Mumbai to Aurangabad Cave Temples

We collect you from your Mumbai hotel and transfer you to the airport for your flight to Aurangabad. On arrival, we meet you at the airport and drive to your hotel. Later, we explore Aurangabad on a city tour, visiting Bibi ka Maqbara – built by Azam Shah in 1678 as a tribute to his mother and often called the mini Taj of the Deccan – set within landscaped gardens with ponds, fountains and water channels. We continue to the Aurangabad Caves, about 5 km from the city, a group of 12 Buddhist caves noted for Tantric influences in their iconography and architecture, and visit a small archaeological museum. Overnight at the hotel.

Aurangabad – Ajanta – Aurangabad (104 km – about 2 hours each way). After breakfast at the hotel, we set out on a full day excursion to the Ajanta Caves – closed on Mondays. Discovered by British officers in 1819 and noted in the writings of the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang during his travels between AD 629 and 645, these caves are older than Ellora and date from about 200 BC to AD 650. We explore 30 rock cut Buddhist caves with sculptures and paintings depicting the life of the Buddha and his previous births. Five caves are chaityas – places of worship – while the remaining 25 are viharas or monasteries, representing both Hinayana and Mahayana traditions. We return to Aurangabad in the evening for an overnight stay at the hotel.

After breakfast, we set out from Aurangabad to visit Grishneshwar Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in the Shiva Purana. Built in the Maratha style by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, the temple is crafted from red and black stone with intricate carvings and patterns, and is an important pilgrimage site considered the twelfth Jyotirlinga.We then explore the Ellora Caves – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – home to 34 monasteries and temples dating from around 600 to 1000 AD. The complex represents Buddhist, Hindu and Jain traditions, with remarkable stonework illustrating legends associated with Lord Shiva. Please note Ellora is closed on Tuesdays.On the return journey, we stop at Daulatabad Fort, a powerful medieval Deccan stronghold known for its formidable defences, including double and even triple circuits of massive walls.Later, we transfer to the airport to board the flight to Mumbai. On arrival, we provide assistance and transfer you to your hotel.