[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

We had booked online tickets for Ellora,

Thanks for the excellent and detailed travelogue. We are also planning an Ajantha - Ellora drive from Bangalore from Nov 6th to 11th. We have already booked the 7Apples hotel in Aurangabad. Planning to do online booking in Ajanta, Ellora and other places. Could you please let me know through which site you did online booking.

Thanks in advance.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Thanks in advance.

Thanks. For ASI online booking link you can refer my ' epilogue' section.

Also, do note that rooms at 7apple are small and if you plan to have additional bed / kids in same room it may not be possible.

However, for 2 people it's a superb option.

[Mnjdnght]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Epilogue

I am just quoting so that you get notified :-)
I just did a Bangalore-Hyderabad-Aurangabad-Pune-Bangalore trip recently and had read through your travelogue in detail. Now having returned, I wanted to share my immense appreciation to your detailed effort. This is the first time I felt that someone was travelling with me virtually!

I am taking the liberty of updating some information from my trip here, so that your travelogue continues to serve others well.

1. We did the Hyderabad-Tuljabad-Beed-Aurangabad route. A big shout out to @naranyans80 for suggesting that. I'll post the route conditions in the related thread later.

Ellora Caves

2. Ellora caves open at 7 AM. Tickets can be bought online from the ASI site. Road from Aurangabad to Ellora continues to be in good condition. Takes about 40 mins of travel.
3. Buses for Caves 34-17 section start at 10 AM (I think the timing has changed now). So we had to do Caves 1 - 16 first and then take the bus to Caves 30-34. Cave 30 is a little away from the group, up the flight of steps on the right and a short walk ahead.
4. There is a shortcut from the bus stop to Cave 29, but since it was late in the morning with sun blazing down, we decided to take the bus to Cave 29.
5. You can walk to Cave 27 from Cave 29 by retracing your route to where the bus dropped you, cross the bridge and then take the unpaved pathway on the left. It will take you through the shrubs to Caves 27-25.
6. We couldn't access Cave 28. The pathway after Cave 27 was blocked and so was the one after Cave 29 from the other direction.
7. You can walk from Cave 27 back to Cave 16. It is tiring and dehydrating in the sun which require attention while planning.
8. The MTDC restaurant outside Ellora entrance serves decent food and is light on the pocket.
9. We found the gates to the parking lot closed but found parking just outside. It was not comfortable leaving the car there but took our chance. While taking our car out, had a word with the parking attendant while paying the 30 Rs charge. He mentioned that the gates to parking open at 8 AM. Strange!
10. We did all 34 caves, except Cave 28, in about 5 hours.

Ajanta Caves

11. The 90 odd Km from Aurangabad to Ajanta is now horrendous. 4 laning work is in progress and after Phulambri there are long stretches of unpaved, uneven, rumbling road full of stones. It takes about 3 hours to cover the distance now. While it is bone rattling, feel more sorry for the vehicles that have to tread that path.
12. Ajanta Caves open at 9 AM. There is a nice large parking lot which is also open at the same time. Tickets for Ajanta Caves entrance can be booked online too from the ASI site.
13. Shuttle buses take you to the Caves and drop you off near Cave 1. There is a steep climb through steps to Cave 1.
14. Tickets are checked after this steep climb before entering Cave 1. So be sure you have your tickets in order before or else you'll have to retrace this to get things sorted out.
15. Some Caves require climbing but not much of a hassle.
16. The middle view point pergola now has a white roof! Access to this is from Caves 8-9. Follow the Exit sign, cross the bridge and climb. You can exit after this directly and cross another bridge towards the ticketing/ bus drop off area.
17. The MTDC restaurant, like Ellora, serves decent food and is light on the wallet. When we went, it was crowded, but they were very accommodative in finding us a place.
18. In peak season, Ajanta is considered a pilgrimage site for Buddhists from far east. You may see large groups of monks. They use some Caves as monasteries and spend time there offering prayers. It makes a good sight but doesn't favour taking good photos.
19. You may also encounter large groups of students on their excursion outing from Schools and they have their own group dynamics for you to work around.
20. We took about 3 hrs to do Ajanta Caves 1 - 27 including the climb to the middle view point pergola.

Happy Journey.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

I am just quoting so that you get notified

Thanks.

Glad that you had a pleasant trip and thanks for updating the epilogue section

[Udp_wanderer]

[quote=mpksuhas;4384979]13- March - 2018

Ajanta caves are open by 09:00 AM and it's 90 odd KM's from Aurangabad. With the plan of reaching there by the time ticket counter opens, we start at 07:03 AM from hotel.

Roads to Ajanta are good, there is road widening ongoing, however there is nothing to be concerned about.


Road from Sillod to Ajanta (30 Kms) has become very very bad. Construction work of cemented road is going on at a snail's pace and there are numerous stretches of non existent road where you can't drive the vehicle even in 3rd gear. One has to be either ignorant like me or very determined brave soul to drive on such a bad road.