Ellora Caves

Situated at a distance of 30 Km from city of Aurangabad, Ellora caves are the most visited attraction of Maharashtra. Such is the magnificence of these rock cut caves, that no matter how many times one sees them, they are always lost for words when it comes to describing their beauty. These intricately cut caves which were supposedly created between 600 A.D and 1000 A.D, were accidentally discovered by a British Army officer in the year 1819. Since then they have attracted tourists and archaeologists from all over the world. Ellora Caves were conferred the tag of World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1983.

By looking at the paintings on the wall and the rock sculptures, it is clear that Ellora caves have been home to Hindus, Jains and Buddhists during its span of life. Ellora are actually a group of many different caves and of different styles.

Splenders of Ellora Architecture
Not too far from Ajanta caves are Ellora caves which show us a different aspects life during olden ages. Ellora group have 34 caves in them of which 12 are Buddhist, 17 are Hindu and 5 are Jain. Having elaborately carved facades, the work inside the caves will simply leave you breathless. According to experts, these caves were carved between 350 AD and 700 AD. The most appreciated attraction of Ellora Caves is the Kailasa Temple in cave 16. See it once and it will be tough for you o believe that the whole cave is carved out of a single monolith. The assembly hall, sanctum an lower hall, all are carved out of a single block. Cave 32 and Cave 34 are the most important Jain caves in Ellora Caves.

Ellora is renowned for its exquisite architecture. Buddhist Cave 12 or Tin Tala, for instance, has a rather plain edifice with unadorned pillars and the sculptured panels are only on the inner walls. But its historical value lies in the fact that human hands fashioned a three- storeyed building from solid rock with such painstaking skill that even the floors and the ceiling are smooth and leveled.

Tourist Information for Ellora Caves
Aurangabad is the nearest airport to Ellora Caves which is connected by flights from all major cities of India. Nearest railway station too is in Aurangabad only. Ellora caves are well connected with roadways as well as there is regular bus service to these splendid caves form major cities of Maharashtra. For accommodation, Aurangabad is the most convenient place as it has hotels ranging from budget to luxury.