Photos clicked by Prathamesh Narvekar and Purva Narvekar

Aurangabad is a city in Maharashtra state in India on the Deccan Plateau.

It has many tourist attractions like Ajanta, Ellora, Daulatabad Fort, Ghrishneshwar Temple, Jayakwadi Dam, Panchakki, Lonar Lake etc. Tourist visiting this place must have lots of stamina in them to cover major parts in Aurangabad because in Aurangabad there is lot to walk, climb forts and it is not possible for vehicles to get at all tourist spots.

Aurangabad is actually a place where History comes alive. I literally wonder that how amazing those artists were of that time, when there were not so much of tools and techniques developed and still they managed to make traces of their cultural influences that number of dynasties had during their period of rule. Those wonderful artists have carved the old world on the stone telling us about their lifestyle, their work, the respect given to people, their tools and techniques, their thinking and many more.

DAY 1: Traveling from Mumbai to Aurangabad by Car, Bibi-Ka-Maqbara and Panchakki

Maximum travel time from Mumbai to Aurangabad by cars is 7hrs 33mins and via train is 7hrs 57mins approx. I had traveled by Toyota Innova which is 7-seater car. This was our 4 days trip where we had to cover major locations in Aurangabad.

We had started out journey at 6:30 am on 30 October, 2019. This day we decided to have our breakfast on the way to Aurangabad, so we had taken a halt at Aishwarya Restaurant at Talegaon, Maharashtra at 10:00 am. Food was very good there. You must try Misal Pav there which is their specialty, South Indian food like idli , dosa, vada is also good, Potato, onion pakoda and Vada pav had less salt so I did not like that dish that much rest was good. You can have tea, coffee there which is also good. Washrooms are very clean and car parking is also available. I will give this restaurant rating 3.5 out of 5.

Now we precede our journey to Aurangabad. Having heavy breakfast my family had decided to skip lunch and save our time. We finally had reached to Aurangabad at 3:30 pm and booked our rooms in MTDC Holiday Resort which is near by Aurangabad railway station. MTDC has made quite good and spacious rooms for their guest. Since rooms were renovated recently, they were not having their hotel restaurants and we had to move out of hotels to have our food or we could have ordered from Swiggy or Zomato (name of apps) from nearby hotels. Other than this the hotel was very good. The cost for Rooms was also less.

At 4:30 pm we left for sightseeing and first visited Bibi-Ka-Maqbara which is at a distance of 5.8 km, which took about 15 mins to reach. This is a beautiful mausoleum of Aurangzeb’s wife and is constructed by Price Azam Shah in memory of his mother Rabia-ul-Durrani Alias Dilras Banu Begum. The top of this monument is made by marble but the walls are of plaster. This monument shows resemblance to Taj Mahal in Agra. Yet, it has its own splendor and grace. It is advisable to not take a guide at Bibi-ka-Maqbara since the guide charges us Rs. 200 and if you bargain with those people, they may charge you less, even after this they just give you very slight information about the place and take their fees at gate itself.

At 6:00 pm we reached at Panchakki (water mill) which is at a distance of 1.8 km from Bibi-Ka-Maqbara taking about 10 mins to reach. The Panchakki or watermill’s name is derived from a mill worked by water power for grinding corn for poor and military garrison. The water flows down through clay-pipes based on the siphon system from a distance of 11 kms. It was built by Muslim saint baba Shah Muzaffar. There is a large hall under tank. Rivulet skirts the gardens and an artificial waterfall adds interest to the scene. Her you may have a guide he may charge you Rs. 100.  Along with my family we had guide Saiyad Sajid (Balli) he gave us detailed information about this place and money was worth spending here.

We had dinner at Raana Restaurant near MTDC Aurangabad which serves both veg and non-veg food. It is a cozy place and food is delicious.

