Ajanta Caves

The Ajanta Caves are cut into a horseshoe-shaped cliff above the Waghur River in Maharashtra, western India, about 100 kilometres north of the city of Aurangabad, now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. There are about 30 caves in all, carved into a rock face roughly 75 metres high.

They were made in two main phases. The first, from around the 2nd century BCE, produced simple prayer halls and monasteries. The second, in the 5th century CE under the Vakataka dynasty, added most of the richly decorated caves. The site was later abandoned and covered by forest until 1819, when a British officer, John Smith, came across it while hunting a tiger. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1983.

The caves are of two types: chaityas, or worship halls with a stupa at the far end, and viharas, or monasteries with cells for monks around a central hall. Ajanta is best known for its paintings, which are among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art. They show scenes from the Jataka tales of the Buddha's past lives, court life, animals and ornament. Cave 1 holds the famous painting of the Bodhisattva Padmapani, and Caves 2, 16 and 17 have large painted cycles. Cave 26 contains a carved reclining Buddha.

To protect the paintings, flash photography is banned and lighting inside is kept low.

The caves are managed by the Archaeological Survey of India, open from 9 am to 5 pm and closed on Mondays. Entry costs about ₹40 for Indian citizens and ₹600 for foreign visitors, with children under 15 free. Visitors buy tickets at the visitor centre and take an eco-bus to the caves. Allow at least half a day and wear shoes that are easy to remove.

Thirty caves, numbered with later letter suffixes

Ajanta has 30 rock-cut caves. They were first numbered 1 to 29 from one end of the gorge, and caves found later took letter suffixes such as 15A, so scholars count up to 36 identifiable foundations. Recent research dates the second, richly decorated phase to a short burst around 460 to 480 CE, while older accounts spread it from 400 to 650 CE.

Dry fresco and why flash is banned

The paintings are dry fresco, applied to a dry plaster surface, which is part of why they are so fragile. Light, humidity and the breath of crowds damage them, and that is why the caves are dim and flash is banned. To ease pressure on the originals, the authorities announced in 2012 replicas of Caves 1, 2, 16 and 17 at the visitor centre.

Look for a small piece of history in Cave 10. John Smith, the officer who found the caves, scratched his name and the date, 28 April 1819, onto a painted bodhisattva. The graffito is still visible.