Ajanta and Ellora Caves Tour: Top Attractions Near Aurangabad

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Explore the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Ajanta and Ellora Caves on a budget-friendly 2-day tour. Visit these iconic attractions, along with Bibi Ka Maqbara, Daulatabad Fort, and Aurangabad City. Book now and enjoy an immersive cultural experience in India!

Duration: 2 days

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Ajanta Caves Tours.

Ajanta Caves - Welcome to Aurangabad:
Upon arrival at your chosen pick-up location, a representative will warmly welcome you and provide a brief overview of the day’s itinerary. You will meet your guide or driver who will accompany you on your journey to the Ajanta Caves.
Journey to Ajanta Caves:
Embark on a scenic 2-hour…

Ajanta Caves Tours.

Journey to Ajanta Caves:
Embark on a scenic 2-hour drive (100 km) to the Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Upon reaching the parking area, located 4 km from the caves, a shuttle bus will transport you to the entrance. Your guide will assist with purchasing shuttle and entry tickets.

Explore Ajanta Caves:
Spend approximately 3 hours exploring the 30 awe-inspiring caves, dating from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. These caves are renowned for their exquisite Buddhist art, including detailed carvings and murals.

Lunch & Return:
After the tour, savor a local lunch recommended by your guide. You will then return to Aurangabad to conclude your day.

Ellora Caves - Bibi ka Maqbara Tour.

Ellora Caves - Begin your day with a delightful breakfast before meeting your guide or driver at 8:30 a.m. in the hotel lobby. From there, embark on a 35 km journey, approximately a 1-hour drive, to the Ellora Caves, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ellora features 34 caves showcasing Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain art, constructed between 600-1000 CE. A highlight of the visit is Cave 16, the extraordinary Kailash Temple, a massive monolithic structure dedicated to Lord Shiva.

After exploring Ellora, enjoy a lunch break. The tour continues with a visit to Bibi Ka Maqbara, located 30 km from the caves, to conclude the day.

Bibi Ka Maqbara - After marveling at the Ellora Caves, travel 30 km to visit Bibi Ka Maqbara, built by Azam Shah between 1651-1661 AD in memory of his mother, Dilraj Bano Begum. Known as the “Taj of the Deccan,” this monument offers a glimpse into Mughal architecture.

Following the tour, enjoy some leisure time for shopping—Aurangabad is renowned for its handwoven Himroo and Paithani sarees. You can then select your drop-off location, whether it’s the airport, train station, or hotel.

Note: Yes, it is possible to comfortably complete this tour and catch a flight after noon. Drop-off at the airport can be arranged between 2-6 p.m.

What's Included

Private A/C car for transfers and sightseeing.
Option for a professional private guide.
Complimentary mineral water during journeys.
Professional bilingual driver (Hindi and English).
All tolls, parking, fuel, and taxes included.
Shoe covers included for Ajanta Caves entry.
Convenient pickup from airport, railway station, or local hotels.

What's Not Included

Monument Entrance Ticket.
Hotel, Lunch & Dinner.

Additional Information

Visit some of the top attractions outside Aurangabad on this 2-day tour of Ajanta and Ellora Caves. This tour is perfect for travelers who have a limited budget and limited time. This smart tour price gets you a chance to visit two of the world’s most famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. The caves of Ajanta and Ellora, Bibi Ka Maqbara,…

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.9

(143 Ratings)

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Kasra786

Aug 7, 2024

Highly recommended - A great experience. Mr Sherkhan speedily arranged for my visit and Uncle Mannan provided his driving services for the day. He was warm, hospitable, and engaging and made me feel like family. Moreover, Mannan felt truly connected to each historical site we visited and conveyed each respective site’s cultural and historical depth to me. I truly enjoyed my time and only wish i could’ve given a bigger tip but i was running out of cash. Mr Sherkhan also arranged for my rides to and from the airport. I highly recommend.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Nicholas_s