Day 2: Devagiri Fort, Ellora & Ghrishneswar Temple

We left from our hotel at 8:00 am having breakfast itself in hotel and reached Devagiri Fort at Daulatabad by 8:45 am which is at a distance of 15.4 km from MTDC Holiday Resort. This place in 12^th century was capital of Hindu Kingdoms in the Deccan and was called as Deogiri, the hill of the gods. This fort was constructed by Raja Bhillamraj of Yadhav Dynasty, who was a great general of his time. The outer wall is about 6 kms along with several inner walls with heavy iron gates fitted with elephant spikes to force the gates. Moving ahead there is an ancient Hindu temple whose roof is supported by 150 pillars and has Bharat Mata idol because of Hindu- Muslim conflicts in past. Towards the right is Chand Minar, a pillar of victory built by king to commemorate his conquest of Daulatabad. This citadel is “one of the most powerful in India.”  

This fort is as pyramidical and only of its type in India. It is self-powerful for enemy. This fort takes about 4 hrs to climb and then return. You need to carry lots of water with you before moving in this fort. While returning you may get tired so you can have Lemon water once you leave the fort and proceed to Ellora, it makes you fresh and energetic.

From Devagiri Fort it takes around 25 mins to reach Ellora which is at a distance of 13.2 kms. There are total 34 caves distributed among 3 religions – Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jainism containing carvings of gods and goddess and remarkable memorials of the three great faiths they represent. Caves 1-12 are Buddhist caves which are the earliest (500-700 A.D.). Caves 13-29 are Brahmanism caves and Caves 30-34 are Jain caves. Since it was not possible for us to cover so many caves we covered cave number 5, 10, 15, 16, 21, 29 and 32.

Cave 5: It is 117 ft. by 56 ft. approx. in size. Total 24 pillars hold the roof. This cave seems to be like it was used as a room for the guests or a classroom for novitiates in those times.

Cave 10: It has a carved roof made up of timber. This cave temple is dedicated to Vishwarkarma, the architect of the gods. It is basically a Chaitya-hall (prayer hall) where the carvings symbolize the relief people feel at the time of prayer.

Cave 15: The above picture is not clicked by me, the original photo got deleted by me. It has a courtyard with several small shrines and chambers for the residence of the temple priests. We can have a look at carvings of Lord Shiva which is 8 armed, warlike, slaying a demon and dancing the ‘Tandava Dance’ of destruction in homely mood.

Cave 16: It is the most impressive and the significant amongst all the caves in Ellora. The Kailasa Temple was built to depict Shiva’s home during the reign of Krishna of Rashtrakuta dynasty.

Cave 21: This cave is known as Rameshwara Cave and is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is worshipped in the form of linga. A Nandi is placed just in front of the cave over a raised platform.              

Cave 29: Here 2 large lions with small elephant under their paws guard the step which leads to the hall from three sides. The roof is supported by 26 massive pillars. Inside the hall is Shiva Temple. 

Cave 32: It is known as Indra Sabha, Assembly Hall of Indra, King of the Gods. Here u can travel by bus to reach Jain caves. At entrance we can see a stone elephant. The upper-storey has a verandah and a big hall with decorative pillars. It is said that, “No other temple at Ellora is so complete in its arrangement or so finished in its work ship as the upper-storey of the Indra-Sabha.”

The above picture is not clicked by me because camera was not allowed inside. From Ellora you move towards Ghrishneswar Temple which is at a distance of 1.4 km i.e. approx. 5 mins. There are total 12 jyotirlingas in India and one of them is Ghrishneshwar temple. This jyotirlinga is said to be self-oriented. This temple was built in 7 ^th century by sati Ahiliya Bai and mother-in-law Gautam Bai. This temple has a Shivling infront of which is image of Goddess Parvati. Here men’s are not allowed to cover their upper body if they wish to enter the temple. Along with this, even electronic item like phone, camera etc is not allowed inside temple. Sometimes rush is there in the temple but you can stand their inside the temple and pray comfortably.

For dinner and next day breakfast you can go to Kailash Hotel, it is a pure veg restaurant and you get very good food, even food is served faster overall ambience is cozy and you will enjoy having food there.

