We have been wanting to go to the caves in Aurangabad for a while now, but could never quite justify the layover. So when a direct flight opened up we jumped on it! We booked everything and then reached out to our contact about getting a car and driver. Unfortunately, there was some conference happening in Aurangabad that weekend so there was nothing available. No problem--we decided to switch our Goa and Aurangabad trips and suddenly our hotel options in Aurangabad were better and our fights were even cheaper. Winning! And then last minute, our friends the Jeters decided to come along, too. Apparently they had been wanting to go since they learned they'd been moving to India, so this was the perfect opportunity.
But before you start looking at all these pictures, just keep in mind: all of these things were carved out of rock by hand. Again, all of these caves, sculptures, columns, temples, etc. we saw during this trip were carved out of rock by hand.
Our first day we drove the 2+ hours to Ajanta Caves! We first stopped at the overlook above and then hiked the short trail down to explore the caves carved into the side of the canyon. Some caves were closed, and a few were basically empty without any carvings in them, but the majority had something interesting to see.
haybales!
our first look at the caves
The next morning we
drove to
Ellora Caves and this place? Why hasn't it been in an Indiana Jones movie yet? That first cave/temple thing? It was incredible!
The monkeys left us alone but were being a little aggressive with the Jeter kids
We got lunch and then caught our second wind so we decided to stop at
Daulatabad Fort. It's kind of a walk to get into it, but once you hit the dark passage (that's what it's called!) it's nothing but 500 steps up to the top!
That evening our hotel threw a Diwali party with fireworks, snacks, and drinks for all the guests. We've travelled over Diwali a few times, but this was a first!
The next morning we went to
Bibi Ka Maqbara, which was made in the same style as the Taj and was really pretty. We wandered the grounds and, in case we never
go back to the actual Taj before leaving India, we tried to
recreate the picture we took of the kids from over four years ago.
the gatehouse
They look exactly the same!
I wish we had left it at that, but we still had some time to kill before our flight so we were left trying to figure out what else to do. Our driver suggested the
water mill which was close by, but we could've skipped this one. There's wasn't much to see and, although the mosque looked pretty from the outside, women weren't allowed in.
Since that stop didn't take long, we still had time for another one. We chose
a museum nearby, but there were no pictures allowed inside. We had the place to ourselves, aside from an employee that wouldn't leave our side, but my favorite thing about it was the maps and pictures that showed all the forts in India. #travelgoals After this flop of a stop, we decided to call it and hung out at the hotel until it was time to go to the airport.
Ignoring the last two stops, the trip was fabulous! The caves, the fort, the baby Taj--it was a great!
