After  several bookings and cancellations over many years (almost a decade!), I finally made it to the caves of Ajanta and Ellora. Needless to say they are gorgeous and here are some of my memories.

Ajanta

One of the most fascinating and unique aspects of the Ajanta caves is their horse-shoe layout in the gorge of the Waghora river. Don’t forget to take a little walk to the hill across the caves, to get your panoramic shot!

 

 

The very famous painting of the  Bodhissatva Padmapani (the lotus-bearing bodhisattva) in Cave1 at Ajanta. You begin your trip with magnificence from the very first cave! The softness of the lines, the colours and the expression are quite ethereal. Take your time to enjoy this painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exquisite carvings of the Chaitya hall, cave 26 dating to a later period in Buddhist history.

 

 

Some rare carvings on the columns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad

A reflection of the Taj Mahal at Agra, smaller in scale and grandeur but just as exquisite.

 

The beauty of geometry in Islamic Architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

Ellora

One of the fascinating aspects of Ellora is the existence of Jain, Buddhist, Vaishnav and Shaivite caves on one site.  Not much of the painting remains, but the sculptures still exist in full glory.

The Kailash temple is remarkable in the fact that an entire stand-alone temple has been carved out of the mountain. Not surprisingly, it took 200 years to complete this marvel! While a significant portion is still intact, prominent in their absence are the sculptures of the deities in the shrines surrounding the main shrine of the linga. While one can see the pedestals they once may have stood on, the main statues of the deity are conspicuously absent.

 

 

A Jain cave at Ellora.

 

 

Traveller tips:

• Both Ajanta and Ellora attract tourists from all over the world. So if you would like to spend enough time in silence in each cave to study the works, try going during the off-seasons. The winter months attract maximum number of tourists, particularly the long Diwali holidays around October-November
• Read up a little before you head out to the caves. You’ll enjoy the art a lot more
• There aren’t as many of the paintings left. Expect to see more stone sculpture
• Be careful about selecting your guide.
• Travelling to the caves with an academic or an expert on the subject is ideal