the light baggage

Overview: One of the major tourist hubs in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra is the region of Aurangabad. Founded in 1610 by Malik Ambar and later developed by Aurangzeb in 1653, the city has developed into a major heritage hub. The region has seen several kingdoms with Ajanta caves and Ellora caves located around 100 kms and 30kms from Aurangabad respectively. Coming to the city of Aurangabad, the main tourist attractions in and around are: 1. Bibi-ka-Maqbara: Built in 1660 by Aurangzeb in the memory of his first wife, this structure resembles the Taj Mahal in Agra. Even the outer courtyard and the gardens are designed to match the Taj.   2. Panchakki: Located in the heart of the old city of Aurangabad is Panchakki, a mill which is run by the energy generated by water. The water mill was used to grind grains for the pilgrims during the Nizam's rule in the late 17th century.   3. City gates: These gates can be seen all across the city, which were built during th...

Overview: One of the great architectural marvels of Indian history is the Ajanta caves. Located around 100kms from Aurangabad, these caves date back to the 2nd century BC. There are a total of 26 Buddhist caves carved out of a semi-circular rock hill. All the caves are located next to one another, with each cave depicting the ways of living a life, the Buddha's journey, a king's lifestyle and several other stories from ancient India. A few caves have wall and ceiling paintings on them which have survived several centuries of wear and tear. These paintings are made out of vegetable extracts, similar to the painitngs which can be seen at Hampi and Badami. A few caves are designed as a huge hall, with the interiors resembling some of the massive churches of the renaissance, but entirely carved out of stone. Really remarkable work by the generation of people who commissioned these caves, which were built by ordinary tools and chisels (as believed).         ...