Day 01 -- Arrive Bombay
Assistance and transfer to the hotel.
Check-in time is 12 Noon
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 02 -- Bombay
Pick up at 0900 hours from the hotel and transfer to Gateway of India for
visit of Elephanta Caves
The rock-cut Hindu temples at Elephanta, an island 6 miles across the
harbour provide an exciting glimpses of Indian sculpture dating from 600 AD.
Huge panels depict episodes relating to Lord Shiva, the central one being
the most imposing one - a five metre bust of the god, represents his three
aspects as creator, preserver and destroyer.
Afternoon city sightseeing tour.
Bombay - Political capital of Maharashtra and commercial capital of India,
it has no recorded ancient past. Although Buddhist and Hindu dynasties ruled
the region until around the 13th century, there were only scattered
settlements on the island. The real development of Bombay commenced soon
after under the East India Company. Gateway of India built to commemorate
the royal visit of George V and Queen Mary in 1911, the Prince of Wales
Museum housing collection of Indo Saracenic architecture, Flora Fountain,
Victoria Terminus, St. Thomas Cathedral, Crawford Market, Malabar Hill and
the Hanging Gardens and Dhobi Ghat(Washerman's village) are some of the
attractions.
Overnight
at the hotel.
Day 03 -- Bombay-Aurangabad flight
Transfer to airport for flight to Aurangabad.
Assistance and transfer to the hotel.
Afternoon visit Ellora Caves.
Ellora Caves, 34 cave temples were carved out of the hillside with hand
tools. Only 12 of these 34 caves are Buddhist. The 17 Hindu caves in the
centre are the most impressive. The massive Kailash Temple(cave 16) is
nearly one and half times taller than the Parthenon and occupies almost
twice its area. It is believed that it was constructed by excavating approx.
200,000 tones of rock and is possibly the world's largest monolithic
structure. Shiva's Himalayan home, the temple is exquisitely sculpted with
scenes from Hindu mythology, each pulsing with drama and passion. The
depiction of the demon Ravana shaking Mount Kailash is a masterpiece.
Day 04 -- Aurangabad
Full day visit of Ajanta Caves.
Ajanta Caves were discovered in 1819 by a British hunting party. There
isolation had contributed to the fine state of preservation in which some of
the paintings over 2000 years old remain to this day. Aurangabad is known
for the caves excavated and painted by Buddhist monks between 200BC and AD
600. The 30 caves at Ajanta are the superb example of India's finest
artistic treasures. They depict scenes from the life of the Buddha and
Buddhist fables with skill and devotion. the best known caves(1,12,16,17,
19) contain magnificent depictions of the bodhisattvas, Avlokitesvara and
Padmapani..
Day 05 -- Aurangabad-Bombay flight - 1955/2055 hours
Morning at leisure. Check-out time is 12 Noon
Transfer to airport for flight to Bombay and onward connection.
CLICK HERE FOR THE MAP
