“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world.”
–The Buddha
So , my friends again I am here to take you on a journey of history and cultural heritage of our country as well as to soak to the greens of one of our National Forests.
It’s a week trip to cover the above said places. You may avail train or flight as per the availability.
Ajanta Caves – The Buddhist Caves in Ajanta are approximately thirty rock – cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India.Since 1983 , the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site .
The caves are universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art. The caves also present paintings depicting the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha, pictorial tales from Aryasura’s Jatakamala , and rock -cut sculptures of Buddhist deities.
Textual records suggest that these caves served as a monsoon retreat for monks, as well as a resting site for merchants and pilgrims in ancient India .
The caves are in the rocky northern wall of the U – shaped gorge of the river Waghur , in the Deccan Plateau. Within the gorge are a number of waterfalls ,audible from outside the caves when the rivers is high.
Ellora Caves – Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India.It is one of the largest rock – cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world , featuring Buddhist and Jain monuments with artwork dating from the period 600 – 1000 CE .
Cave 16 features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world , the Kailash temple , a chariot -shaped monument dedicated to Lord Shiva .
There are over hundreds caves at the site , all excavated from the basalt cliffs in the Charanandri Hills , 34 of which are open to public.These consist of 17 Hindu ( caves 13 – 29 ) 12 Buddhist ( caves 1 -12 ) and 5 Jain ( caves 30 – 34 ) caves , each group representing deities and mythologies prevalent in the 1st millennium CE , as well as monasteries of each respective religion .
All of the Ellora monuments were built during the Rashtrakuta dynasty , which constructed part of the Hindu and Buddhist caves , and the Yadava Dynasty, which constructed a number of the Jain caves.
How to reach there – It is 29 kilometres north west of Aurangabad, and about 300 kilometres east – northeast of Mumbai. Today , the Ellora Caves , along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, are a major tourist attraction in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and a protected monument under the Archeological Survey of India.
How to reach Ajanta Caves- Ajanta is 100 kilometres from the Ellora Caves, it is about 6 kilometres from Fardapur , 59 kilometres from the city of Jalgaon , 104 kilometres from the city of Aurangabad and 350 kilometres east- northeast of Mumbai.
It’s better to start from Ajanta from Jalgaon and then proceeding towards Ellora .
So, my friends, now we may be able to proceed towards Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve, which is a wildlife sanctuary in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.
It is Maharashtra’s oldest and largest national park.Created in 1955, the reserve includes the Tadoba National Park and the Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary. It is also one of India’s 28 Project Tiger Reserve.
- The park is open for visitors from 15th October to 30th June every season and remain closed full -day on every Tuesday. The vegetation of Tadoba forest is of Southern tropical dry deciduous type and is spread on around 626 sq.km .
- It is the pristine and unique ecosystem situated in the Chandrapur district of the Maharashtra State of India. It is famous for it’s natural heritage.
- Andheri river is a minor river of the Wainganga basin. It flows through the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. Meandering through the Tadoba Forests , it gives its name to Tadoba Andheri Tiger Project.
- To book a visit or safari at jungle , no online booking is there presently .One can visit the DFO office at Chandrapur District near the Tiger Reserve and try to make a spot booking at the Navegoan Gate. The jeeps can be hired from the local taxi stands who also provide trained drivers.
- Tropical climate make winter season the best time to visit Tadoba National Park. However, the best season to sight tigers would be the hotter months( April to May ) . Post monsoon is also a good time to visit Tadoba Wildlife Sanctuary when the jungle becomes lush green and is filled with flowers.
- By train if anyone reach to Tadoba then Chandrapur is the nearest railhead from the National Park as it is at the distance of 45 km. Chandrapur railhead is well connected to other major cities Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Jhansi. Taxis and buses are available from railway station to reach the Tadoba Tiger Reserve.
When we had visited , we had started from Howrah station by Geetanjali Express, then getting down at Jalgaon from where hiring the car to reach at Maharashtra Government Guest House at Ajanta. After enjoying the historical Ajanta and Ellora cave for two days , again we had hired a train and got down at Chandrapur Station the next morning to reach at Tadoba Andheri National Park. From there we had our hiring car to reach the nearest airport at Nagpur to reach Kolkata. In short this is the most convenient way to visit these places.
There is no missing out on these two places that is Ajanta and Ellora caves when you planned your trip to India .
Depending upon the present covid situation everything is in a stagnant state, but life is not at all stagnant ever, so when everything will become normal, we can think of travelling again. Till then keep travelling as a concept in your mind as it is a motivational journey towards the future.
