The Kailasa temple at Ellora was not built. It was excavated — carved downward out of a single basalt cliff, top to bottom, removing an estimated 200,000 tonnes of rock to leave behind a full-size multi-storey temple with courtyards, columned halls, life-size elephants and a shikhara tower, all of it one continuous piece of stone with no joints anywhere. It was done in the 8th century, without the possibility of correcting a mistake, and it remains the largest monolithic structure on earth.
That is the reason to come to Aurangabad — now officially renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar — a working industrial city in Maharashtra with two UNESCO World Heritage cave complexes within a two-hour radius. Ellora has 34 caves cut between the 6th and 10th centuries by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains, side by side. Ajanta, 100km further, has 30 Buddhist caves from the 2nd century BCE onward, containing the finest surviving ancient paintings in Asia — murals of court life and Jataka tales that were lost to the jungle for a thousand years until a British hunting party stumbled on them in 1819.
Here’s Aurangabad for budget travellers, families, and luxury travellers, with costs, gear, a two-day plan, and a map.
Getting Oriented
Aurangabad city is the base — hotels, the railway station, an airport with flights from Mumbai and Delhi. It holds Bibi ka Maqbara, a 1660 Mughal tomb built by Aurangzeb’s son in imitation of the Taj Mahal (and locally, affectionately, called the “poor man’s Taj”), plus the Aurangabad Caves on a ridge behind it and the Panchakki water mill.
Ellora is 30km northwest — about 45 minutes — and easily a half-day. Daulatabad Fort, a spectacular 12th-century hill fortress with a spiral defensive tunnel, sits on the same road at 15km, making a natural combined trip.
Ajanta is 100km northeast, about 2.5 hours each way, and needs a full day of its own. Visitors park at a visitor centre and take mandatory shuttle buses the last 4km.
A car with driver for the day runs ₹2,500–4,000 and is the standard way to do both.
Aurangabad on a Budget
Sleeping cheap. Guesthouses and budget hotels near the station and CIDCO run ₹800–2,000; hostels are limited. Aurangabad is a business town, so weekday rates can be higher than weekends.
Ticket maths. Ellora: ₹600 for foreign visitors, ₹40 Indian, closed Tuesdays. Ajanta: ₹600 foreign, ₹40 Indian, plus about ₹25 for the compulsory shuttle, closed Mondays. Daulatabad ₹300, Bibi ka Maqbara ₹300, Aurangabad Caves ₹300. Children under 15 enter ASI sites free.
Cheap transport. State buses run to both cave sites for ₹100–250 each way and are perfectly usable if you start early; shared taxis to Ajanta run ₹500–800 a head. The MTDC runs a daily Ajanta coach.
Eating cheap. Aurangabad is in the Marathwada region: naan qalia (mutton in a spiced gravy, the local dish), Hyderabadi-influenced biryani, and thalis at ₹150–350.
Budget total: ₹1,800–3,200 a day.
Aurangabad for Families
Two cave complexes in two days is a lot of ancient art for a child. Structure it and it works well.
- Ellora’s Kailasa temple — the scale does the work. Tell children it was carved downward from a cliff and let them find the joins (there aren’t any). Elephants and lions at ground level are at kid height.
- Daulatabad Fort — the family favourite of the trip: a 200m hill fort with a pitch-dark spiral tunnel that defenders used to confuse invaders, still walked with a lantern-carrying guide. Genuinely thrilling for ages 7+.
- Ajanta’s viewpoint — the horseshoe gorge seen from the far side, where the caves appear as a row of dark arches in a cliff above a river. Better than any individual cave for young kids.
- Bibi ka Maqbara — a mini-Taj with gardens to run in, and a useful comparison if you’ve been to Agra.
- Panchakki — a 17th-century water mill with an underground channel, fish in the tank, and a shady garden.
Practical notes: Ajanta’s caves involve a lot of steps and the murals require dim lighting, so photography with flash is banned. Bring water; both sites are hot and exposed on the approach.
Aurangabad in Luxury
The city’s top tier is modest but comfortable — Vivanta Aurangabad and The Meadows are the best in town (₹8,000–18,000). The real luxury spend goes on access: a private car and an art-historian guide for both cave sites (₹10,000–18,000 a day) transforms Ajanta in particular, where the murals reward someone who can read the iconography. Add a helicopter or charter from Mumbai to save the road day, a private torch-lit tour of Daulatabad’s tunnel, and the Paithan silk workshops 50km south, where Paithani saris are woven by hand over months. Many luxury travellers do Ajanta and Ellora as a two-night detour from Mumbai rather than a destination in itself, which is a sensible use of the geography.
