Visit to Ajintha Caves (2, 10, 16, 17 and 26)

Today I am so happy to share this post with everybody. The reason being last time when I visited Aurangabad I was not able to visit these world renowned caves and I had to return back just by visiting Ellora caves. Like majority of married men I had very little hopes to make it back to Ajintha caves anytime soon. Finally the opportunity came this year (i.e. 2017) and without any second thoughts I grabbed it.
A bunch of disclaimers before you start going through this post:

• Just so that the reader is aware about why I don't have pictures from Cave #1, when I reached Cave #1 there was a group of around 100 kids from some school lined up to enter the cave. I had planned to visit it on my way back but ended up skipping it altogether due to the shortcut that I took.
• As a well known fact due to less light few clicks are blurred and hazy. I have intentionally added them for the reader to get a glimpse of the magnificent art work that exist at Ajintha.
• There are certain clicks which don't have any picture at all due to the amount of erosion that has happened. Again these I have intentionally included to give the reader an idea about the efforts that were put in to create these art works.
• When I searched on internet I was able to find some clicks which were taken few years before. I was astonished to find the difference between these pictures and the ones that I took. Due to time one can see that the color has gradually lost from these images.
• If you are not interested in the pictures you can directly jump at the bottom of this post for a list of tips that I have listed based on my experience.

Following are the reference links that I traversed before visiting these caves:

• One of the best sites that you can explore before you plan your visit is the Wikipedia page for Ajintha caves. On this page you would also find details about the efforts made to replicate these paintings.
• Another source could be the site of  Archaeological survey of India. They have given details about each cave with measurements and the time when the cave was excavated.
• If you happen to jump on this trip without too much of planning then you can always buy the small booklets that are there for sale at the cave site. I am not too sure about the source of information that these booklets have but they have got basic information in-case you did not got any time to prepare for your trip.

Following are few facts related to these caves presented on the Wikipedia page:

• These are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650 CE. (I always get confused about the number of years when talking about centuries in BCE or AD. So this time I found a site which actually tells the number of years for the given BCE or AD century. As of today (i.e. 01 Mar 2017) for 2nd century BCE the total number of years is 2117. Which imply that the work on these caves was started 2117 years ago and was completed 1367 years ago).
• 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.
• The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Following are the pictures (in sequence of the caves) that I took:

A view from the entry gate

Cave #2

 
Cave #10

 
Cave #16

Below set of images can be seen on the top of the cave entrance as a single sequence (i.e. strip) of images. I have tried to capture the sequence in set of two images.

Cave #17

 
Cave #26

 

 

Following are few tips based on my experience:

• Best time of visit that I can suggest is post monsoon and before peak summer. During this time you get ample sunlight so that you can view the cave interior properly and don't get exhausted due to scorching sun.
• One day before you plane to visit please check whether the caves are open for public. There might be a chance that certain sections are closed due to restoration activities.
• Carry good hat or cap. I prefer to carry a round cap as it gives better protection from sunlight and is more convenient while taking pictures as compared to the caps having flaps.
• Get some good flash light (I mean a hand held torch light. I don't mean the camera flash. Camera flash is not permitted/allowed in caves). Preferably the one with white light. You can use these flash lights for taking pictures. 
• It is of no use to carry a point and shoot or amateur camera to click painting photos. You need a very good camera with very nice sensor.
• Get a footwear which is easily removable as you need to remove your footwear every-time you enter the cave. Keep in mind you won't be able to walk bare foot either (just in case you are lazy to remove the footwear every-time) due to the hot black rock.
• Caves that you must visit are 1, 2, 10, 16, 17, 19 and 26.

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