Ajanta and Ellora Caves

Ajanta Caves









Kailasa Temple (cave 16, Ellora Caves)











Ellora Caves



Cave 10 (Ellora caves)

Amazing. Both the Ajanta and Ellora caves are World Heritage sites, and they completely astonish me. I was suffering from temple/palace/fort fatigue after seeing so many in India, but I think after Angkor Wat in Cambodia, they have to be the most spectacular things carved out of stone that I've ever seen, in particular the Kailasa Temple of the Ellora Caves. I included some shots from above to show how far back they had to excavate rock and some of the detail of the interior.

Keep in mind that this was all at one time solid rock and people had to carve this all out over several generations! Everything from the statues to the pillars were from solid stone. It's not like they could suddenly decide they would switch styles midway through, and if they accidently chiseled off Buddha's nose, it couldn't be replaced.

The Ajanta Caves were carved by Buddhists from 2 BC (!) to 650 AD. The Ellora Caves in contrast are "newer" but some were carved by Buddhists, others by Hindus and others by Jains from 600AD-1000AD. They're both very impressive, and the photos truly don't do them justice. I also posted some more on my Flickr account, just click on one of the photos.