Reflections on Our Travel to the Motherland - A Bat Cave, Mini Taj and more

Last November, my husband and I traveled to Aurangabad to see the Ajanta and Ellora Caves and ended up seeing more than we imagined. 

Our driver (booked through Rajjas Travels and Tours Ltd) is local to the area and made our trip to this city and surrounding towns memorable in more than one way. He drove us to all the sights and to the best places to eat. 

We ate this 4-foot Paper Masala Dosa with potato curry and chutneys for breakfast at a roadside dhaba on the way to the caves. It was wonderful and filling. 

There are many such dhabas (roadside canteens) on the way and we recommend that you definitely dine at one of them. 

We also enjoyed tropical fruits that were in season, such as these sitaphal or custard apples below. 

A basket full of delectable Hanuman phal (a variety of custard apples)

When you break open a ripened custard apple, eat the fleshy part and take out the black seeds.

Don't they look so mouth-watering? Our driver took us to his family's roadside stall where they were selling these fruits and we got a great deal. We also bought some fruit at the stalls outside of Daulatabad Fort. 

The Daulatabad Fort is about 9 miles northwest of Aurangabad in a town called Daulatabad. It was once known as the invincible fort because of its impressive defenses and strategic traps laid throughout the fort. 

Look at the spikes on this gate!

Just look at him grinning, standing next to the massive entrance gate. Before gunpowder, intoxicated elephants were used as a battering ram to break open the gates. The presence of spikes ensured that the elephants died of the injury. 

Those poor elephants. Where was P.E.T.A.?

As we walked through the entrance gate, we saw canons like the one below lined up against one side of the fort wall. 

I wonder if that is the "curb" appeal for the adventure buffs like my husband. He couldn't wait to go inside and explore the fort.

Below is a picture of Chand Minar or the Tower of the Moon. Chand Minar was inspired by Qutub Minar in Delhi. A small mosque sits at the base of the tower. You can see the tower from every corner of the fort. 

The tower was closed so we couldn't peek inside. :( We moved onwards into the fort. It was a long walk up the fort with twists and turns and many, many steps. You must wear good walking shoes or sneakers for this trek. 

Michael climbed on top of the fort's wall to get a better look at the view. He didn't say anything but I knew he was thinking, "I'm on top of the world." 

You can see Chand Minar from every corner and touch it as well! hehe

Hello, honey. How's the view from up there?

There is a narrow set of steps that lead visitors up to the tippy top of this fort. Of course, my husband had to check it out. I, on the other hand, wanted to live to see the next day, so I decided to let him go up and took a picture of his great feat from below. 

The best and only part my husband seems to remember from our trip to the fort is what happened after we came up the stairs in the picture below:

About midway in the fort, there is an entrance into the cave...the Bat Cave to be precise. This cave was meant to confuse enemies. I'm sure it did precisely that...it confused the hell out of me. It seemed to go on forever and reeked of bat guano. We were crawling through the cave because if you dared to look up, there were thousands of BATSSSS!!! 

I was hanging onto my husband for dear life and hoping nothing touched me. After what felt like an hour but it was really 5 to 10 minutes (depending on how slowly you are walking/crawling through the cave), we climbed up the stairs and into the open air. 

FREEDOM!!! I had never been so happy to breathe in my life. By the way, I'm sorry there aren't any pictures from inside the Bat cave. I really didn't want to die. 

If this is how I felt, can you imagine how the enemies felt back then? There must have been mass confusion. Not to mention that there was a massive moat around this fort. One wrong step and down you go into the moat filled with monstrous creatures. 

Another view of Chand Minar!

We had fun exploring this fort and learned more about its importance. Another gem in Aurangabad that is worth visiting is Bibi ka Maqbara:

Doesn't it remind you of the Taj Mahal? 

Although not as well known as the Taj Mahal, Bibi ka Maqbara ("Mini Taj") is important in its own right. It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in memory of his first and chief wife, Dilras Banu Begum. 

