Ellora Caves

Among the most important historical monuments in India, Ellora caves, cut out of the vertical face of a high basalt hill, Charanadari running north to south in the Deccan, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. These caves are the culmination of Deccan rock-cut architecture. Located about 28 km north west of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Ellora earlier known as Verul a tiny mountain village, has 34 rock-cut temples and monasteries, spanning a period of almost 400 years from the sixth to the tenth centuries AD.

Caves at Ellora spread over 2km long, open to the left of the cliff and represent three faiths  -Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. In all, there are 34 cave temples numbered from south to north - 12 Mahayana Buddhist caves (550-750 AD), 17 Hindu caves (600-875 AD) and 5 caves of the Jain faith (800-1000 AD). 20 or more caves, dedicated to Lord Shiva, were recently discovered. The magnificent Kailash Temple at Cave 16, known as the world's largest monolithic sculpture, was sculpted out of a single rock by 7000 labourers over a 150 year period. 

A summary of the caves representing the three different faiths in Ellora are given below.

The Buddhist Caves | Hindu Caves | Jain Caves