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Arrive Aurangabad.
After lunch, leave for Paithan (56 kms.) (Paithan is located
at around 56 kmd south of Aurangabad on the banks of Godavari River.
It known in the ancient times as 'Pratishthan' was capital city of
Satvahan dynasty and major hub of commerce at that time. Paithan is
also the birthplace of Sant Eknath- one of the greatest saints of
Maharashtra.Great sant Dnyaneshwar made vedamantras to be spoken
from the mouth of malebuffalow thereby showing vedas are not
soleright of brahmins anybody can go for them) and Sant
Dyaneshwar Gardens (built on the lines of the famous Vrindavan
Gardens in Mysore, Pinjore in Haryana and the Shalimar in Kashmir.
The musical fountain show is noteworthy. Do not miss the Museum that
houses remnants found in the excavation done around Paithan. It is
located at the far end of the garden). Night halt at Aurangabad. |
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After breakfast, leave for full day excursion
tour of Ajanta Caves. (to & fro- 220 kms.) (there are about
30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century
BCE to about 480 or 650 CE. The caves include paintings and
sculptures are the finest surviving examples of Indian art,
particularly painting which are masterpieces of Buddhist religious
art, with figures of the Buddha and depictions of the Jataka tales).
Return to Aurangabad. Night halt at Aurangabad. |
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After breakfast, visit- Ellora caves (29
kms.) (these caves, locally known as ‘Verul Leni’ is located on the
Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road towards north-west of Aurangabad. The
name Ellora itself inspires everyone as it represents one of the
largest rock-hewn monastic-temple complexes in the entire world.
Ellora is also world famous for the largest single monolithic
excavation in the world, the great Kailasa (Cave 16). The visit to
these caves is enjoyed maximum during monsoon, when every stream is
filled with rainwater, and the entire environ is lush green)
After lunch visit- Daulatabad fort (Devagiri (Daultabad of
the later period), 11 kms. north-west of Aurangabad, is a famous for
its formidable hill fort. The fort is situated on an isolated
cone-shaped hill rising abruptly from the plain to the height of
about 190 metres. The fortification constitutes of three concentric
lines of defensive walls with large number of bastions. The
noteworthy features of the fort are the moat, the scarp and the sub-terranean
passage, all hewn of solid rock. The upper outlet of the passage was
filled with an iron grating, on which a large fire could be used to
prevent the progress of the enemy. The Chand Minar, the Chini Mahal
and the Baradari are the important structures within the fort),
Panchakki (also known as the water mill, takes its name from the
mill which used to grind grain for the pilgrims. This monument
located in Aurangabad city, displays the scientific thought process
put in medieval Indian architecture. It was designed to generate
energy via water brought down from a spring on a mountain. The
building, attached to the dargah of Baba Shah Musafir, a Sufi saint
is located in a garden near the Mahmud Darvaza and consist of a
mosque, a madrissa, a kacheri, a minister's house, a sarai and
houses for zananas) and Bibi-ka-Makbara (The Bibi-Ka-Maqbara
is a beautiful mausoleum of Rabia-ul-Daurani alias Dilras Banu
Begum, the wife of the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb (1658-1707 A.D.).
This mausoleum is believed to be constructed by Prince Azam Shah in
memory of his mother between 1651 and 1661 A.D. The mausoleum draws
its inspiration from the world famous Taj Mahal of Agra (constructed
between 1631 and 1648 A.D.) and hence it is rightly known as the "Taj
of Deccan"). Night halt at Aurangabad. |