As we walked along the path, it seemed like we were walking towards the Taj Mahal because of how it was constructed. The Taj Mahal is actually the "final resting place" or mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother, Mumtaz Mahal. 

Michael and I enjoyed our 2.5 days stay in Aurangabad and explored as much as we could. We also indulged in the cuisine and seasonal fruits such as the many varieties of custard apples (regular, Hanuman phal, and chocolate), and pink guavas. We definitely recommend to all to visit Aurangabad and discover the historical gems in and around this city. 

Come back and visit our blog again as we will be sharing more stories from our trip to India last November, from Aurangabad we headed south to Hyderabad and Bangalore. 

Reflections on Our Travel to the Motherland - Aurangabad Caves, Part One

Almost 770 miles southwest of New Delhi is a place called Aurangabad. Have you ever heard of this city? If you haven't, you should add it to your list of places to visit, next time you are planning a trip to India.

Besides visiting the Taj Mahal and the palaces in Rajasthan, my husband and I were curious about other gems in India. We came across the Ajanta / Ellora caves (UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Aurangabad.

The Ajanta caves are 30 rock-cut Buddhist caves which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE.

Below are some pictures from our recent visit:

Panoramic view of the Ajanta Caves from outside

A warm welcome from local residents (Langur monkeys) at the Ajanta caves

Close up view of the caves from outside as we are walking along the path

Take care when walking along the path to all the caves.
It is a steep fall to the ground. Be aware of your surroundings.

There are porters and palki (carrying structure)
for older tourists to be carried up to the caves (as shown above)

The caves are comprised of paintings of Buddhist legends and carvings.

Flash photography was not allowed in many of the caves with paintings on the walls. Also, limited number of tourists were allowed inside of the caves at a time to help preserve the condition. Humidifiers were placed in all the caves for continuous air circulation and to control humidity.

Can you make out the bull painting on the ceiling? Our guide told us that it seems as though the bull's eyes are looking at you regardless of where you are standing in the cave? It was remarkable. 

Below are the pictures from inside Cave 1. This was one of the last caves to have been excavated. You can see the Buddha statue through the hallway of the cave. It is truly amazing that even after all this time, most of the paintings are still intact and clearly visible. 

Cave 1, interior; Buddha statue visible from inside room

 The paintings inside this cave are in pretty good shape considering how old these caves are. The scenes depicted are mostly devotional and ornamental, with scenes from the Jataka stories of Buddha's former lives as a bodhisattva.

Cave 1 - Buddha statue

Cave 1 - Padmapani Bodhisattva Painting

Bull painting on the ceiling

At Cave 19, a 5th-century Chaitya Hall 

 This exterior of Cave 19 loosely resembled the caves in Petra, Jordan for me. My husband and I were both in awe of the intricacies of this site. We were happy that these caves were not vandalized and history was preserved.

Cave 26 - Interior of Chaitya Hall (house of the stupa)
The Ajanta caves follow the Cathedral -style architecture.

Some takeaways from our visit:

• Tourists are shuttled by buses to these caves and you have to pay a small fee for the shuttle service; about 40 rupees per person. Make sure to have exact change. 
• It may be better to hire a guide before you arrive at the caves. It was difficult to find an English speaking guide who we could understand. 
• Wear comfortable and well-circulated clothing as well as sturdy shoes. 
• Carry bottled water with you as it is a long walk because there are a lot of caves and we suggest one day for each set of caves (meaning one day for Ajanta caves, and one day for Ellora caves). 
• Also, carry or wear a hat and sunglasses with you. It can get hot depending on which part of the year you are visiting these caves. 

***All the pictures in this post are my own and shot with my Samsung phone. Please send a request if you would like to use the pictures. More in-depth information about each of the caves is available on Wikipedia.

Stay tuned for more posts on our trip to India, coming up next - Ellora Caves...