Ajanta-Ellora (Mumbai-Aurangabad-Mumbai)

Duration: 6 days and 5 nights

Description: Ajanta and Ellora are gigantic cave temples carved out of monolithic mountain rock using traditional tools. At Ajanta one can see paintings on the walls and ceiling of the caves portraying the life and the miracles of Buddha. At Ellora, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples stand next to each other. The Kailasa is the largest one carved into a whole mountain side.

Day 01: Mumbai (Arrival)
On arrival at Mumbai airport, you will be met and assisted by our representative and transferred to the hotel.
Mumbai, which was previously known as Bombay, is a major metropolitan city of India. It is the state capital of Maharashtra. Mumbai city is known as the business capital of India, it being the country’s principal financial and communications centre. The city has the largest and the busiest port, handling India’s foreign trade and a major International airport.

Overnight at Hotel.

Day 02: Mumbai
After breakfast, you will be taken for full day sightseeing city tour of Mumbai, covering the Hanging Gardens, Prince of Wales Museum, Gateway of India, Marine Drive and the Rora Fountain. Later, drive back to hotel.
Overnight at Hotel.

Day 03: Mumbai – Aurangabad
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport to board your flight to Aurangabad. On arrival, transfer to hotel. Later you will be taken for excursion to Ellora Caves.

The Ellora caves, locally known as ‘Verul Leni’, is located on the Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road at a distance of 30 km north-northwest of Aurangabad, the district headquarters. The name Ellora itself inspires everyone as it represents one of the largest rock-hewn monastic-temple complexes in the entire world. Ellora is also world famous for the largest single monolithic excavation in the world, the great Kailasa (Cave 16). The caves are excavated in a large plateau, running in a north-south direction for nearly 2 km, the scarp being in the form of a semi-circle, the Buddhist group at the right arc on the south, while the Jaina group at the left arc on the north and the Brahmanical group at the centre.
Overnight at Hotel.

Day 04: Aurangabad
After breakfast, you will be taken for a full day excursion to Ajanta Caves.

Ajanta Caves is world’s greatest historical monument recognized by UNESCO, located just 55kms from Jalgaon city and 105kms from Aurangabad City of Maharashtra, India. There are 30 caves in Ajanta of which 9, 10, 19, 26 and 29 are chaitya-grihas and the rest are monasteries. These caves were discovered in AD 1819 and were built up in the earlier 2nd century BC-AD. Most of the paintings in Ajanta are right from 2nd century BC-AD and some of them about the fifth century AD and continued for the next two centuries. All paintings show heavy religious influence and centre around Buddha and Bodhisattvas, and incidents from the life of Buddha and the Jatakas.

The paintings are executed on a ground of mud-plaster in the tempera technique. Conjures before one’s vision, a dream of beauty- of caves, hidden in the midst of a lonely glen with a streamlet flowing down below, caves that were scooped out into the heart of the rock so that the pious Buddhist monk, out on mission to spread the tenets of Buddhism could dwell and pray, caves that the followers of Lord Buddha, embellished with architectural details with a skilful command of the hammer over the chisel, with sculpture of highest craftsmanship and above all, with the paintings of infinite charm.

Overnight at hotel.

Day 05: Aurangabad – Mumbai
After breakfast, you will be driven to the airport to board flight to MUMBAI. On arrival you will be transferred to hotel.

Rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight at hotel.

Day 06: Mumbai (Departure)
After breakfast, you will be transferred to airport to board your onward flight.