Ajanta Caves from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Ajanta and Ellora · 11 hrs · Cab included · Pickup from your stay
From ₹2990 for the whole vehicle, up to 8 people. The price is per car, not per person.
Vehicles
- Swift Dzire: Sedan. Best for a couple or a small family. ₹2990 for the vehicle.
- Tata Sumo: Rugged 8-seater. The most room for the money. ₹3490 for the vehicle.
- Innova or Ertiga: The comfortable one on a long hill day. ₹4990 for the vehicle.
A hundred kilometres out for the oldest paintings in India
Ajanta is about 100 km north-east of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the city most people still call Aurangabad, and it takes two and a half to three hours by road. The caves are cut into a horseshoe cliff above the Waghora river, about thirty of them, worked from around the second century BCE to the late fifth century CE. The walls still carry the paintings that made the site famous.
Two rules shape the day. Ajanta is closed every Monday, so this day never runs on one. And no private vehicle drives to the caves: cars stop at the Fardapur T-point and you take the shuttle bus the last 4 km. That is why you want a driver who is still there when you come back down at three o'clock, not a one-way drop.
So the car leaves at seven, gets you to the T-point not long after the gates open, and waits while you walk the horseshoe from Cave 1 to Cave 26 at your own pace. You are back in the city in the early evening. The price is for the car, whether there are two of you or eight.
Your day, stop by stop
1. Fardapur T-point and the shuttle
Private vehicles stop here, about 4 km short of the caves, and everyone rides the pollution-control shuttle buses in. Your driver parks and waits; you buy a shuttle ticket each way and are at the cave steps in a few minutes.
Shuttle bus ticket each way
2. Caves 1 and 2
The first caves you reach, and the best-known painting at Ajanta: Padmapani in Cave 1, holding a lotus, about fifteen centuries old. The lights are kept low on purpose and flash is not allowed; give your eyes a minute.
Entry ticket at the gate
3. Caves 9 and 10
The oldest halls at Ajanta, from around the second century BCE, with the ribbed rock ceilings that imitate timber. A British officer out hunting in 1819 spotted Cave 10 from the far ridge, and that is how the outside world found the site.
4. Caves 16, 17 and 19
The middle of the horseshoe and the richest walls: the long narrative panels in 16 and 17, and the carved facade of the prayer hall at 19. This is where most of your time goes, and it should.
5. Cave 26
Near the far end, a prayer hall with a reclining Buddha carved along its left wall, about seven metres long. A good place to stop, sit for a minute and turn round for the walk back.
In your price
- Private vehicle with driver for the full day
- Pickup and drop at your hotel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
- Fuel, tolls, driver allowance and parking at the T-point
- A day planned around the Monday closure
- GoExplorer support number for the day
Not included
- Entry tickets and shuttle bus fares
- Palanquin and guide
- Meals
- Anything personal
What you pay on the day
- Ajanta entry ticket at the gate
- Shuttle bus ticket each way between the T-point and the caves
- A palanquin for the steps, if anyone needs one, hired at the foot of the steps
- A licensed guide at the site, optional
- Lunch and anything personal
Who this suits
Anyone interested in art or history who can manage a few flights of steps and a couple of kilometres on foot. Palanquins are available for the climb up to the caves for anyone who cannot walk it. The sedan seats four, the Sumo eight and the Innova six, each at one flat price for the car.
What to bring
Shoes you can slip off and on quickly, because footwear comes off inside several caves. A small torch helps in the darker halls. Water, a hat for the exposed path, and cash for the shuttle and ticket counters. No flash photography inside the caves.
Hot summers, green monsoons
April and May are very hot on the cave path, which is why the day arrives in the morning. In monsoon the gorge is green and the Waghora falls run; the day goes ahead in rain. If the caves or the road are closed on the day for any reason other than the Monday closure, you get a full refund or a free reschedule.
Cancellation
- More than 24 hrs before: Full refund
- Within 24 hrs: 50% refund, or reschedule free once
- No show: No refund
Safety and the operator
Run by a licensed local ground operator, one driver per vehicle, commercially registered and insured. The path along the caves is railed but the drop to the river is steep; keep children on the inside. The cave floors are uneven in the dim light.
Questions
Is the price per person?
No. It is one price for the vehicle for the whole day. Eight of you in the Tata Sumo pay ₹3,490 between you, not each.
Can we do Ajanta and Ellora on the same day?
Not well. They are about 100 km apart in different directions, and each deserves most of a day. Remember the closures: Ajanta shuts on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays, so a Monday is your Ellora day and a Tuesday your Ajanta day.
Do we need a guide?
No, but the paintings make more sense with one. Licensed guides can be hired at the site; that is arranged and paid there, not through us.
Can the car drive up to the caves?
No private vehicle can. Everyone stops at the T-point and takes the shuttle bus the last 4 km. The driver waits at the T-point parking for you.