Aurangabad, Ellora and Ajanta - the Caves.

I left behind the nightmare that was Hyderabad and made my north to the small city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, this time travelling in the luxury that is a 2AC train (that's and air-conditioned double bunk instead of triple). The journey was pretty uneventful, apart from the Indian gentlemen who wanted me too meet his son so he could grill me on the off chance I was a software engineer. We went through the gratuities and small talk and I politely let him know I knew nothing about it.

The next day in the city was a quiet one spent looking around arranging the tours of the caves and my onward travel, there's nothing much too say about Aurangabad really it's a fairly dull place the main attractions being a water wheel and a really really small mosque, but it serves as a good base from which to explore Ellora and Ajanta which is why I came. So the next day I split the cost of a cab with a polish couple I'd met at the hotel and we headed for the vast Ellora caves. The caves are spread out in a line probably over about a mile, and were carved by hand by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists between about 1400 and 1800 years ago. They were pretty spectacular and like nothing I'd ever seen before. There are 34 caves in total which form themselves in little clusters along the straight, each one easily reachable by car. They varied hugely from one to another in size shape and decoration, some quite plain caves barely large enough to hold half a dozen people and others dug back 30 metres and intricately decorated with detailed carvings and paintings, and through the door at the end a huge Buddha for the pilgrims to pray too and worship in numbers. The main attraction was the enormous Hindu Temple about a third of the way along. Carved 50 metres in and down into the rock with walkways and rooms off to the side it was probably bigger than most modern Indian shopping malls. The temple inside stood proudly being the largest, most interesting, best preserved and decorated cave of them all by a large margin so much so people were still using it say a short prayer and be blessed. It was hot though, in the mid 40's, and after 3 and a half hours I was burnt out and we headed back to the Hotel for beer.

A day later I headed out on my own to the Ajanta caves. This time the rock they were carved into formed the meandering side of a revine where the river, once the monsoon comes, flows about 20 metres below. These caves are about the same age as Ellora but where only discovered in the 1870's by a British Army Captain out hunting tigers, and like Ellora have since been made a UNESCO World Heritagesite.Their were fewer caves this time but the size and detail of the painted decorations within them beat anything that was at Ellora. Walls 5 metres high and 10 metres deep still vividly covered with original paintings picturing Buddhist and Hindus in worship and courtship, feasting and playing games. It was quite beautiful. Carved at different heights they were connected by long paths and steep steps, and bridges across the river making it very hard work in the mid-afternoon sun. It was a 2 and a half hour cab and 15 minute bus in each direction for Ajanta with a toll about half way which if you didn't have the right money would give you your change in toffees, the same chocolate filled toffee eclairs we have back home, one per rupee.

After that day I was pretty much just waiting for my overnight train to New Delhi for my next exploration which I'll tell you about when it's complete.