Day 3: Gomukh Temple, Lonar Lake, Daityasudan Temple & Motha Maruti Temple     

Gomukh Temple is at a distance of 139.9 kms, i.e. 3hrs 25mins from MTDC Holiday Resort, Aurangabad. You can also have a stay at MTDC Lonar Resort to save your time of returning back to main city in Aurangabad. Here there is small waterfall, where you can bath or drink that water. It is very clean water and safe to drink.                                                                               

Lonar Lake is also called as Lonar Crater is located in Buldhana district, Maharashtra. This lake is formed by Basalt rock. This crater is said to be formed 52,000 years ago, when blazing ball of fire crashed into the earth at a speed of 90,000 km per hour. The water of the lake is Saline and alkaline in nature which make this lake distinct from other lakes in world. At southern end of lake there is sweet water found which is a shocking thing to know. To get into this lake you have to get down at least 302 steps which are beside cremation ground and you have to go via Gomukh Temple. There are total 4 entrance gate in different direction. On reaching lake you may see 12 ancient temples which are very dark from inside and you have to enter those temples using torch or flash light of your phone. To cover those temples nearby lake it will take around 2 hrs extra. Total time to get down to lake and then again get back to your car parking it will take 3hrs in total. You must carry water bottles before moving towards lake. Walking towards lake and watching its beauty is worth, so I insist you visiting this spot.

Daityasudan Temple is at a distance of 800 m from Gomukh Temple, which takes approx. 3 mins to reach. This temple has beautiful architecture and each sculpture has its own significance and there you will find some kind of brick work which has got damaged due to various invasions in past. It is a Vishnu Temple which is built in form of irregular star. Those carvings tell us about the deities which were worshiped, stories from Puranas and erotic sculptures. It is said that Lord Vishnu has come down to this place in form of Daityasudan to slay demon Lavanasura who lived under the Earth in this area along with his sisters.

At Motha Maruti Temple (Magnetic Hanuman) you can see a huge statue of Hanuman in sleeping position which is made up of magnetic rock. This Hanuman idol is about 9 feet, 3 inches high and 4 feet in breadth. Idol’s right foot is on earth while its left foot is on idol of Lord Shani. This temple is near Ambar Lake.

Day 4: Jayakwadi Dam, Paithani Silk and resting in Taj Vivanta Hotel

Jayakwadi Dam is one of the largest irrigation projects in Maharashtra. It is also called Nath Sagar (which is Dam’s Reservoir). It is a multipurpose project, used for irrigate agricultural land in drought prone Marathwada Region, it also provides water for drinking and industrial trial usage. This Dam is surrounded by garden named ‘Dnyaneshwar’ and bird sanctuary. The construction for this Dam began in year 1965 and lasted till 1976 with cost of approx. 4700 Cr. There are total 27 water gates for the Dam with a height of around 41.30 m. It is said that people near the Dam use magnets while in water to collect gold which comes flowing with water when ashes of dead body (cremains) are left in water. To everyone’s surprise for first time after 41 long years, in 2019 total 16 gates out of 27 gates were opened by 10pm because the dam was almost full and later 4 of these 16 gates were closed by 11:30 am. You will really enjoy this view of Dam and I insist you to visit this Dam if you visit Aurangabad.

You can have a look at beautiful Paithan handmade sarees called Paithani which are so beautifully designed and which will attract you towards them and force you to buy at least one saree. Even that one saree will not suffice your need. Paithani has square designs along with Peacock design on its Pallu. You should have visit at ‘Paithani Production center’ which comes under Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation. There you can have a look at weaving method done by old men and women who believe in keeping art alive.

After so much of traveling for these 4 days you can relax at Taj Vivanta Hotel at Aurangabad which is around 56.2 km from Paithani Production center. You can have lunch in Hotel itself if you reach there before 3pm or else you will have to take snacks. Nearby Taj Vivanta is D-Mart at walkable distance where you can buy groceries or drink or some packed food if you don’t wish to have hotel’s food. For dinner you can either wait in Hotel and have food or else go to Amigos Kitchen which is 15 minutes from Taj Hotel where you will enjoy that delicious spicy food.

With this we end our trip at Aurangabad and had returned back to Mumbai via car. I hope you liked my blog.