Duration :- 3 Nights / 4 Days
Places to See:- Mumbai - Aurangabad - Mumbai
Day
01: Mumbai - Aurangabad:
By Air
Flight : IC 887 (Indian Airlines)
Aircraft : Airbus 320
Departure : 1540 hr
Arrival : 1625 hr
Transfer to airport for flight to Aurangabad.
Reach and check in at hotel.
The city of Aurangabad was founded in 1610, on the site of a village, Khirki
by Malik Ambar - the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam Shah II. When Fateh Khan,
Malik Ambar's son turned successor in 1626, he gave the city the name 'Fatehpur'.
Later in 1653, when Prince Aurangzeb became Viceroy of the Deccan, he made
the city his capital and called it Aurangabad. Aurangzeb added the walls that
enclose the central part of the city in 1686 in order to withstand attacks
from the Marathas. There are four principle gateways to the city - the Delhi
Darwaza, the Jalna Darwaza, the Paithan Darwaza and the Mecca Darwaza. Nine
secondary gateways also formed a part of the defensive system of this city.
Aurangabad district has always been a prominent region on the Deccan plateau.
Having been inhabited since the Stone Age, it has a long artistic and cultural
history - to which several dynasties have made major contributions over the
years. Maurya rule marked the arrival of Buddhism in Maharashtra.
Aurangabad today is a bustling city of Maharashtra
with diverse big and small industries, fine silken textiles, and exquisite hand
woven brocades of silver and gold fabrics, Himroo of world frame. To scholars
and lovers of art and culture the city is more familiar as the gateway to the
ancient caves of Ajanta and Ellora, both famous as treasure houses of Indian
Art and Sculpture.
Overnight will be at Aurangabad.
Day 02 Aurangabad:
Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
Proceed for a full day sightseeing with excursion to Ajanta Caves.
Ajanta caves: Nestling in an inner fold of the Sahyardi hills, 100
km from Aurangabad in the shape of a mammoth horse- shoe, are the 30 rock-hewn
caves of Ajanta. The Caves date from the 2nd century BC. Discovered in 1819
by a group of British army officers, these startling achievements took around
600 years to create. Carved with little more than a hammer and chisel, Ajanta,
once the retreat of Buddhist monastic orders features several 'chaityas' (chapels)
and 'viharas' (monasteries). The exquisite wall and ceiling paintings, panels
and sculptures of Buddha's life are famous throughout the world as the earliest
and finest examples of Buddhist pictorial art.
Return to Aurangabad and overnight will be at Aurangabad.
Day 03 Aurangabad:
Breakfast will be at the hotel.
Proceed for a visit to the Ellora Caves, Daulatabad Fort and Aurangabad Caves.
Ellora Caves: Impressive in their own right is the rock-hewn temples
and monasteries of Ellora that lie just 30 km away from Aurangabad city. In
all, there are 34 cave temples, 12 Mahayana Buddhist caves (550-750 AD), 17
Hindu caves (600-875 AD) and 5 caves of the Jain faith (800-1000 AD) 22 more
caves, dedicated to Lord Shiva, were recently discovered. Kailas Temple (cave16),
the central attraction at Ellora, is the most remarkable. Chiseled by hand
from a single massive rock, it includes a gateway, pavilion, courtyard, vestibule,
sanctum, sanctorum and tower which bear testimony to the excellence of Dravidian
art. It is believed to have taken 7000 laborers, working in continuous shifts
and 150 years to build. Ever since the first European visitors in 18th Century,
Ellora has attracted chroniclers, antiquarians, scholars and in more recent
years, ever- increasing number of tourists.
Aurangabad Caves: The almost forgotten caves of Aurangabad lie just
outside the city. Excavated between the 2nd and 6th century AD, they reflect
TANTRIC influences in their iconography and architectural designs. In all
there are nine caves which are mainly viharas (monasteries). The most interesting
among these are Caves 3 and 7. The former is supported on 12 highly ornate
columns and has sculptures depicting scenes from the legendary 'Jakata' tales.
Cave 7 with its detailed figures of bejeweled women also has a dominating
sculpture of a 'Bodhisattva' praying for deliverance.
Daulatabad Fort: Once known as 'Devgiri', this magnificent 12th century
fortress stands on a hill just 13 km. from Aurangabad. It was given the name
Daulatabad, the 'city of fortune', by Muhammad Tughlaq,
Sultan of Delhi. Initially a Yadav stronghold, it passed through the hands of
several dynasties in the Deccan. One of the world's best preserved fort of medieval
times, surviving virtually unaltered, Daulatabad yet displays the character
that made it invincible. This is a Fortress that was conquered only by treachery.
A series of secret, quizzical, subterranean passages lie coiled like a python
amidst the fort. Here flaring torches were thrust upon an unwary enemy. Or hot
oil poured down his path, as he deliberated in the labyrinth. Also the heat
from a brazier was blown into the passage by a process of suction suffocating
the entire garrison within. The Fort itself lies in the body of an isolated
hill; the steep hill - sides at the base falling so sharply to the moat that
no hostile troops could scale the height. The moat, 40 ft. deep with mechanical
drawbridges teemed with crocodiles. A 5-kilometer sturdy wall, artificial scarping
and a complicated series of defenses made Daulatabad impregnable. The 30-meter
high Chand Minar (Tower) built much later with 3 circular galleries had a defensive
and religious role in the fortress.
Overnight will be in Aurangabad.
Day 04 Aurangabad - Mumbai:
By Air
Flight : 9W 3104 (Jet Airways)
Aircraft : Airbus 320
Departure : 0845 hr
Arrival : 0945 hr
Breakfast will be at hotel. Transfer to airport for flight to Mumbai.
TOUR ENDS
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