amber, the then ruler of the Deccan. Named after Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the city is well known for the touristy places of the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as Bibi Ka Maqbara (replica of Taj Mahal). In 1681, this city became the residence of Aurangzeb, who was the then Mughal Emperor. He used the city as a base to conquer the Deccan sultanates. Aurangzeb’s tomb is still situated at Khuldabad, a small town near the city which you can explore once you arrive here.

Aurangabad Places to visit

Aurangabad is considered as the gateway to the historic sites of Ajanta and Ellora caves. But apart from these two historical sites you can also visit the below mentioned prominent places on your tour.

  1. Ellora Caves
  2. Ajanta Caves
  3. Bibi Ka Maqbara
  4. Daulatabad Fort
  5. Grishneshwar Temple
  6. Panchakki
  7. Paithani Silk Factory
  8. Aurangzeb’s tomb at Khuldabad (we could not go here)
  9. Siddharth Garden and Zoo

Aurangabad places to visit – How to reach

Aurangabad is well connected via railways and roadways from major cities in Maharashtra.

Roadways – Aurangabad is located at a distance of only 325 kms from Mumbai, 236 km from Pune and 458 km from Nagpur city respectively. One can easily travel in the car for around 4-5 hours or take a state/private bus to reach there. The National Highway 211 from Dhule to Solapur passes through the city.

Railways – It is located on the Secunderabad-Manmad zone of the Nanded Division of South Central Railway zone. The city has rail connectivity with Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad. It is also well connected to Nagpur, Nasik, Pune, Renigunta, Madurai, Bhopal, Gwalior, Vadodara etc.

Airways – Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar airport at Chikalthana, is the nearest airport which is located at a distance of around 10 Km from the city serving flights from Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Pune, Nagpur, Indore and other places. You can also avail the Pune and Mumbai airport and use the rail or roadways to reach there.

Aurangabad places to visit – Best time to visit

The best time to visit Aurangabad is during the winter months, from October to February. You should avoid months from March-July dues to excessive heat. August and September months are also considered as suitable seasons because of the lush greenery you will be able to see in the region with light to moderate rainfall.

Aurangabad places to visit – Where to stay

There are plenty of budget to luxury hotels available in the city to choose your accommodation. We had prebooked our Hotel Raj from online app which is in close proximity to the main city and the railway station.

2 nights, 3 days our itinerary

Day 1 – Ellora Caves, Grishneshwar Temple, Daulatabad Fort, Bibi Ka Maqbara, Panchakki

Day 2 – Ajanta Caves

Day 3 – Siddharth Garden and Zoo & Paithani silk factory

We had planned during the month of August to visit the place considering it will be beautiful during monsoon, plus the tourist footfall will be slightly lesser compared to the winter months.

We took a train from Pune to Aurangabad 17629 Hazur Sahib Nanded Express during a Thursday night so that we can reach by Friday morning and we can explore complete two days including the Saturday as well.

Note – Do not book tickets in the sleeper class of the train. We had quite an horrible experience the first time around. It was dirty, filthy and smelly and not hygienic to travel as well.

We landed at around 5:00am in the morning and booked an Uber to reach the hotel.

Note – Always confirm with the hotel about the check-in timing. We got charged early check in because our official check in time around 11am in the morning.

Upon reaching the hotel we booked a cab from the hotel itself for a day sight seeing to cover the tourist attractions for the day which costed us around Rs 2200 for a Swift Dzire. This charge will vary according to season.

With our breakfast completed, we stepped out and went to visit directly the first attraction point of :

Aurangabad places to visit : Day 1

Ellora Caves

The Ellora Caves , was built during 600 to 1000 CE. It comprises of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples and over a 100 caves with only 34 open to the public. There are a total 17 Hindu caves, 12 Buddhist and 5 Jain caves with deities, carvings signifying the mythology of each religion. The beauty is that all these caves are constructed near each other and it actually signifies the harmony and solidarity among all faiths.

The timings for Ellora Caves are 8am in the morning till 5.30pm in the evening. Do note, Ellora Caves are closed on Tuesdays.

The entry fee for Indians is Rs 40 and Rs 600 for foreigners. There is no Ellora Caves entry ticket price for children up to 15 years.

The most notable caves to visit amongst the 34 are Cave 16, 15, 21, 29, 30, 32, 33 & 10. The best one is the Kailasa temple, whose picture you can get it at the back of the current Rs 20 INR note in India.

Grishneshwar Temple

The Grishneshwar temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is believed to be the last or 12th Jyotirlinga on the earth. This is located just 5 minutes away from the Ellora Caves. This temple was constructed by Maloji Raje Bhosale, the grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and again reconstructed by Rani Ahilyabhai Holkar.

