AJANTA ALLORA CAVES

Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India

                                         

AJANTA is world's greatest historical monument recognised by UNESCO far near from Jalgaon city of Maharashtra, India.
Ajanta is the location of some of the finest examples of ancient Indian sculptures and murals, housed in 28 caves that served as a major Buddhist monastery from the second to seventh century BC. Today, the Ajanta Caves are renowned all over the world for their majestic beauty and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At Ajanta, the caves hewn out of the horse-shoe shaped stone cliffs surrounding the River Waghora are an important heritage site, allowing viewers to glimpse the amazing skill of ancient muralists and sculptors. These caves were chiselled out by Buddhist monks between 200 BC and 650 AD as ‘chaityas’ (prayer halls) and ‘viharas’ (monasteries), and contain exquisite frescoes and fine sculptures. One can amble through the Ajanta Caves or take a guided tour – the art contained in these early Buddhist Caves are great works by themselves and one can spend hours studying them. Ajanta caves are classified in two phases known as the Hinayana phase and the Mahayana phase. The former phase depicts scenes in which Lord Buddha was worshipped through some specific symbols

Some of the well known caves are as follows. Cave 1 consists of some of the finest painting specimens, particularly the two bodhisattvas of Padmapani and Vajrapani and an impressive seated Buddha sculpture. Beneath his statue is placed the Wheel of Life which symbolised the teachings of karma and rebirth by Buddha. A striking feature of Cave 2 is its beautiful ceiling painted to resemble a tent and its lovely animated sculptures. The walls of the cave are decorated with intricate patterns depicting scenes of Gautam Buddha’s birth. Cave 9 not only contains sculptures, but remarkably preserved frescoes as well. Cave 11 represents scenes from the early stage of Buddha’s life. In this cave the sculpture of Lord Buddha is attached to a stupa which is a blend of both image and stupa worship. In Cave 12 and Cave 13 one can view the beautiful paintings that glow softly in the dark and gasp at the life-size and miniature sculptures. Cave 15 and Cave 16 explain the pictorial legend, pointing out some of the more amazing aspects of the paintings and sculptures that transform the rocky cave walls. Of particular interest are Cave 17 with its exquisite murals portraying devotees with offerings in the Royal Procession, Cave 19 with some astounding sculptures of Buddha, lion heads and riders and Cave 26 with its impressive carvings from Lord Buddha’s life. 

                                                   

Best time to visit:

Winter months (from October to February) or during the monsoons are a good time to visit the Ajanta Caves.


HOW To REACH AJANTA ALLORA CAVES?


By Air:

Currently Aurangabad is the nearest Air point for Ajanta. It can be reached from New Delhi and Mumbai (Bombay), international airport. Indian airlines as well as Jet Airways have daily flight to Aurangabad from New Delhi and Mumbai.
Jalgaon is also developing its Airport. Soon it will also start. Ajanta Caves is far near from Jalgaon Airport while a bit distant from Aurangabad Airport.

By Rail:

Jalgaon is the best place to drop in for Ajanta if you like Rail journey. It is centre point of all major railway stations of India and has Bhusaval (Just 28kms from Jalgaon) as Second largest depot of railways in entire Asia.
All Super Fast, express, mail and passenger trains stops at Bhusaval and most of them at Jalgaon as well. You can check online status of availability of reservation on Indian railways official website. From Jalgaon, you can pick up Taxi/ state transport department bus to reach ajanta. 

Cave Timings:

9.00AM to 17.30PM Indian Standard Time (IST)
Ajanta Caves remain closed on Monday and Ellora Caves remain closed on Tuesday. BOTH CAVES REMAIN OPEN ON ALL NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

Cave Charges:

1. For Indians below 15 years : FREE of Charge
2. For Indians above 15 years : Rs. 10/- per head
3. For Foreigners above 15 years : US $5 or equivalent in Indian rupees per head
4. For Photo Camera/ Video Camera: Rs. 5/- (Camera to be used without flash)

 

View Larger Map