The Government has declared Aurangabad as the ‘Tourism Capital of Maharashtra’ in 2010. This is a known tourist hub greeting the visitors with a rich woven tapestry of sounds as and sights. This city has got named ‘Aurangabad’ as it was the capital of Aurangazeb, the Mughal Emperor in 17th century AD. This town has been used as the base for exploring the very famous caves of Ajanta and Ellora, Mausoleums of Aurangazeb, Daulatabad Fort known for the strong defense systems and Bibi-ka-Muqabra.
Aurangabad is the perfect holiday experience with bustling markets with hand-woven garment, silk and also UNESCO world heritage sites. It has managed to retain its past glory, charm, traditions and heritage though it is definitely heading towards industrialization and globalization.
Ajanta Caves
Ajanta Ellora caves are the ‘most’ famous attraction for tourists. Ajanta, declared as World Heritage Site by UNESCO, houses 29 different caves. All these caves showcase artwork of the Buddhist time that ranges from 200 BC to 650 AD. Buddhist monks had created all the sculptures and paintings with great pain. They used only simple tools like hammers and chisels. These sculptures and paintings portray a wide range of stories right from Jataka tales to different accounts of princesses and nymphs.
Ellora Caves
The Ellora caves, which are a small distance from the Ajanta caves, have a total of 34 caves. The paintings and the sculptures in these caves depict three different religions, Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Centuries of hard work, the diversity of these sculptures and the expertise of the architecture undertaken by those artisans are enough to leave you spell-bounded.
Bibi-ka-Muqabra
Bibi-ka-Muqabra, the only example of Mughal architecture in this part of India, has been dedicated to Rabia-ul-Daurani, the wife of Aurangzeb. Ustad-Ata-Ullah, a Persian architect, designed this. This structure is very similar to the Taj Mahal. Bordering the main structure are 4 towering minarets.
Temples
You also find a number of ancient temples here in Aurangabad. These include Bhadra Maruti Temple and the Jyohirlinga Grishneshwar temple. Both of these have myths and legend of their own.
Siddharth Garden
For all you nature lovers, you can plan a visit to the Siddharth garden. This landscaped garden has a number of sculpted shrubs and trees. You also find wild creatures like leopards, tigers, hyena and deer in this garden. Most of the tourists visiting this place prefer to just sit back on the lawns and enjoy a good picnic.
How to Reach Aurangabad
By Air
Located at around 10 kms to the east of this town, you find the Aurangabad airport named Chikalthana. You can get flights from Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Udaipur, Pune, Nagpur and Indore.
By Train
The station in Aurangabad, (Code AWB) is on the section of the Secunderabad-Manmad . Aurangabad is connected to Parli, Nagpur, Nanded, Nasik, Nizamabad, Kurnool, Pune Madurai, Erode, Renigunta, Bhopal, Madurai, Vadodara, Gwalior, Narsapur, besides Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad by train.
By Road
Aurangabad is known to be well connected not only by national highways but also state highways. Aurangabad is connected by road to Nasik, Nagpur, Mumbai, Beed and a lot more.
