Day Tour of Ajanta Caves From Aurangabad

5.0 (4 reviews) 8 hours Free cancellation Private tour

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Day Tour of Ajanta Caves From Aurangabad — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

Day Tour of Ajanta Caves From Aurangabad, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

On the 28th of April 1819, a British officer hunting tiger looked up and saw a carved facade in the cliff above him. He had just discovered Ajanta, 30 Buddhist caves abandoned for over a thousand years.

Inside were paintings from the 2nd century BC with a naturalism that places them among the greatest works of art ever produced in the ancient world. Cave 1 holds the Padmapani bodhisattva, so psychologically tender that art historians compare it to the finest Renaissance painting. Cave 26 has a colossal reclining Buddha in the moment of final enlightenment, surrounded by mourning figures whose grief feels entirely contemporary.

Expert guide brings the Buddhist philosophy, art history and story of rediscovery to life across all 30 caves.

Private car from Aurangabad, expert guide, all entry fees.

5 Senses Tours is recognised by the Department of Tourism, a winner of the Outlook Responsible Tourism Award and the Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award.

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At a glance

Duration: 8 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–15
Guide: English
Operated by: 5 Senses Walks

Ages: Infants (0–2 years) · Children (3–12 years) · Adults (13–85 years)

What is included

Included

Included: Heritage Guide
Included: Private car
Included: Entrance charges

Itinerary

Ajanta Caves

4 hours Admission included

2.5 hour drive to Ajanta.

Ajanta Caves were built in 2 phases. The first phase was in 2nd century BC when the older form of Buddhism called Hinayana was prevalent. The Buddha is represented here in the form of pillars, stupas and footprints. The first caves were hewn from the bare rock at the time of The Sātavāhana Empire which started around 230BC.

The theme of most of the Caves is excerpts from Jataka Tales. These relate to the life of Buddha before he was enlightened. Cave 1 has the two most famous images at Ajanta in the form of figures of the protective bodhisattvas Padmapani and Vajrapani on either side of the entrance to the Buddha shrine.
Ajanta

4 hours

The second lot was built around 400 AD according to tenets of Mahayana which gave Lord Buddha a human form. Emperor Harishena of the Vakataka dynasty was the patron for the second phase of Ajanta Caves. Even the architectural style shifted between the Hinayana and Mahayana periods, from “Vihara” halls for prayer and living in the shape of a rectangle with small square dormitory cells cut into the walls, to a sanctuary at the rear centered on a large statue of the Buddha.

The paintings in most Caves were done in the tempera technique on the ground of mud plaster. More than 500 stories from Jataka Tales have been painted on the walls.

2.5 hour drive back to hotel drop in Aurangabad