Ellora Caves Overview

The Indian Ellora Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain artisans carved these rock-cut caves. The site features about 100 caves with intricate paintings and statues. A building called the Kailasa Temple is the most well-known of the caves. Artisans carved the entire building from a single rock, making it exceptionally large.

The caves have always been a holy place, and they are often known as Verul. Many people have come to them on pilgrimages over the years, and they still do. Inscriptions and paintings in Ellora Caves show different parts of Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, making them important places to visit in Ellora Caves.

Ellora Caves History

The past of Ellora Caves goes back four hundred years. Historians are unsure when cave excavations took place, but they believe artisans created some Hindu and Buddhist caves during the Rashtrakuta era. They also think that artisans built the Jain caves during the time of the Yadavas.

Artisans spent 400 years building the caves from the sixth century CE to the tenth century CE. There are more than 100 caves at the site, but only 34 are open to the public. The caves were important to religion, but they were also places where monks and business people stayed.

Architecture

The Ellora Caves feature a variety of architectural types and styles. A lot of rock-cutting activities happen in different parts of Western Deccan because of it, as well as building activities in southern India.

In general, Ellora's caves mark the change from the last part of the rock-cut style to the new style of free-standing structures. These have been very important in the development of Indian temple design and can be explored through various Ellora Caves tour packages.

Artisans initially straightforwardly built the first shelters. In front of the shrine, there are small rooms with no columns. And the door frames and columns don't have any decorations on them.

As the building went on, later caves had porches with sub-shrines. Some tunnels go around the central area and are used for walking. The door frames and column shafts are also very fancy.

Best Time to Visit

The Ajanta Ellora Caves are open to tourists all year except during the busy summer months. In May and June, the weather can be terrible, especially during the day.

The best time to see Ellora Caves is in the winter. During the winter, from November to February, the temperature drops a little, which is nice. The monsoon season, which lasts from August to September, is also a great time to go. It rains a lot in this area, and it's fun to look at the detailed features of Ellora Caves when it's raining.