Signature Sights, Honestly Ranked
Ellora Cave 16, the Kailasa temple — one of the most astonishing human achievements anywhere, and worth the journey by itself. Ajanta’s painted caves (1, 2, 16, 17) — the finest ancient painting in Asia, faded and dim and unforgettable; the Bodhisattva Padmapani in Cave 1 is the image you’ll have seen. Daulatabad Fort — the tunnel, the climb and the view; two hours. Ellora’s Jain caves (30–34) — quieter and more delicately carved than the famous ones, and most visitors skip them. Bibi ka Maqbara — a genuine Mughal tomb, unfairly dismissed; go at sunset. Aurangabad Caves — a small Buddhist group on the ridge behind the tomb, empty and free of tour groups. Panchakki — a curiosity, twenty minutes.
Best Time to Visit
November to February, when days run 15–30°C. March to June is very hot (38–42°C) and the cave approaches are exposed. The monsoon (July–September) transforms Ajanta: the Waghora river fills, the gorge greens, and a waterfall appears at the head of the horseshoe — visually it is the best season, though the humidity inside the caves is high and some travel days are wet. Two closures to build the trip around: Ajanta is closed Mondays and Ellora is closed Tuesdays. Arrive on a Wednesday and you can do both without stress.
Essential Gear & Must-Haves for Aurangabad
| Must-have | Why it matters here |
|---|---|
| A day plan around the closures | Ajanta shut Mondays, Ellora shut Tuesdays |
| Torch | Cave interiors are deliberately dim to protect the murals |
| No-flash camera setting | Flash is banned at Ajanta and enforced |
| Water, more than you think | Long exposed approaches and a lot of steps |
| Socks | Shoes come off inside several cave shrines |
| Sun hat | The Ajanta cliff path has no shade |
| Patience for the shuttle | The last 4km to Ajanta is by compulsory bus |
What It Costs
Rough per-person daily figures (2026; verify before travel):
| Budget / backpacker | Family (per adult) | Luxury | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed | ₹600–2,000 | ₹3,000–7,000 | ₹8,000–18,000 |
| Food | ₹350–700 | ₹800–1,600 | ₹3,000–6,000 |
| Sights & transport | ₹850–1,500 | ₹2,500–4,500 (car) | ₹12,000+ (car, guide) |
| Daily total | ₹1,800–3,200 | ₹6,300–13,100 | ₹23,000–42,000 |
The Two-Day Plan
| Time | Day 1 (Ellora side) | Day 2 (Ajanta) |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Daulatabad Fort and the tunnel | Depart by 7am for Ajanta |
| Late morning | Ellora: Kailasa temple first | Caves 1, 2, 16, 17 — the paintings |
| Afternoon | Ellora’s Buddhist and Jain groups | Viewpoint across the gorge |
| Evening | Bibi ka Maqbara at sunset | Return; naan qalia dinner |
Aurangabad is a two- or three-night detour from Mumbai, and the flight makes it an easy one.
Where Is Aurangabad?
Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) sits on the Deccan plateau in Maharashtra, about 330km northeast of Mumbai, with the Ajanta and Ellora escarpments to its north and west. The map below shows the city.
Mistakes First-Timers Make in Aurangabad
Arriving on the wrong day. Ellora closes on Tuesdays and Ajanta on Mondays. A two-night stay starting Sunday or Monday will cost you one of the two sites.
Trying to do both cave sites in one day. Ajanta alone is a 2.5-hour drive each way plus four hours on site. Combining them means seeing neither properly.
Going to Ajanta first. Ellora is the more immediately impressive and the easier day. Ajanta’s paintings reward a visitor who has already got their eye in.
Skipping a guide at Ajanta. The murals are dim, faded, and full of narrative detail that is invisible without someone to point it out. A licensed guide at the gate costs ₹1,500–2,500 and doubles the value of the day.
Using flash inside the caves. Banned, enforced, and genuinely damaging to 2,000-year-old pigment.
Treating Daulatabad as a filler. It’s one of the best forts in India — a conical hill with a moat, a dark spiral tunnel and a 750-step climb — and most visitors give it forty minutes on the way past.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do I need? Two full days on site, so three nights, or two nights if you arrive early and leave late.
Ajanta or Ellora if I can only do one? Ellora, for the Kailasa temple and the shorter drive. Ajanta if you care most about painting.
Is it suitable for children? Yes with the fort and the scale to hold their interest, though two consecutive cave days is a lot. Break them up with Daulatabad.
How do I get there? Fly from Mumbai or Delhi to Aurangabad (about an hour from Mumbai), or take the overnight train from Mumbai.
Are the caves accessible for limited mobility? Partly. Ellora’s main caves are close to level ground; Ajanta involves substantial steps, though palanquin carriers can be hired at the base.
Is the city itself worth time? A half-day: Bibi ka Maqbara, Panchakki and the Aurangabad Caves. It’s a base rather than a destination.
Next Steps
Return west to Mumbai, continue down the coast to Goa, or fly south to Kochi and Mysore. The India travel guide covers country-wide planning, and the family packing list has the hot-weather kit.
Planning a longer trip? See our full India family travel guide.