Top things to see and do in Aurangabad
Ajanta Caves. The reason many people come to Maharashtra at all. Cut into a horseshoe-shaped basalt cliff above the Waghora river, this group of around 30 Buddhist rock-cut caves — a mix of chaitya prayer halls and vihara monasteries — was excavated in two phases, an early Hinayana period from roughly the 2nd century BCE and a later, richer Mahayana period around the 5th century CE, before the site was abandoned and swallowed by jungle. It lay forgotten until 1819, when a British officer, John Smith, stumbled on it while hunting, and it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. The glory of Ajanta is its murals: tempera paintings on mud-plaster walls illustrating the Jataka tales of the Buddha's past lives, alive with courtly figures, animals and the celebrated Bodhisattvas of Cave 1. The interiors are deliberately kept dim to protect the pigments; the caves are open about 9 am to 5:30 pm and closed on Mondays. Entry has been in the region of a small fee for Indian nationals and a higher one for foreign tourists, with under-15s free; verify current prices before visiting on the official ASI channel, as they are revised periodically. Remember the shuttle-bus transfer from Fardapur and the walking involved, and give the site the best part of a day.
Ellora Caves. The other UNESCO masterpiece, and in some ways the more astonishing. Ellora is a run of 34 rock-cut caves carved over roughly the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and its unique quality is that it brings together three religions in one cliff — Buddhist monasteries and halls (caves 1–12), Hindu temples (caves 13–29), and Jain shrines (caves 30–34) — a physical record of the religious coexistence of the age. It is open roughly 9 am to 6 pm and closed on Tuesdays. Fees follow the same tiered pattern as Ajanta and are best confirmed on the day; verify before visiting. Ellora is only about 30 kilometres from the city, the caves are far less of a climb than Ajanta, and it pairs naturally with Daulatabad, Khuldabad and the Grishneshwar temple on the same road.
Kailasa Temple (Ellora Cave 16). The single most jaw-dropping thing you will see here, and worth singling out. Kailasa is a complete, full-scale Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva that was not built but carved downward out of a single mass of basalt, from the top of the hillside to the courtyard floor, removing an estimated couple of hundred thousand tonnes of rock. It is generally attributed to the 8th-century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I, and it is the largest monolithic rock-cut structure in the world — a freestanding multi-storey temple with a towering shikhara, life-size elephants, and panels of gods and epics, all of it a single continuous piece of living rock. Give it time and walk the upper galleries for the perspective that makes the achievement sink in.
Bibi Ka Maqbara. Aurangabad's own "mini Taj", built around 1660 as a mausoleum for Rabia-ud-Daurani (Dilras Banu Begum), the wife of Aurangzeb, and commissioned in her memory by their son Prince Azam Shah. Its resemblance to the Taj Mahal is no accident — one of the men associated with its design was connected to the family of the Taj's architect — though it is smaller, built largely of basalt with a marble facing, and lacks the Taj's uniform white grandeur. Set in a formal Mughal char-bagh garden a few kilometres north of the centre, it is a genuinely handsome monument and the city's signature photograph. Entry is inexpensive for Indians and higher for foreigners; verify before visiting.
Daulatabad Fort. About 15 kilometres out on the Ellora road, this is one of India's great hill-forts. Originally Devagiri, "the hill of the gods", it was founded by the Yadava dynasty in the 12th century and later renamed Daulatabad, "the abode of wealth", by the Delhi sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq, who in 1327 notoriously tried to shift his entire capital here from Delhi — a move that failed at great human cost. The fort is a masterclass in medieval defence: a conical hill ringed by concentric walls, a crocodile-stocked moat, and a pitch-dark spiralling passage designed to trap and disorient attackers. Inside stand the soaring Chand Minar victory tower, the Chini Mahal and other structures. Reaching the summit is a stiff climb, best done early; carry water and a torch for the dark passage. Entry fees are modest; verify before visiting.
Aurangabad Caves. Often overlooked, these 12 Buddhist rock-cut caves sit on a hill just behind Bibi Ka Maqbara and were carved around the 6th–7th centuries CE. Split into western, eastern and northern clusters, they are notable for finely detailed sculpture — including a famous panel of dancing figures and images that blend Mahayana and later Vajrayana Buddhist iconography. They are a quiet, close-in alternative for anyone who cannot make the long trip to Ajanta, and the ridge gives a fine overview of the city and the Maqbara below.
Panchakki. A medieval watermill in the city, part of a 17th–18th-century dargah complex, and a small marvel of hydraulic engineering. Water was channelled by siphon and buried pipe from a spring in the hills several kilometres away, brought to the site to drive a grinding mill that once served pilgrims and soldiers, and gathered in a serene tank shaded by a vast old tree. It is a short, easy visit and a cool retreat from the city bustle; entry is nominal, verify before visiting.
Grishneshwar Temple. Beside Ellora, in the village of Verul, stands the Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, revered as the twelfth and last of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva. The present temple, in a distinctive southern-influenced style rare in Maharashtra, was rebuilt in the 18th century by the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar. It is an active and important pilgrimage site rather than a museum piece, busiest at Mahashivratri and on Mondays. There is usually a dress code and a bar on phones and cameras inside; entry is free, but expect a security check and, on festival days, long queues.