India: Ellora Caves
Another absolutely spectacular and almost alien-like site near Aurangabad is the UNESCO-listed Ellora Caves. Similar to the Ajunta Caves to the north that were carved out in the 2-6th century, the Ellora Caves cover the later period from 6th to 10th century – still staggering in their age and uniqueness. There are around 100 caves at Ellora, carved out of the basalt rock of the Charanandri Hills, and unlike at Ajunta where the wall was vertical, here the hills are inclined, so the caves are bigger, deeper, and grander, and often multistory. 34 caves are open to public (well, actually only 27 were open when I visited since part of the path to the far northern caves has been washed out by a rockslide). Caves 1-12 are Buddhist, while the rest are Hindu (caves 13–29) and Jain (caves 30–34). Many caves are elaborate monasteries, some have 2-3 stories, columns are everywhere, and sculptures and reliefs are at every step. Even at my insane pace of running around, it took me a whopping 5 hours to go though all the caves. The middle cave – Cave #16 – is beyond unbelievable and stands out from the rest thus deserving a separate post – next!