Jul 23, 2024

Great way to see the caves! - This was a great experience! Having a driver made the whole trip to Ellora and Ajanta smooth and easy, and my driver (S S Patel) was very accommodating and flexible. I didn’t request a guide but am sure it would have been a great choice as well. I would definitely use this company again in the future. And of course the caves were incredible

Review provided by Viator

Rpkrishn

May 4, 2024

Good trip Facilitation by Tour My Choice - Engaged services of Mr. Sherkhan and I am happy with the choice. He has a set of driver, who are reliable, professional and friendly. Cars were very well-maintained and clean. They all spoke Hindi only and I am not conversant. However, drivers did their best with 'their English' and I pitched with 'my hindi'! So, no major issues on language front. Overall it was a good trip. Tip: As it gets very hot during summers, I suggest you split your sight seeing plan as forenoon and evening sessions if time and budget permits. You will enjoy outing and takeaway more.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

162shakirat

May 3, 2024

Fantastic - must see - Tour my Choice This was one of the tours that we thoroughly enjoyed going out to see history, caves made back in the fifth century earlier and later. Sanjay spoke very well and was easy to communicate and understand, he was very accommodating as my mother is 77 and at times it was difficult for her, but he made sure that she had options at both of the Allora caves and Ajenta caves. I would highly recommend this place. It was amazing to see such history. We booked a five-star hotel and I was advised that this was the best one in Aurgubad , but to be honest, it felt more like a three star as it was very old rundown and not great. but don’t let the hotels stop you from coming to this beautiful place in India. You must visit it was an amazing place to see and Sanjay and our driver were fantastic - i highly recommend! It was worth the stopover and the tour company was super easy to deal with and communicated well both via email and on WhatsApp. No complaints, here. I will always have this on my must see if going to INDIA and look no further this is the company to use!.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

T7952aepaulv

Apr 7, 2024

Excellent 2 days - This was one of the best, easiest to organise tours I've done. Right from the first contact almost immediately after booking, everything ran smoothly and was overall an excellent experience. Our driver, Samad, was very professional and friendly, and the car was very clean and comfortable. Our guide, Deepak, was very friendly, spoke excellent english and shared a lot of history about the caves and the overall Aurungabad area. Both were very good with my 10 year old son, making sure he was comfortable and explained things so he could understand! Sherkhan was able to further organise airport and train transfers for us without fuss and clear, fast response communication. I'd definitely recommend this tour with the driver and guide. My only tips would be make sure you drink plenty of water, hat/cap and sunglasses (it can get very hot!) and wear shoes that are easy to get on and off, it makes going in and out of the amazing caves quicker!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Jsirithara

Apr 7, 2024

Ajanta and Ellora Caves - 2 day tour with guide - The tour was well organized. The driver Mr. Santosh was on time, drove with good speed carefully and saved us wasteful traffic time. Mr. Gani is an excellent guide, well spoken, very knowledgeable, patient, understood our quest to learn and took the time to explain at each place. He is also an excellent photographer and helped us by taking many panaromic pics! Will definitely recommend this tour and guide to any future visitors!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

148skt

Apr 7, 2024

Excellent tour - We had booked a 2 day tour. But we were coming a day before so we needed a taxi for pick up from airport. We contacted Mr. Sherkhan on whatsapp it was very easy and he arranged taxi for us. 1st day we went to Ajanta caves it is better to leave early in the morning to avoid afternoon heat. 2nd day our tour was of Ellora caves and Bibi ka Maqbara but we wanted to visit Grishneshwar temple so we massaged Sherkhan, he replied us immediately that you can visit the temple and it is free. our guide Mr. Deepak was a very good and experienced guide, the information he gave us about the caves we cannot find in any book, and he had a lot of knowledge not only about caves but about all religions, politics and India. He was very kind and helpful. Car was new and neat clean, driver Mr. Suleman gave us bottles of cold water in the afternoon which was much appreciated, he was always ready on time. I would recommend this company to anyone who wants to visit Ajanta and Ellora Caves.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Gil_y

Mar 28, 2024

This is the one you should book! - What an amazing 2 days!! I was chauffeured and shown around the caves by the driver Mr. Suleman. He's a great driver, and also very knowledgeable about the caves, the area, places and history. He was very accommodating and flexible with my hours, wherewhen i wanted to eat on the way. The caves themselves are incredible, but you already know that :-) Don't try to rush both cave complexes in one day, it might be doable but you won't have the time to appreciate them.

