Ellora Caves Travel Guide

History of Ellora Caves

Ellora caves built as early as the 5th century stands tall as one of the supreme paradigms of the Indian architecture. The fact that these caves are carved out of the Charanandri hills, place them high on the pedestal of the Indian rock cut architecture.The 17 Hindu, 12 Buddhist and 5 Jain caves together add to the total of 34 caves of Ellora and are seen as important symbols of communal harmony in the country.

Architecture of Ellora Caves

The caves are numbered for the purpose of easy recognition. The earliest built of all these caves are the Hindu Caves numbered 27, 29, 21, 28, 19, 26, 20, 17, and 14. The oldest Buddhist cave is Cave number 6 while cave number ten known as Chaitya Griha or Carpenter's Hut is the most popular cave of all the Ellora Caves. The ceiling of this enormous hall has been carved in such a way that it gives an impression of wooden beams. There is a 15 foot statue of Buddha situated in this cave. The Buddhist Caves popularly referred to as 'Viharas' have several rooms designed for the purpose of sleeping, living and cooking.

The Kailasanatha Temple of Cave 16 is known for its incomparable architecture. 200,000 tonnes of rock was required to be removed for carving out the Kailashnath temple. It is said that this mammoth's job took over a period of 100 years to be accomplished. The walls of this temple are ornamented with images of deities, animals, other mythical characters, scenes from the great epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Ellora festival of classical music and dance is organized every year in the Kailash Temple. The other Hindu Caves include the Rameshvara, the Ravan ki Khai, Nilkantha and Kumbharvada.

The Jain caves also depict dimensions of Jain tradition and philosophy. These caves, five in number are smaller in size compared to the Hindu and Buddhist caves. Due to an exceptionally detailed art work and enormous caves, Ellora has also been declared as a World Heritage Site, like Ajanta caves. The caves remain open from 9am to 5pm except Mondays and other national holidays. The best time to visit is during monsoon when the natural beauty is at its best.

How to Reach Ellora Caves

The Ellora Caves are located at Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra. The nearest airport is at Chikalthana which is 106 kms and is directly linked to Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur. Aurangabad is the closest railhead and directly connected to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, and Bhopal. Aurangabad is connected to all major cities and towns by roads. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation runs ordinary and luxury buses from here to Mumbai (392 kms).

Last Updated on 31 January 2012