Aurangabad is a good base to explore Ajanta and Ellora caves, besides certain other historic places and Shirdi. It is possible to combine Ajanta and Ellora caves visit in one day but it can get very tiring. I did Ajanta caves on day one and Ellora caves on day 2, combing day 2 with visit to some of Aurangabad’s other famed monuments, mainly Bibi Ka Maqbara. Day 3 was for Shirdi which again takes a full day.
I thought Bengaluru was a bit dusty but having seen Aurangabad, Bengaluru is heaven. Aurangabad is also famous for Paithani and Himroo sarees.
Ajanta caves
The drive from Aurangabad takes about 2.5 hours and there are no decent restaurant on the way from Aurangabad to Ajanta caves. The taxi drivers will know where to stop for tea/coffee and toilet break, nothing fancy but manageable. The restaurant at the base of Ajanta caves seemed ok but was very crowded during lunch time. The smaller restaurants/kiosks sell branded stuff so safe to buy water, beverages etc.
Footwear needs to be removed to enter a few caves, hence wearing slip ons or the like would be best. Do carry snacks, water and beverages to the caves. I was advised by my hotel to actually carry packed lunch which I did and consumed it in one of the caves where everyone appeared to be dining! This was cave 12 which contains cells that were once the sleeping quarters for the monks.
There is a toilet at the cave complex for which one has to walk down the hill a bit. From a cleanliness point of view, quite ok but I would have expected more in a UNESCO Heritage Site and considering lakhs of tourists visit every year.
The entire area, the parking lot, the base area is quite dusty. Even in December, it was fairly warm, perhaps because of the rocky terrain.
Ellora caves
Ellora caves is only a 45 minutes drive from Aurangabad. The area is quite dusty, despite presence of a garden inside the Ellora complex. The only toilet inside the complex was very dirty. Most of the restaurants in the vicinity were ordinary but atleast one of them, probably the first one as one turns right after exiting Ellora complex, was quite good with parking within premises and clean toilets as well.
I think the government should do a lot more to improve the tourist infrastructure at both Ajanta and Ellora caves.
Other places near Aurangabad
Daulatabad fort – Also called Devgiri fort, it islocated about 15 kms from Aurangabad and is on way to Ellora caves. Nothing very spectacular though. The chand minar here is still standing. The more adventurous souls can climb about 750 steps to reach the top. After Ellora, and lunch, I was in no mood for this. About an hour is good here, if climbing the 750 steps is not on the agenda.
Bibi-ka-Maqbara – called the Taj Mahal of the Deccan, this mausoleum was built by Aurangzeb in memory of his wife. It bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal. About 45 minutes to an hour is good to go around. Located in Aurangabad.
Grishneshwar Temple– Containing one of the 12 jyotirlingas, I was keen to go inside this Shiva temple. Unfortunately the queues were very long, and I was told there was no official higher priced ticket for direct entry. Agents/touts demanded Rs 2000 per person to take us inside…I declined.
The temple can be covered during visit to Ellora caves.
Shirdi
One of the must visit locations for Hindus, Shirdi is a full day trip from Aurangabad. It is little over 100 kms away from Aurangabad and takes 2.5 hours at least. The road is good in patches. I did not find any decent restaurant on the way.
Only vegetarian food is served at Shirdi
But at Shirdi, there are plenty of restaurants, all vegetarian. I reached Shirdi around 11.30 am and decided to have a light snack just in case the darshan took time. Very wise decision in hindsight.
Local shops significantly mark up puja items
On way to the ticket counter, there are plenty of shops selling pooja items and promising to enable special entry. At one such shop, I was asked to pay about INR 4000 when the cost of items would not be more than INR 200. When I asked if they would really take us inside, the shopkeeper finally admitted he would only show us where the VIP Darshan ticket counter was! I obviously had to decline.
Q is not maintained outside VIP gate
As I walked towards the VIP Darshan ticket counter, I could see the general queue was very long. The Gate for VIP darshan ticket counter was closed because of noon Aarti and there were atleast 50 odd people hanging around. No Queue. As soon as the Gate opened around 12.30PM, there was plenty of jostling as everyone tried to get in first. Thankfully, there was a proper queue inside.
It took almost one hour in the queue before my turn came.
Q maintained inside but there was too much jostling
After buying ticket, one has to exit and enter through the adjoining Gate. My spouse knew one of the regular devotees and he took us all the way to last queue before the main shrine. Joining the main shrine queue required lot more pushing and jostling to get ahead. Took another 30 odd minutes to get to the marble idol of Shirdi and given the crowd, the volunteers ensured the queue kept moving . Within couple of minutes, I was out. So over 2 hours in the queue for a 1 minute darshan. It kind of feels disappointed but with so much crowd, I guess the temple authorities do not have a choice.
It was around 3PM when I got out of the temple complex. One can book online for darshan and choose a timing. Maybe worth checking out. Also, try to avoid days when more devotees are expected.
Shirdi has an airport as well and those of you who wish to visit only Shirdi can travel by air.
