Aurangabad to Burhanpur

Today we will be seeing the Ajanta Caves and then proceed on to Burhanpur where we will be staying for the night.

I have heard a lot about the Ajanta Caves; they are a World Heritage Site as well and I’m looking forward to seeing them.

The Ajanta Caves are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650 CE. The caves include paintings and rock cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotion through gesture, pose and form. According to UNESCO, these are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art that influenced Indian art that followed.

The drive to Ajanta was almost 4 hours on very bad roads with no usable rest stops. Now it makes sense why we had to leave so early.

We finally arrived. One cannot see the caves from the parking area; they are behind the mountains and we have to take the eco-friendly bus provided.

The first view from the parking area was all the various colors of the flame of the forest in bloom.

We took the bus over as instructed to the caves. The caves were as expected and more. We didn’t see all 29 but some of the rest are unfinished. Cave numbers 1 and 2 have the most beautiful paintings. I took way too many photos and the one below is one of my favorites because of the expression on Buddha’s face which appear to change depending on the viewing angle.

The outside was rugged but very beautiful as well and I could hear different birds singing all around me.

We stopped for lunch before boarding the bus. The food was basic but excellent and the servers were pleasant and helpful.

Web parted company with our guide Thomas and were soon on our way to our next stop Burhanpur.

So far we have traveling within the State of Maharashtra. Maharashtra translates to the “Great State”. We noticed the friendliness and the above normal customer service and enjoyed both of course.

The roads continued to be bad for another couple of hours. We finally entered the State of Madhya Pradesh, which means the Middle State and is smack in the middle of India.

Made it to Burhanpur on the banks of the Tapti River shortly. We will be staying at Tapti Retreat, a hotel owned by MP Tourism.

Usually these are basic hotels, clean, and tasty home style cooking. The service is typically excellent as this one is.

Dinner and then retired for the night.