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There are
24 caves at Ellora, carved between 7th & 11th century
AD. These cave temples represent 3 religious faiths.
Carved in sickle shaped hill, spread north to south in a
area of 30 km, they were dug into the slope of a hill.
Of these 12 are Buddhists, 17 are Hindus and 5 are Jains.
The most remarkable of the carved shrines at Ellora is
the Kailasa Temple. It is 50 meters in length, 33 meters
wide & 30 meters high. The fantastic edifice has been
chiseled out by hand from single rock with Gateway,
Pavilion, Courtyard, Assembly Hall, Vestibule, Sanctum
and Tower-hall those out of the same enormous rock.
Cave 5 is the largest in this group. It has 24 pillars
and was used as a prayer hall. The cave 6 has a large
seated Buddha statue, but there is also a standing
figure of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning. A
finely carved horseshoe window over a porch admits
sunlight into the cave. The cave 12, which is 3 storeyed
marks the end of Buddhist caves.
How to get there
Air
Nearest airport Aurangabad is 30 km from Ellora.
Rail
Nearest railhead Aurangabad is 30 km from Ellora.
Road
Bus services are available from Aurangabad
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