My last weekend in India was spent exploring areas outside of Pune. The main site I visited was the Ellora caves in Aurangabad (about a 4.5hr drive from Pune). It was so amazing to see these carvings and structures that were built throughout the 5th-10th centuries. There are a total of 34 caves all vary in size and religious temples (Buddhist, Hindu and Jain). Here are a few photos from the first cave we visited. I'm still in shock in the scale of these structures and the detail in all of these carvings!
Look at how big these sculptures were - I had to take a few pictures just for size comparison! These caves are built into the hillside. Here's a few pictures of the entrances to the caves and temples
In order to see the majority of the caves I was able to ride in a rickshaw! I mentioned the taxis in another post but I am so happy I was finally able to ride in one. The driver had put in neon lights and was even playing music at one point while we rode around the sites - not typical for most rickshaws. Here's a quick photo a took of my view in the cab. I'm suprised Sachin, Srikanth, and I were all able to fit in one!
The last cave we visited is the most famous and had many levels. Here's the view from the top level. It was so beautiful and neat to see at the time of day, it was late afternoon so the sun was beginning to set and it made viewing this last cave so amazing!
I know I mentioned how impressive the details in these caves were but at the last cave there were even two walls that had carvings of an entire battle story!
This day was amazing and I'm so glad I got to see these caves! Tomorrow I'll post more about the other sites I visited over the weekend!
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