Aurangabad...Ajanta...Ellora...Chikhaldara...

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.

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.

Kailash Temple - Ellora

Ellora

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.

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.

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]

Some links I found helpful:
http://chikhaldara.org/
http://www.satpuraretreat.com/contact.htm