Sunday, May 25, 2014
We got ourselves a rickshaw to visit Aurangabad Caves and
Sunheri Mahal; both are located on the outskirts of the city.
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| Aurangabad Caves Eastern side from a distance |
The rickshaw cost was included on our package tour including
the Darwazas of Aurangabad.
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| Sculptures in the Caves |
We headed to see the Caves first. In a matter of minutes we
were out of the city premises and on to the hills, we were climbing up and down
hills to reach the caves.
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| Caves |
The land around the caves was barren; we could hardly see
any greenery around. The heat was getting unbearable here but that didn’t dampen
our spirits and we continued on our quest.
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| Eastern side of the Caves |
Aurangabad Caves are divided into two halves. The Eastern and
Western side. Caves 1 to 5 are on the
Western side and the others on the Eastern side. These caves were cut between the 6th
and 8th century in the Siyachal ranges.
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| Cavings inside the cave premises |
I am not sure which side we landed first but we headed to
get ourselves a ticket. There was no one at the ticket counter. It was locked.
But there was no gate to see the Caves.
The price of ticket was Rs.5.
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| Sleeping Buddha |
There are few caves here in comparison to Ajanta and Ellora Caves. The caves are almost identical to Ajanta and Ellora Caves so I am of the
understanding that they might have been built in the same era.
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| More carvings |
Again these caves appeared to me as if they are being
maintained. I won’t be surprised if the Japanese are looking after its
wellbeing. Like Ajanta Caves.
They have nicely constructed steps to view each of the
caves, nets are put up all over the caves so that Bats don’t make them their
homes and the caves are nice and clean.
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| Carvings |
Again these caves have beautifully carved pillars and
mythological figures carved on the walls as Ajanta Caves. The carvings were repetitive.
Though the heat was killing us when we were approaching the
caves, the weather here was quite pleasant. God alone knows how. As we are on
the hilltop.
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| Western side of Aurangabad Caves |
As we were exiting we saw the ticket counter open and we got
ourselves tickets. The person vending tickets also told us that the ticket is
the same for all the caves. So we kept
the tickets safely.
Not a soul other than Namrata and Me here.
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| Sculptures carved in the rock |
We then boarded the rickshaw and went over to the other side
to see the other part of the caves.
A series of constructed steps leads to the top. These steps
were constructed by the ASI as they are looking after the wellbeing of the
Caves.
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| Stupa |
There was no one here to check the tickets. Lol.
Climbing up the stairs can put pressure up on your knees so
climb slowly. As we were climbing a few
people noticed peacocks atop the hill, sadly we didn’t notice them.
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| Doors to the Caves |
Finally we reached the top. Again the walls were beautifully
carved with mythological figures and so were the pillars. Each of the caves had
a sculpture of Buddha in them. I also noticed that some of the caves had been
painted in beige color which had started to peel off.
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| More Caves |
Not sure why they were painted. Most were the
way there were meant to be.
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| Carvings on the walls of the Caves |
The Caves offers a wonderful view of Bibi ka Maqbara and
Sunheri Mahal in a distance and also the city of Aurangabad.
Next pitstop Sunheri Mahal.
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