Near the small town of Ellora, about 30 minutes’ drive from Aurangabad, is a set of man-made caves dating from about 600 A.D. to 1000 A.D.  This is called Kailash Temple, and is carved into the hillside.

This view from above the temple begins to give you a feel for its size.  The Kailash Temple has been called “one of the most audacious feats of architecture ever conceived”, and I believe it.  The entire building was carved from the existing rock.  It is estimated that over 200,000 tons of rock were removed.

The interior of the temple is also ornately carved.  This temple is from Ellora’s Hindu period, and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

More rooms are carved deeper into the remaining hillside around the temple.

The oldest caves at the Ellora site are Buddhist.  This is a Buddhist temple, also carved into solid rock.  The “beams” in the ceiling are entirely decorative.  The acoustics in here were amazing.

This is a monastery, also carved into the hillside.

One of the cells in the monastery.  Note that the bunk even has a “pillow”.

Also at the same site are a few caves of Jain origin.  This is the interior of a Jain cave temple.

The temples were brightly painted at one time, but most of the paint is now faded or gone.  Here is a small remnant in the Jain temple.

Aurangabad is home to the “mini Taj”, thought to have been built by one of Aurangzeb’s sons.

Water buffalo on the streets of Aurangabad.

About two hours’ drive from Aurangabad is another cave site called Ajanta.  These caves are somewhat better preserved than those at Ellora, but similar in many ways.  All of the caves at Ajanta are Buddhist.  The Ajanta caves date from 200 B.C. to 650 A.D., but were “lost” for centuries, and re-discovered by British tiger hunters in 1819.