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Ajanta , Ellora & Elphanta Caves en-route to Mumbai – Ellora

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ ย 

There is no direct public bus to Ellora from Ajanta. I took a bus towards Aurangabad in Aurangabad – Jalgaon road and got down at Phulambri. Fromย Phulambri I took shared trekker on Amdapur – Jenefal road towards Ellora. This took very long time.

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Next day I utilized fully to visit caves. Caves in Ellora are famous for sculptures. There are 34 caves which can be visited ; these consist of 12 Buddhist caves, 17 Hindu caves and ย 5 Jain caves. Most of these caves are monasteries or viharsย that are carved with paintings and sculptures of Buddha, Bodhisattva and Saints. Cave 10ย is the most famous Buddhist cave. This cave features a cathedral-like stupa hall, which is called as chaityas. In the centre of this cave, there is 15-feet high statue of Buddha. Chaitya has a pillared verandah (gallery), which houses two shrines and a single cell.

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Among 17 Hindu caves , most famous is Cave 16, Kailasa Temple. This is largest monolithic rock structure in the world. It is constructed from top by scooping out of 200000 tonnes of rock. The construction of the temple is often attributed to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I .

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The most important sculpture of the temple which depicts the Ravana shaking Kailasa , adobe of Lord Shiva.

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The five Jain caves at Ellora are located on the north end of Ellora caves complex which were built during Yadav dynasty.The most remarkable Jain shrines are the Chhota Kailash (cave 30, 14 excavations), the Indra Sabha (cave 32, 13 excavations) and the Jagannath Sabha (cave 33, 4 excavations).ย  Chotta Kailasha is the replica of Kailasha temple of Cave 16.

Next day I took an auto in the morning towards Aurangabad, On my way I visited Daulatabad fort,ย Bibi Ka Maqbara , Tomb of Aurangzeb at Khuldabad and Panchakki. At Daulatabad fort some religious celebration was going on and thus it was a mistake from my part to try to go up to top. It was a stampede like situation and I wasted lot of time. Atย Bibi Ka Maqbara I had to stand at the queue for hours.ย  I finally arrived my hotel in the evening.

Bibi ka Maqbara

Aurngazeeb’s Tomb ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย Daulatabad Fort

Daulatabad Fort

How did I do it?

Day 1:I came to Jalgaon and took a public bus to Ajanta. I stayed that night in Ajanta . Day 2: I visited caves . After visiting caves I took a public transport to Phulambri and then shared auto to Ellora. Day 3: I visited Ellora caves and then took an Auto to Aurngabad . On the way I visited Daultabad, Bibi ka Maqbara, Panichakki and Pavanchakki. I stayed that night in Aurangabad.