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 01
: Arrive Mumbai
02 : Sightseeing of Aurangabad
03 : Visit Ajanta caves
04 : Visit Ellora Caves
05 : Board Flight from Mumbai
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Duration : 04 Nights / 05 Days
Places Covered : Mumbai - Aurangabad - Mumbai
Day 1 » Mumbai Arrival :
Arrive at Mumbai airport in the evening. Transfer to hotel. Check in and
relax.Overnight at Mumbai.
Day
2 » Mumbai / Aurangabad :
By Air
- Flight : IC 887 (Indian Airlines)
- Aircraft : Airbus 320
- Departure : 1540 hr
- Arrival : 1625 hr
Breakfast at hotel. Mumbai's skyline is recognizable in advertisements and
pictorial depictions stating the country's technological and financial hub.
It's an imposing skyline. The contours are hazy but the residents don't seem
to mind. They love this place and this all-encompassing love is infectious.
What are the few nail-on-the-head characteristics of the city? A walk on
marine drive, the gateway of india, warden road, university buildings, fort,
town hall, mumbai high court to name a few. The waves splashing against the
embankment establish an essence of mumbai too, much in the same genre as the
skyline. The pub and bar scenario here is quite state of the art and ranges
from the sophisticated ones in the five stars to the hip and trendy ones in
colaba and the suburbs. Mumbai is also known as the hollywood of india or
bollywood (from the names bombay and hollywood) and is the biggest film
industry of the world.
Transfer to airport for flight to
Aurangabad. Reach and check in at hotel.
The city of Aurangabad was founded in 1610, on the site of a village,
Khirki by Malik Ambar - the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam Shah II. When
Fateh Khan, Malik Ambar's son turned successor in 1626, he gave the city the
name 'Fatehpur'. Later in 1653, when Prince Aurangzeb became Viceroy of the
Deccan, he made the city his capital and called it Aurangabad. Aurangzeb
added the walls that enclose the central part of the city in 1686 in order
to withstand attacks from the Maratha. There are four principle gateways to
the city - the Delhi Darwaza, the Jalna Darwaza, the Paithan Darwaza and the
Mecca Darwaza. Nine secondary gateways also formed a part of the defensive
system of this city.
Aurangabad district has always been a prominent region on the Deccan
plateau. Having been inhabited since the Stone Age, it has a long artistic
and cultural history - to which several dynasties have made major
contributions over the years. Maurya rule marked the arrival of Buddhism in
Maharashtra.
Aurangabad today is a bustling city of Maharashtra with diverse big and
small industries, fine silken textiles, and exquisite hand woven brocades of
silver and gold fabrics, Himroo of world frame. To scholars and lovers of
art and culture the city is more familiar as the gateway to the ancient
caves of Ajanta and Ellora, both famous as treasure houses of Indian Art and
Sculpture.
Overnight at Aurangabad.
Day
3 » Aurangabad :
Breakfast at hotel. Full day sightseeing with excursion to Ajanta Caves.
- Ajanta caves : Nestling in an inner fold of the Sahyardi hills, 100 km
from Aurangabad in the shape of a mammoth horse- shoe, are the 30 rock-hewn
caves of Ajanta. The Caves date from the 2nd century BC. Discovered in 1819
by a group of British army officers, these startling achievements took
around 600 years to create. Carved with little more than a hammer and
chisel, Ajanta, once the retreat of Buddhist monastic orders features
several 'chaityas' (chapels) and 'viharas' (monasteries). The exquisite wall
and ceiling paintings, panels and sculptures of Buddha's life are famous
throughout the world as the earliest and finest examples of Buddhist
pictorial art.
Overnight at Aurangabad.
Day 4 » Aurangabad :
Breakfast at hotel. Visit Ellora Caves, Daulatabad Fort and Aurangabad
Caves.
- Ellora Caves : Impressive in their own right is the rock-hewn temples and
monasteries of Ellora that lie just 30 km away from Aurangabad city. In all,
there are 34 cave temples, 12 Mahayana Buddhist caves (550-750 AD), 17 Hindu
caves (600-875 AD) and 5 caves of the Jain faith (800-1000 AD) 22 more
caves, dedicated to Lord Shiva, were recently discovered. Kailas Temple
(cave16), the central attraction at Ellora, is the most remarkable. Chiseled
by hand from a single massive rock, it includes a gateway, pavilion,
courtyard, vestibule, sanctum, sanctorum and tower which bear testimony to
the excellence of Dravidian art. Is believed to have taken 7000 laborers,
working in continuos shifts and 150 years to build. Ever since the first
European visitors in 18th Century, Ellora has attracted chroniclers,
antiquarians, scholars and in more recent years, ever- increasing number of
tourists.
- Aurangabad Caves : The almost forgotten caves of Aurangabad lie just
outside the city. Excavated between the 2nd and 6th century AD, they reflect
TANTRIC influences in their iconography and architectural designs. In all
there are nine caves which are mainly viharas (monasteries).
The most interesting among these are Caves 3 and 7. The former is supported
on 12 highly ornate columns and has sculptures depicting scenes from the
legendary 'Jakata' tales. Cave 7 with its detailed figures of bejeweled
women also has a dominating sculpture of a 'Bodhisattva' praying for
deliverance.
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Daulatabad Fort : Once known as 'Devgiri', this magnificent 12th century
fortress stands on a hill just 13 km. from Aurangabad. It was given the name
Daulatabad, the 'city of fortune', by Muhammad Tughlaq, Sultan of Delhi.
Initially a Yadav stronghold, it passed through the hands of several
dynasties in the Deccan. One of the world's best preserved fort of medieval
times, surviving virtually unaltered, Daulatabad yet displays the character
that made it invincible.
A Fortress that was conquered only by treachery. A series of secret,
quizzical, subterranean passages lie coiled like a python amidst the fort.
Here flaring torches were thrust upon an unwary enemy. Or hot oil poured
down his path, as he deliberated in the labyrinth. Also the heat from a
brazier was blown into the passage by a process of suction suffocating the
entire garrison within. The Fort itself lies in the body of an isolated
hill; the steep hill - sides at the base falling so sharply to the moat that
no hostile troops could scale the height.
The moat, 40 ft. deep with mechanical drawbridges teemed with crocodiles. A
5-kilometer sturdy wall, artificial scarping and a complicated series of
defenses made Daulatabad impregnable. The 30-meter high Chand Minar (Tower)
built much later with 3 circular galleries had a defensive and religious
role in the fortress.
Overnight at Aurangabad.
Day 5 » Aurangabad / Mumbai :
By Air
- Flight : IC 888 (Indian Airlines)
- Aircraft : Airbus 320
- Departure : 1730 hr
- Arrival : 2055 hr
Breakfast at hotel. Relax for the day. Transfer to airport for flight to
Mumbai. Direct transfer to international airport for flight home.
;)
01
: Arrive Mumbai
