Caves Part III - Ajanta

We saved the best for last.  The Caves of Ajanta differ from the previous two caves because these ones have paintings that have been well preserved.  Ajanta is the oldest of the group (2nd century BC) and when work on Ellora began, Ajanta was left alone.  They sat hidden under foliage for centuries until a British hunting party stumbled on them in the early 1800s.  Our guide book (Lonely Planet) made it sound like Ajanta wasn't as important as Ellora, but both Jeff and I agreed that Ajanta was more impressive. I have heard about the Caves of Ajanta for years - they were something that affected my mom deeply when she and my dad traveled here in 1977.

The caves are set back in the hills a bit and are all Buddhist caves.  There are painted murals that span the caves depicting Buddha's life.  There was a feeling there, a mix of these beautiful caves and the natural setting, that gave me the same kind of feeling I had when I was at Macchu Pichu.  A hard to describe feeling that affected my being.

A shot of the caves carved into the hillside.

This is a painting of Padmapani in Cave 1 and one of the better preserved murals.

No flash was allowed inside, so I got this of a simple painting outside and it is remarkable how much color remains.

A distorted photo of Jeff in front of a Buddha statue. The caves were also quite well lit by the government.

An example of a chaitya-hall (Buddhist prayer hall)

Frescos on some columns in the chaitya-hall

Carvings well lit which gave off a really cool appearance.

More paintings

This is a 9 meter carving of Buddha sleeping

This concludes our three part series on caves.  Jeff and I are taking an overnight train tonight to Varansi. It will be nice to finally bathe in the Ganges!