Ajanta & Ellora Caves Tour Packages

Our package usually starts with Ellora, about 30 km from the city, and gives the second day to Ajanta, the longer drive. The closing days decide the rest: Ajanta shuts on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays, so if your first sightseeing day is a Monday, Ellora must come first. Ellora opens from sunrise to sunset and Ajanta from 9 am to 5 pm, so an early start on the Ajanta day leaves more time at the caves.

The Archaeological Survey of India points to Caves 1, 2, 16 and 17, painted from around the 5th to 6th centuries AD in the time of the Vakataka kings, with scenes from the Jataka tales and the life of the Buddha. The oldest surviving fragments, from the 2nd century BC, are in Caves 9 and 10. Strictly, they are not frescoes: the colours were bound with glue rather than laid into wet lime plaster.

Yes. The Archaeological Survey of India offers audio guides at Ajanta in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Hindi and Bangla, from near the ticket counter. On our package you also have a private guide for both days, who can answer your questions, slow down where you want to linger, and point out details in the paintings and carvings that a recorded commentary passes by.

Reasonably. Both sites involve a good deal of walking on stone, and at Ajanta there is a climb up to the cave entrances, which are cut into a cliff nearly 76 m high above the Waghora stream. Ellora's caves are spread along a rock face nearly 2 km long. Comfortable shoes with a good grip help, and the private car keeps the rest of each day easy. Tell your specialist about any mobility needs before you book.

Yes, if you accept some rain. The Archaeological Survey of India says Ellora is at its best in the monsoon, when every stream runs and the hills turn green. But IMD's averages show June to September bringing over 80 per cent of the city's yearly rain, and the long drive to Ajanta is harder in the wet. If you come between mid-June and early October, allow slack in the plan; for dry, mild days, aim for October or November to March.

Maharashtra Tourism lists several neighbours. Daulatabad Fort, the 12th-century hill fort once called Devagiri, is a short distance away, with its 30-metre Chand Minar tower. The Ghrishneshwar temple, close to the caves, is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Shiva's most revered shrines. In and near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are the Bibi Ka Maqbara, a Mughal mausoleum often compared with the Taj Mahal, and the city's own Buddhist caves of the 6th and 7th centuries. A third day fits them in.

Yes, as one tailor-made trip. Spend a day or two in Mumbai, with our street food tour and perhaps the Elephanta Caves, then take a direct train or a flight to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for the two cave days. Maharashtra Tourism suggests three to five days for Mumbai itself if you want to see it properly. Hotels, transfers and every day's plan go into one written quote before you pay anything.