Review provided by Viator

Samta

Apr 5, 2024

Bad experience; 2 day private tour - We did not have a good experience with this company. I organized a private 2 day tour + airport pick up/drop off. The driver, Santosh, was good. He was there with a sign with my name on it at arrivals. It was the evening. The car was nice and clean. He gave us water bottles but they were warm so we were uncomfortable to drink it as it felt like they’d been sitting in the hot car all day. He asked me what hotel we were staying at - I expected him to know as I had shared all those details in advance. We agreed to meet at 9am in the lobby the next morning to start the tour. The majority of the reviews on TA are about Sherkhan as the guide so I thought he was going to be our guide but we were assigned someone else who made a very bad 1st impression. At 9am I texted and said let me know when the guide and driver are here and they immediately responded they’re here. So we went downstairs and were in the lobby by 9:03 where we were approached by an elderly man that says in an annoyed tone, “I have been sitting here waiting for you for so long. I have been here since 8:50”. And that’s it. That’s all he said. Seriously?? My mom and I looked at each other and then trying to not start off negatively in a cheerful voice I said, “we agreed to meet at 9 and you didn’t message me”. And then he shook his head at me and said, “no I don’t do that”. And now I was annoyed and said, “ok. well let’s go”. Then he got busy on his phone and didn’t open the door for my mom whereas Santosh got out of the car and opened the other back door. In the car our guide didn’t engage with us at all for about 5-7 minutes. I was uncomfortable and decided to try to reset so I introduced myself and my mom and asked, “what is your name?” And he literally got a look of annoyance as if I asked an impertinent question, he hesitated for a second and then answered my question. And then silence. Then about 5 minutes later he started a monotone dialog about Aurangabad and the caves. He used so many references and words that I didn’t understand I asked for clarification for some but then I just gave up. At one point he was telling a tale from Hindu mythology but he told it like we he expected us to have context and some knowledge of it. And I said, “I don’t know this story and I don’t know who these historical figures are that you’re referring to”. And he goes, “I know and I wouldn’t expect you to.” Well then why was he telling the story and in that manner?? At one point my mom asked him a question and he literally scolded her. He said “I am talking about x and you are asking about y”. And any time we asked a question it was like it was annoying to him. I wanted to take a picture in front of the Unesco sign and again he got annoyed and told me no as we were going to miss the shuttle to the caves and I was like that’s ok we’re not in a hurry but he literally was like no. I think he realized because my negative reaction was obvious, and he followed up with we’ll have a chance to take the photo later. He was cranky, condescending and frankly I don’t think he would have treated obvious foreigners that way. By obvious foreigners what I mean is we are of Indian heritage. My parents were born and raised in India and immigrated to the US more than 5 decades ago. We are of Indian heritage, we speak Hindi and we are women and I think that factored into how he treated us. On the plus side we appreciated that he took us on routes to minimize stairs for my mom and took photos for us. I told him we were interested in particular caves at Ellora and he did focus on those. He was knowledgeable but lacked people skills. On the administrative side I was disappointed as well. I booked this tour 1 month in advance. The day before, I never heard from them. Instead I had to follow up with them. From the moment the tour started I never heard from the office to even ask how our day was, if we wanted restaurant recommendations etc. - nothing. The only time I heard from them was at the end to collect payment and even then not a word to at least say I hope you enjoyed it. I was disappointed and would not recommend this company.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

565lornas

Jul 2, 2024

Not the end to my holiday I wanted - I picked my car up today reference GVGFZG. Only had my car 2 weeks so to come back to so much damage is very upsetting I know we sign that they are not liable but when it obviously happened when they moved it is just plain negligence on their behalf. I will not use holiday inn for parking hotels anymore and will advise my social media friends to use other businesses instead also.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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