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India is a land where impressive ancient art and sculpture are almost
common; and, in certain places, their sheer number can amaze you. The
Ajanta & Ellora caves are built on a grander scale and contain more incredible art
than most of the monuments and other sights India has to offer.
In a
land where monuments a few hundred years old are fairly commonplace,
these amazing achievements are also more ancient than most of the other destinations. Carved into the
hard basalt of remote hillsides in Maharashtra, these caves have
remained
miraculously undamaged over two millenniums.
 You
begin by being awed by their sheer size. Buddhist monks and other
craftsmen began excavating, sculpting, and painting, at Ajanta in the
2nd century BC. The incredible variety of paintings and sculpture were
created in hard rock by using elaborate and ingenious lighting, tools,
and materials. These 28 caves are a testament to the devotion of the
Buddhists, as well as the talents of their skilled craftsmen. Ajanta's
incredible paintings are even more amazing considering that the color
and texture you're admiring was created by artists about two thousand
years ago. Ajanta was known only to the hill tribes till the early 19th
century, when a group of British army soldiers were led to it by one of
these locals.
 During the 7th century, the Buddhists seemed to forget about Ajanta, and
shifted to working about 80 km (50 miles) away on the magnificently
sculptured caves of Ellora. The next two centuries saw a resurgence of
Hinduism, reflected by the creation of the next 17 caves with Hindu
themes, sculpture, and art; including Cave 16, the awe-inspiring
"Kailash Temple". Like all the other cave Temples, this one was created
out of one rock. However, the significance of that fact changes when you
put it in the perspective of this enormous structure.
 The
remaining four caves were created during Jainism's heyday in this
region, and are built to a slightly smaller scale. The Ellora caves did
see destruction under the Moghul Emperors; many shrines, and other art, were
either destroyed or damaged. Fortunately, most of the monuments
survived, and can be experienced by us today.
As
in the case of the Taj Mahal, the scale and splendor of these monuments
has to be experienced, to be even partially understood. Easy Tours Of
India allows for ample time at Ajanta and Ellora on all our scheduled
visits to Aurangabad.
Explorations of these caves are included in the following tours:
12 Day First Visit
18 Day First Visit
Govt. of
Maharashtra on Ajanta
Govt. of Maharashtra on
Ellora
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