There are no specific rules for women entry but for men you have to open your shirt, tshirt or any other upper garments before entering the shrine.

Note – No wallet, mobile is allowed inside the premises. Also it gets quite crowded during weekends and on Mondays generally.

Daulatabad fort

At a distance of 13 km from Ellora caves, you can witness the majestic Daulatabad fort. This fort sits atop a 200m-high craggy outcrop known as Devagiri.

Bhillama V, the first Yadava king, constructed the fort around 1187 AD. There was a proper township inside the fort once upon a time and it was the capital of the Yadavas till 1296 AD. Earlier it was known as Devagiri fort, but later when Md Bin Tughlaq came here during his regime, he changed the name to Daulatabad fort.

You need to climb some 750 odd steps to the top, to get the best view down below, which is a wonderful thing to behold.

Entry fee – The entry fee is ₹25 for Indian citizens over the age of 15 and free for children under 15. They also charge Rs 20 refundable deposit if you are carrying a bottle.

Bibi ka Maqbara

Known as the Taj of the Deccan, Bibi Ka Maqbara is a beautiful mausoleum situated around 3 km from the main city of Aurangabad. This place was built by Azam Shah, the son of Aurangzeb in the memory of his mother Begum Rabia Durani between 1651 AD and 1661 AD. The structure is built on a higher platform with four minars at its corners, similar to the Taj Mahal of of Delhi. But we were disappointed to find out that its not well maintained by the local authorities.

Tip – Try to visit during sunset, the place lit’s up during the evening and its a beautiful site to take some good pictures.

Entry fee – INR 25/ Person and and Rs 300 for foreign tourists. 

Panchakki

The Panchakki water mill was built around the 17th century, by Sufi Baba Shah Musafir. The main thing to view is that water flows down through clay pipes based on the Siphon system from a distance of 11 km. This mill was designed to generate energy to turn a large grinding stone inside the building, serving as a flour mill. If you dont get time in the evening you can skip the place as well.

Entry Fee – Rs 10 per person.

Aurangabad places to visit : Day 2

Ajanta Caves

In Day 2 we woke up early and finished our breakfast quickly. We booked a cab using the Savaari app to Ajanta Caves from Aurangabad which costed us around Rs 2800. The Ajanta caves is situated at a distance of 100 km from Aurangabad city and it might take around 2:30-3 hours depending on traffic to reach there. The cab led us to the base of the Ajanta caves, where you can find parking space and lot of eateries and shops around. Inside the caves , you wont get any shop. So carry your water bottle with you.

Once you get down, you need to take their bus service which would cost you Rs 20 for non ac shuttle and Rs 25 for ac shuttle to the main entrance which is around 1-2 km away.

The Ajanta Caves was discovered by a British soldier all of a sudden during a hunt in 1819. The caves, cut into the mountain, form a horseshoe shape around the Wangorah River.

It consists of thirty caves, each dedicated to the life of the Buddha. Each cave is filled with sculptures and paintings. All the caves at Ajanta fall in the category of Vihara (monasteries), or Chaitya grihas (monument halls) and each one has its own unique characteristics, making it difficult to write about Ajanta as a whole entirely in this blog.

The major difference which we noticed was that, the Ellora caves had more sculptures and structures curved inside, however the Ajanta had beautiful paintings depicting the life of Buddha on the walls and hence they are kept in darkness. Carry a torch with you to check them properly. You can also hire a guide inside.

Opening Hours and Ticket: It is open every day except Monday from 9 am to 5 pm. Entry fee is Rs. 40 per person. The entry is free of cost for children below 15 years and Rs. 600 for foreign visitors.

To cover all the caves your entire day will be taken, hence be mindful and start early.

Aurangabad places to visit : Day 3

Siddharth Garden & Zoo

As our train was at night, we had the first half of the day left with nothing much to do. So we thought of utilizing the time by visiting the nearby zoo. The zoo has a variety of animals such as lions, tigers, leopards, and different species of deer, snakes, crocodiles, and birds. It is very popular for fitness enthusiasts, joggers and picnic spot for families.

Paithani Silk factory

The markets of Aurangabad has a lot of Paithani silk stores. We went to one of them, to see hand woven sarees being made. Given that this is a handwoven process which involves a lot of time as well as using expensive pure silk , Paithani sarees are expensive and start at about Rs. 7000.

Conclusion

The 3 day Aurangabad trip will be a memorable one for sure. We witnessed marvelous art, architectures and sculptures spread around the entire city. Starting from caves, to forts, to one of the 12 jyotirlingas, Aurangabad has everything to offer. Like us, you can also plan your itinerary similarly and within a budget of course. If you want to check out other places to visit in Maharashtra like Mumbai or Pune read here.

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