Ellora

Ellora is one of India's important archeological sites consisting of caves built by various religions between third century B.C. and eighth century A.D.  Getting to Ellora meant staying at Aurangabad (pronounced Orangobad, like the monkey). We stayed in a neat hotel and met some Irish guys who had been in India for 3 days. We took the Government bus to the caves lasting about 45 minutes. The Ellora caves were set out in a line, spanning 1 to 34.  The earliest caves being Buddhist, the middle caves being Hindi and the final 5 or 6 being Jain (Jainists are a progression/tangent from Hinduism).

To call them caves is a huge understatement as it invokes some image of natural holes in stone.  These caves were man-made temples carved into a giant cliff face.  Cutting and chipping into the stone the creators made smooth square rooms with pillars, antechambers, sleeping quarters and intricate carved decorations on the walls.  The Buddhist caves were the oldest and were quite plane in the main halls, though stunning for their size and concept.  In the back area of each was a separate chamber with a giant statue of Buddha.  Each cave would be pretty dark but somehow the natural light entering the caves would always catch Buddha's form and illuminate him.  Going closer to these smaller chambers and shining a torch showed the amazing sculpted forms around Buddha - giant protectors, worshipers, cherubs and animals.

(Even the local birds are architecturally adept)

The caves are quite indescribable.  Each one different and so full of the dedication and immense workload  it would have taken to build.  The most famous looks like a temple as you approach until you realise that the workers carved so much as to remove the cliff from around the cave.  Cut all from one patch of stone the feat of engineering and planning to be able deconstruct a cliff into a temple was overwhelming, particularly as every surface was decorated in carvings.  Unbelievable.