Aurangabad Travel Guide & Maharashtra Tourism (Ajanta Ellora Caves & Bibi Ka Maqbara)
Hotels · Packages · Sightseeing

1. Bibi Ka Maqbara & Mughal Charbagh (The Taj of the Deccan - City Centre)

A 17th century white marble mausoleum built between 1651 and 1661 by Prince Azam Shah in memory of his mother, Empress Dilras Banu Begum (Rabia ud Daurani). Designed by architect Ataullah to resemble the Taj Mahal of Agra, it features four soaring 140 foot minarets, marble lattice screens (*Jalis*), brass inlay doors, and formal Mughal Charbagh fountains.

Bibi Ka Maqbara — 17th-Century Taj of the Deccan Mausoleum in Aurangabad

2. Ellora Caves & Kailasa Temple (UNESCO Cave 16 Monolithic Megalith - 30 km)

A UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of 34 rock cut temples carved out of the Charanandri hills between the 6th and 10th centuries, spanning Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain faiths. The crowning glory is Cave 16 (Kailasa Temple), the largest monolithic rock excavation in the world, carved vertically top down from a single basalt cliff without joints or mortar.

Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) — World's Largest Monolithic Rock Excavation at Ellora Caves

3. Ajanta Caves & Waghur River Gorge (30 UNESCO Buddhist Fresco Caverns - 100 km)

A UNESCO World Heritage complex of 30 rock cut Buddhist cave monuments carved into a dramatic horseshoe shaped cliff along the Waghur River gorge between the 2nd century BC and 6th century AD. World famous for their ancient tempera murals depicting Jataka tales, Bodhisattva Padmapani and Vajrapani, and the 29 foot reclining Nirvana Buddha.

Ajanta Caves — 30 UNESCO World Heritage Buddhist Rock-Cut Cave Sanctuaries

4. Daulatabad Fort & Chand Minar (12th-Century Impenetrable Hill Fortress - 15 km)

A 12th century medieval hill fortress founded by the Yadava kings (originally named Devagiri) perched on a sheer 200 meter high conical rock hill. Renowned as one of the most impregnable fortresses in military history, featuring a 50 foot water moat filled with crocodiles, the 210 foot pink Chand Minar victory tower, and the pitch dark subterranean labyrinth (*Andhari*).

Daulatabad Fort — 12th-Century Impenetrable Hill Citadel and Chand Minar

5. Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga & Panchakki (12th Sacred Shiva Jyotirlinga & Water Mill - 32 km)

The 12th and southernmost of the sacred Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva, located in Verul village adjacent to Ellora Caves. Constructed of red stone by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century, it features exquisite mythological carvings, paired with Panchakki — a 17th century hydro mill in Aurangabad driven by subterranean water channels.

Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple — 12th Sacred Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva near Ellora

6. Aurangabad Caves & Tantric Buddhist Rock Sanctuaries (6th-Century Hill Cells - 3 km)

A cluster of 12 rock cut Buddhist shrines carved into the Sihaychal hills overlooking the city, dating from the 6th to 8th century AD, featuring exquisite Tantric Buddhist sculptures of Tara and celestial musicians.

7. Khuldabad Valley of Saints & Aurangzeb Tomb (Historic Sufi Spiritual City - 22 km)

A sacred walled town known as the Abode of Eternity, housing the holy shrines of 1,400 Sufi saints (including Hazrat Zar Zari Zar Baksh) and the humble, austere open air grave of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

8. Pithalkhora Caves & Chandora Gorge (Oldest 3rd-Century BC Hinayana Rock Shrines - 78 km)

An ancient Buddhist rock cut monastery situated deep in the rugged ravine of Chandora hill, recognized as the earliest rock cut sanctuary in Western India, dating back to the 3rd century BC.

9. Jayakwadi Dam Bird Sanctuary & Paithan (Nathsagar Reservoir & Dnyaneshwar Garden - 50 km)

One of the largest earthen dams in Asia constructed on the Godavari River, forming the expansive Nathsagar bird wetland home to flamingos, paired with Sant Eknath Maharaj's birthplace in Paithan.