The idea of
writing this blog first came when I got tired of searching for details about Ajanta,
Ellora and Chikhaldara. Though this blog will mostly cover Ajanta, I’ll try my
best to convey some points on other places like Aurangabad, Ellora, and
Chikhaldara.
Road map : Mumbai – Aurangabad – Ajanta
– Aurangabad – Ellora – Aurangabad – Amaravati – Chikhaldara – Amaravati –
Mumbai
Duration: 4 D/4 N
Reaching Aurangabad: 17057
Devagiri Exp Mumbai CST (21:05) - Aurangabad (04:05)
Aurangabad to Ajanta: (Distance 100 km)
From Aurangabad railway station we took a share auto rickshaw to Central bus
stand. From there we took a bus going to Bhusaval, got down at Fardapur T point
which is 4 km away from Ajanta caves. One important point, there are very few
buses (may be 4, not sure) going to Ajanta caves from Aurangabad. There was one
around 6 am from Central bus stand. My suggestion is not to wait for them (if you
have decided to go for public transport), board a bus going to
Jalgaon/Bhusaval which is going via Fardapur T point. It’ll take 3 hours and
bus fare INR 103.
Ajanta: From T point, 700-800 meter
away towards Jalgaon, there is Kanhayia Kunj resort of MTDC [Contact:
9423820759, 8055491853, (02438)244289] with a pure veg restaurant. It has basic
double bed rooms (INR 650/750 + INR 100 for 1 extra person) and also dormitory
(INR 100).
Other than
this there’s a circuit house 1.5 km away from T point towards Jalgaon and MTDC
resort at the entrance of the caves.
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| Ajanta Caves |
Network coverage: Airtel, Vodafone, Cell
One, Idea, Reliance.
There is a
cloakroom at the Ajanta Caves where visitors can leave baggage.
From there
walk or take auto (INR 10/person) to T point. There you have to buy ticket of
INR 10/person to enter the premises of MTDC and walk towards left through a
small shopping complex. There you can find food, torch light (take it if you
are not carrying one), handcrafts and one AXIS bank ATM. From there small buses
leave for Ajanta caves, fare INR 10/person and the bus will take you to the
entrance of the caves. There you’ll find a restaurant of MTDC (veg/non veg), food
quality and quantity is not up to the mark and also a bit costly. My suggestion
is to carry a lot of water, cold drinks and dry foods but do not over-luggage
yourself and take meal after coming back to your hotel.
Entrance fee
for caves is INR10/person (Indian citizen) and INR250/person (Foreigners) plus
INR 5 maintenance fee. No extra charge for still photography but INR 10 for
video. Using flash is strictly prohibited and the reason is UV ray of the flash
damages the age-old paintings of the caves, so please maintain this.
About the
art work and scenic beauty, I have nothing to say and also about the history
but even if you are not a good student of history or arts and just love to travel,
this place is worth visiting for once.
Important: Ajanta caves remain closed
on MONDAY but open on all national holidays.
Footnote: If possible, schedule your
trip during monsoon, you’ll surely enjoy.
There’s a
view point on top of the hill opposite the cave but the route (read stairs)
are steep and not recommended for aged persons or heart patients. But if you
can make it there, you’ll get the best panoramic view. Also take a walk on the
hill from the view point towards the falls (CAUTION: WATCH YOUR STEPS) and you
can find the source of the falls with its seven steps. There’s also a small
village on the top of the hill 1/1.5km away from the view point.
Aurangabad to Ellora caves: (Distance:
32 km) There are several buses running from Aurangabad to Ellora caves. Bus
fare is INR 32/person and it’ll take around an hour. Daulatabad fort is on the
way.
Caves here
are not on a single curve like Ajanta, rather they are spread over a region of
radius 3 km. The cave no. 16,the Kailash temple, is the nearest to the entrance
and the main piece of art here. Entry fee is same as Ajanta and you can use
flash here.
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| Kailash Temple - Ellora |
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| Ellora |
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| Ellora Caves |
Important : Ellora caves remain closed
on TUESDAY but open on all national holidays.
You can take
a hotel at Ellora. Other than Hotel Kailash there are also small hotels like
Hotel Vrindavan (09860163162) and also a dharamsala half a km away. I can’t
provide details as we stayed at Aurangabad only.
Daulatabad fort: Daulatabad fort is the
middle point between Aurangabad (15km) and Ellora. Entry fee INR 5. The fort is
on top of a hill and you can find a great 360 degree view of the surroundings.
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| Daulatabad Fort |
One can
reach there by taking share auto rickshaw or trekker (Kali-pili, as they are
locally called) at a fare of INR 20/person.
One
important point, after 6 pm public transports become less. But half km away
towards Aurangabad, there’s a small market type place from where one can get
transport.
Aurangabad: One can stay at Aurangabad
and visit Ajanta and Ellora, each in one day. There are numerous hotels and
lodges with wide scale of price and class. There are many hotels just opposite
to the central bus stand itself (INR 300 – 400 for double bed + 100 for one
extra person).
There are
also many places to visit in Aurangabad, Biwi ka maqbara (replica of the Taj
Mahal) and Aurangabad caves are significant.
Aurangabad to Amaravati: Bus services,
both Govt and private are available from Aurangabad to Amaravati. It takes
around 10 Hrs so do choose your transport wisely as Govt buses do not have
sleeper coach but private buses do. Fare is around INR 500.
Chikhaldara: Chikhaldara can be reached
from Amaravati (85 km) or Badnera (87km) by bus or private car. Amaravati bus
stand is 1 km away from the railway station. From Amaravati bus stand, there
are 2 direct buses (06:00hrs and 17:00 Hrs) to Chikhaldara, fare INR 70/person.
Else, one can take bus to Paratwada (Fare INR 50/person) and from there can
take another bus (Fare INR.35/person) or share kali-pili to Chikhaldara.
If you are
carrying any kind of camera, please take it out during the journey from
Paratwada to Chikhaldara through hills, falls, sunflower fields, orange yards
and eye soothing greeneries.
Chikhaldara
is a small village (Network coverage: Airtel, Vodafone. Tata Docomo, Idea) on
hill top with many view points (Hurricane point, Monkey point, Long point, Ravi
point, Vairat point), the Gwaligad fort (2.5 km from bus stand), Devil’s punch
bowl and Chikhaldara lake. It’s advisable to take a transport for site seeing
or you can walk on the hilly roads but that’ll take time as the tourist points
are on different directions. In short, one can spend a peaceful weekend here.
We stayed at
Green Vallies Resort (9890604437, 7387562285, 9175023089, 07220-230215/217/218,
www.greenvallies.com) of MTDC near bus stand and it has a good (veg/non
veg/bar) restaurant just beside the bus stand.
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| Way to Chikhaldara |
Room tariff:
Maharaja Suite- INR 2100, Executive – 1300 (2B)/1700 (4B), Deluxe – 1000,
Economy – 450 (2B)/850(4B) + Service 5% + Luxury Tax 10% + Extra person 200.
Other than
this there’s another MTDC resort 1km away from bus stand, Hotel Harshavardhan
and some small lodges also.
Amravati to Mumbai:
12112 -
Amaravati CSTM Exp – Amaravati (19:05hrs) CSTM (06:25)
Apart from
this there are many trains from Badnera (2 km from Amaravati).There are
passenger trains running between Amaravati and Nagpur.
[Note: This blog is based on my personal
experience and data are updated as on August, 2012. Feel free to contact: anirban.dhar@yahoo.co.in
Photography: Author]
Photography: Author]
Some links I found helpful:
http://chikhaldara.org/
http://www.satpuraretreat.com/contact.htm
