Visit the Famous Ajanta & Ellora Caves with MSRTC

Shraddhanvita Tiwari
redbus India Blog
Published in
3 min readNov 24, 2020

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If you are craving an adventure in life, then a visit to Ajanta & Ellora caves should be next on your travel bucket list. These caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and have a significant place in ancient Indian history. Ajanta and Ellora caves are at two different sites, but their location is within the same region. One can explore Ajanta caves with MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) buses. Since Ellora caves are also not far away, you can cover them on the same day through the MSRTC bus.

Adventure in Ajanta Caves

Ajanta caves, located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, have a long history dating back from 2nd century BC to 650 CE approximately. These caves are famous for their rock-cut cave monuments dedicated to Buddhism. Their wall paintings are among the finest examples of the ancient art of the country. These paintings depict the lives of Buddha and Buddhist deities. Every gesture, pose, and emotion is so beautifully captured in the paintings that they leave the onlooker speechless. Ajanta caves are carved into a horseshoe-shaped mountain face and present beautiful insights into the Buddhist culture.

Visiting Ajanta caves is a mesmerizing experience. If you are planning to explore these caves, there are various RTC buses available to travel, such as MSRTC and MTDC, etc. You can book a local Volvo AC bus for Ajanta caves with MSRTC, as it has nominal rates. A round trip of Ajanta caves by an AC bus costs around INR 711 per person. You can take the MSRTC bus from the central bus station, and it will drop you at the Ajanta caves entrance. The popular road routes for Ajanta are:

  • Pune to Ajanta
  • Mumbai to Ajanta
  • Ahmednagar to Ajanta
  • Dhule to Ajanta

Ajanta caves are located 100 km away from the Aurangabad Airport. One can also book an MSRTC bus for traveling to the Ajanta caves from there. The timings of the caves are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The caves are open every day except Mondays. The ticket fee for entry into Ajanta caves is INR 40 for Indians and INR 600 for foreigners.

Explore the Ellora Caves

Ellora caves are among the largest rock-cut cave complexes in the world. Ellora caves date back to 600–1000 CE and are situated in the Sahyadri range in Aurangabad. The distance of Ellora caves from Ajanta is nearly 100 km and takes about 2 hours of drive time. Ellora caves feature Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism artwork and monuments. There are 17 Hindu caves, 12 Buddhist, and 5 Jain caves at Ellora. These caves represent mythological tales of these religions. The paintings and sculptures of Ellora caves are spellbinding. A special attraction of these caves is the Kailasha Temple in cave 16. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of its kind in the world. It was carved out of a single rock through the excavation of around 3 million cubic feet of stone.

One can explore the Ellora caves with MSRTC buses. These buses have AC Volvo coaches and run a tour to Ellora caves covering other attractions on the routes. The distance between the Aurangabad central bus stand to Ellora caves is only around 27 km. The trip cost starts from INR 276 per person. The popular road routes for Ellora are:

  • Pune to Ellora
  • Ahmedabad to Ellora
  • Ahmednagar to Ellora
  • Bharuch to Ellora
  • Dhule to Ellora

Ellora caves are open on all weekdays except Tuesdays. Their timings are 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, around sunrise to sunset. The entry fee for Ellora caves is INR 40 for Indians and INR 600 for foreigners.

Ajanta & Ellora caves are an ideal place for history lovers, adventure seekers, and photo freaks. So don’t think twice before planning a trip here. Just head out to this marvelous spot by booking your MSRTC bus through redBus today!

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Shraddhanvita Tiwari
redbus India Blog

Shraddhanvita is a blogger at redBus. A believer of ‘a rolling stone does gather moss’, she loves to travel, click photographs, and sip green tea.