Kanyakumari-Kashmir Round trip - Day 7 - Ellora - Ajanta - Omkareshwar

Day 7 - Grishneshwar Jyotirling - Ellora Caves - Ajanta Caves - Omkareshwar Jyotirling (stay in Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh)

Kilometers driven - 380 Kms

Walking - 26000+ steps

The day started around 5.30 AM (woke up to the audio of Grishneshwar alayam) and visited the temple again by 6 AM - no crowd :) The vehicle was parked in the hotel itself, booked the Ellora Caves ticket online and started the looooooonggggg walk by 6.15 AM. There are 34 caves in total for public visit, 17 Hindu (caves 13–29), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves. We met Dr. Usha from Mangalore and she tipped us on coverage stating that it will be a hectic walk. She writes a lot about temple and architecture and it was pleasure meeting her just before entering the cave premises :)

We started from Kailasha - Cave 16 and covered the left side of it (cave numbers 16 to 34) in the first phase

The Kailasha or Kailashanatha temple is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at the Ellora Caves near Sambhaji Nagar in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved from a rock cliff face, it is considered as one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment, and "the climax of the rock-cut phase of Indian architecture". The top of the superstructure over the sanctuary is 32.6 metres (107 ft) above the level of the court below, although the rock face slopes downwards from the rear of the temple to the front. Archaeologists believe it is made from a single rock.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't carry water bottles, however found drinking water near cave 30 after 12000+ steps. There was a cafetaria but was shut :(

Moments before starting the base point walk to cave 16 (entry point) from cave 34, I saw a security guard in a 2 wheeler. He was going to the entry point and without any hesitation I requested a drop - lolz :) He said he wouldn't be able to balance a triple ride (me, mahadevan and him). He requested me to drive his Hero Honda Super Splendor saving around 3+ kms walk - we felt super happy :)

We stopped near the entrance, spoke to the security team to inform that we'll back to visit phase 2 (caves 15 to 1) post breakfast. We went out - had couple of poha plates with lot of onion and bhujia and masala chai. Took a bottle of water and started the phase 2. We observed that many people visit Kailasa and nearby caves and walk off the premises either because of time (or) physical issues. It's definitely a herculean task to cover all the caves (and please bear in mind that 34 is just a number and there are sub-division within the caves - 20 A, 20 B - 21 A etc..,) 

        

     

      

 

We completed all the caves around 10.30 AM and planned to complete Ajanta the same day. We had couple lemon sodas (salt) and reached Ajanta around noon. You have to park the vehicle in the parking lot, take a bus to reach the base of Ajanta Caves. Started the Ajanta Caves walk (exclusively Buddhist) around 12.30 PM. It was manageable heat - thankfully not a super hot day :)

The Ajanta Caves are 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad District of Maharashtra state in India. Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, the caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form.





 

We settled for Lunch - Thali in Ajanta fort complex :) Post lunch, refuelling happened - Farm Fuel Center, IOCL pump, Sanawad, Madhya Pradesh. We went straight to Omkareshwar - managed to park amidst the crowd. Caught hold of a purohit for darshan - had a peaceful darshan around 6.30 PM and a scenic Narmada sunset view :)







Post the temple visit, gulped few paani puris, samosa and fruits for dinner. By doing Ajanta, Ellora & Omkareshwar on the same day we were able to save one day from the original itinerary. We settled in Hotel Gurukripa, Omkareshwar

Luv,
Krishna & Mahadevan
insta - viswanatkr01

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