Ajanta Caves India: Visiting the Buddhist Caves

Rediscovery

One fine day, about 200 years ago, the hunting of a tiger took place in these parts, with the British hunting party and a certain John Smith at the head.

They were feverishly pursuing the great Indian wildcat, going deeper into the uncharted ground, past a thick growth of plants.

At this point, it must have happened!

They reached a cliff point and sighted from afar something incredible, a secret place, the lost caves of Ajanta.

When the British discovered, behind a thick jungle growth, about 30 men carved massive cave halls, which were adorned and decorated with precious fine art paintings and perfectly carved stone figures. They must have been thrilled by their amazing discovery of the century.

Soon the British organized archaeological excavations of the Ajanta caves, and travelers from all over the world have been flocking to the unique site ever since.

In these parts of the Indian region of Maharashtra, various more caves made the district of Aurangabad richer, Ellora Caves being the largest and best known in the history of men. 

There are other caves, which are smaller, such as the Buddha caves near Aurangabad.

What makes Ajanta special?

Ajanta is special because the caves had been lost for a long time to humankind, and had been rediscovered only recently.

Moreover, the paintings are still looking fresh, bright colors popping out of the wall telling the stories of long-dead people, and this increases the priceless value of the Ajanta caves all the more.

The Ajanta cave complex consists purely of carved-out Buddhist caves, and the inner cave hall walls were decorated with paintings by Buddhist monks, in the time from 200 B.C.E. to 650 C.E.

Most of the hall carvings and paintings were created over a span of hundreds of years, the oldest being 2000 years old, while the statues were added only 600 years later.

Decoration Materials Used

• clay
• cow dung 
• rice husk
• and an equal layer of lime juice over all that, so that the paint would hold longer.

The color pigmentation used in the Ajanta caves is of an organic nature, and 6 color shades were available to the artists.

The fine art paintings are of great detail and finesse, which is an indication of various thin color layers, which were carefully dried, and used to create such perfect-looking depictions. These still seem to speak to us from the ghosts of the past.

Who were the Artists?

Skilled Buddhist monks of the time were the creators of the Buddhist religious art masterpieces in the Ajanta caves, situated about 2 hours from Aurangabad city (~100 km).

It is believed by the Archaeological Survey of India that the monks were not allowed (and couldn't) to move out during the torrential monsoon rains.

So, the monks would carve out massive cave halls and conceive monastery residence halls and sanctuary halls out of the volcanic basalt rock of the Deccan plateau.

Their imaginations were obviously boundless!

Buddhists in the Indian subcontinent left a trail of their genius in various locations.

For example, in the Himalayan highlands, there is a village known as Tabo, which is at times described as the Ajanta of the Himalayas.

Caves

None of the lost and found caves are the same; they all are differently decorated!

When you enter some caves, you get into a huge, massive, very dark cave hall, and each step will enthrall you deeper into the mystery of these caves.

Straight in front of you, you will see a great, perfect-looking, Buddha statue, either in meditation or in a praying position, and while you get closer to the walls, you will discover animal paintings and faces of people long gone.

Each seems to be telling a story,, and I can guarantee you that you wish you would know each one of them.

Other caves have huge carved-out pillars and smaller adjoining caves at the side of the big hall.

Some caves at Ajanta do not honor a Buddha but instead pay respect to a Stupa (meaning a heap in Sanskrit), which is a dome-shaped, stone-carved structure.

Each cave at Ajanta is numbered, and each had some kind of purpose and a message.

Cave 26 has a large dead Buddha or sleeping Buddha carved out on the left wall, with what seem to be smaller humans mourning their loss under the lying Buddha.

When you go through each cave, you get lost in the mystery behind each painting, carving, and cave itself.

While the art pieces of another time are well-preserved, it isn't unknown that much has been restored and floor and wall holes have been filled with cement in recent times.

Multiple waterfalls are coming to life during the heavy tropical Indian monsoon in the horseshoe-shaped cave complex, where the caves are situated side by side in height.

With all the numerous visitors, the wall art paintings are in danger of slowly disappearing forever.

Visitor Rules

• You can't use flash or light photography when taking a picture as this destroys the paintings!!
• Railings have been put in place in some caves so that visitors don't go any further, yet you can still see the art clearly.
• Each cave has a caretaker, who makes sure that people don't sit on statues and that no garbage littering takes place. Plus, some of them make sure to explain the caves a bit to visitors.
• You need to remove your shoes before entering certain cave temples! (as it is common in India). You can't take your shoes in your hand into the caves, so if you have expensive shoes, hire a caretaker aka portier (more about this further below).

Opening Times

The Ajanta Caves are open from 9 am to 5 pm and closed to visitors on Mondays, yet you are free to visit the caves during national holidays.

Getting There

• with your vehicle by following the MSH8 from Aurangabad to Ajanta.
• by using the cheaper local government bus.
• by Taxi — better than rickshaw, the road is at times heavy.

Once you arrive at the visitor point, you can visit the government Ajanta center for more information about the caves, or you can proceed towards the caves.

If you travel by car, there is plenty of parking once you reach the Ajanta Caves visitor arrival spot.

The parking charges for 4-wheelers are 50 Indian Rupees (Rs) car + 15 Rs per person (which is for the parking and not to visit the caves!)

To get to the caves, you will need to take a government of Maharashtra bus, which passes by frequently. We waited about 15 minutes.

You can choose between an AC bus (charged at 30 RS per person) or a non-AC bus (charged at 25 RS per person), and the drive will take a few minutes towards the caves. 

There you will see the MTDC counter (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation).

Tips

Plan on about 2–3 hours on average for your visit to the Ajanta Caves; it's up to you which caves you want to visit or if you would like to visit them all.

You can hire a porter at the entrance of Ajanta Caves for 350-500 RS who will take you to the most important caves, and he will carry your things safely around.

Portiers are locals from the area, and they wear an orange jacket from the Archaeological Survey of India.

They are not guides, but they will supply you with simple knowledge about the caves.

I also recommend getting a guide for the Ajanta caves, which has been approved by the state of Maharashtra.

We saw them mostly right next to the first cave, and they charge somewhere around 1200 RS or you can pick and inquire about a guide in your language.