Ellora Place Guide — History, Caves & How to Visit

The Ellora place most people are searching for is Ellora Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site roughly 30 km from Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) in Maharashtra. The site sits in Verul village, so anyone searching for Verul Caves information is looking at exactly the same complex covered throughout this guide.

Carved directly into a basalt rock face between the 6th and 10th centuries CE, this Ellora place is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple complexes in the world, spanning Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain traditions across 34 numbered caves. Many of these are genuine Ellora cave temples rather than simple monasteries — the cave temples at Ellora, particularly among the Hindu group, feature full shrine architecture carved directly from rock, most famously the Kailasa Temple.

What Is Ellora Place / Ellora Caves

Ellora is often searched simply as “Ellora place” by travellers trying to confirm exactly where it is and what it consists of. In short: it is not a single monument but a complex of 34 rock-cut caves carved into the vertical face of the Charanandri hills, roughly 30 km northwest of Aurangabad. Unlike many ancient sites that were built up from the ground, every structure at this Ellora place was carved downward and inward directly out of solid rock, making the entire complex a single continuous excavation project spanning several centuries.

The site is recognised by UNESCO both for its scale and for the religious diversity represented within a single rock face — a rare example of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain monastic and temple architecture coexisting in one location, reflecting a period of relative religious tolerance in the Deccan region.

For first-time visitors, it helps to think of Ellora place less as a single attraction and more as an open-air museum spread across roughly two kilometres of rock face — the numbered caves are arranged in a rough chronological and religious sequence from south to north, which is also broadly how most visitors move through the site during a typical half-day or full-day visit.

History & Construction

Construction at this Ellora place spanned roughly the 6th to 10th centuries CE, with different ruling dynasties patronising different phases of the work. The earliest caves, primarily Buddhist, date to around the 6th century, while the Hindu caves — including the monumental Kailasa Temple — were largely excavated under the Rashtrakuta dynasty in the 8th century. The Jain caves at the northern end of the site were added last, mostly during the 9th and 10th centuries.

What makes Ellora unusual among ancient sites is the sheer engineering discipline required for rock-cut architecture. Unlike constructed buildings, there was no room for correction once stone was removed — every measurement, every proportion had to be planned before the first cut was made, since mistakes could not be patched or rebuilt.

Ellora’s location itself was not incidental. The site sits along an ancient trade route connecting the Deccan plateau with ports on the western coast, meaning it would have been visible and accessible to merchants, pilgrims, and travellers moving through the region for centuries — likely a significant factor in why successive dynasties chose to invest in monumental religious architecture here rather than in a more remote location.

The Kailasa Temple — Cave 16

Cave 16, the Kailasa Temple, is the centrepiece of this Ellora place and one of the most remarkable feats of ancient engineering anywhere in the world. Dedicated to Lord Shiva and designed to represent Mount Kailash, the temple was carved from the top down — workers began at the top of the rock face and excavated downward and inward, removing an estimated 200,000 tonnes of rock to leave behind a freestanding, multi-storey temple complex, entirely from a single piece of stone.

The Kailasa Temple is also known as the Kailasanatha Temple — both names refer to the same Cave 16 structure at Ellora, with “Kailasanatha” (literally “Lord of Kailash”) emphasising its dedication to Shiva as the deity residing on Mount Kailash. Visitors researching the Ellora Caves Kailasa Temple or the Kailasa Temple in Ellora Caves specifically are looking at exactly the same monument covered throughout this guide.

The complex includes a main shrine, a separate Nandi pavilion, two flanking elephant statues, and detailed carved panels along its base depicting scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Most visitors spend 45 minutes to an hour at Cave 16 alone, making it worth prioritising early in your visit before the site gets busier.

The Ellora Kailash Temple Shivling is housed within the temple’s Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum), carved from the very same single block of basalt as the rest of the structure rather than installed separately. The sanctum, like most Hindu temple sanctums, is deliberately small and oriented eastward to catch the first rays of the morning sun. Visitors are required to remove footwear before entering this inner chamber, consistent with temple tradition at active Hindu shrines.

The scale of the achievement is easier to appreciate once you know how it was made: unlike a constructed temple where materials are added piece by piece, everything at Kailasa — walls, pillars, sculptures, even the roof — is the original rock left standing after the surrounding stone was removed. Estimates suggest the project took well over a century and involved multiple generations of stonemasons working to a design that had to remain consistent across that entire span, without the benefit of the original architects overseeing its completion.

Buddhist, Hindu & Jain Caves

This Ellora place’s 34 caves are conventionally grouped by religious tradition and roughly by location along the rock face:

• Caves 1–12 (Buddhist): Monasteries and chaitya halls, generally the earliest excavations at the site, including multi-storey vihara caves used for study and meditation.
• Caves 13–29 (Hindu): Includes the Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) along with numerous other Shiva and Vishnu-dedicated shrines, representing the most architecturally ambitious phase of the complex.
• Caves 30–34 (Jain): Smaller in scale than the Hindu caves but notable for their intricate, detailed carving, added in the final centuries of construction at the site.

Cave 10, known as the Vishvakarma Cave, is one of the standout Buddhist excavations at this Ellora place — a chaitya (prayer hall) with a large seated Buddha figure and a distinctive vaulted ceiling that mimics wooden roof construction, despite being entirely carved from stone. Among the Hindu caves, Cave 29 (Dhumar Lena) is notable for its scale and layout, believed to have been modelled partly on the cave temples of Elephanta Island near Mumbai. The Jain caves, particularly Cave 32 (Indra Sabha), are known for their finely detailed ceiling carvings and painted remnants that hint at how colourful the complex would have originally appeared.

Ellora Cave-by-Cave — Caves 1, 10, 15, 16, 30 & 33

Beyond the general Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain groupings, a few individual numbered caves at this Ellora place draw specific attention from visitors researching the site in detail before their trip.

Ellora Cave No 1

Ellora Cave No 1 is the southernmost cave in the complex and one of the oldest, dating to the early Buddhist phase of construction between the 5th and 8th centuries CE. It’s a relatively simple vihara (monastery) with residential cells arranged around a central hall, reflecting the more austere, functional style typical of the earliest excavations at the site before later caves grew more architecturally ambitious.

Ellora Cave No 10 — Vishvakarma Cave

Ellora Cave No 10, the Vishvakarma Cave (also called the Carpenter’s Cave), is covered in detail above — see the Buddhist, Hindu & Jain Caves section for its distinctive vaulted, wood-imitating ceiling and seated Buddha figure.

Ellora Cave No 15 — Dashavatara Cave

Ellora Cave No 15, the Dashavatara Cave, is one of the most significant Hindu caves at the site, named for its depiction of the ten avatars (dashavatara) of Vishnu. Originally a Buddhist monastery, it was converted into a Shiva temple in the 8th century CE under the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga, whose inscription praising his reign and genealogy appears on the cave’s Nandi mandapa — considered the first monolithic structure of its kind in western India.

The cave’s two-storey structure houses some of Ellora’s finest Vaishnava sculpture, most notably a celebrated relief of Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu, depicted at the dramatic moment of tearing open the demon king Hiranyakashipu. A large courtyard with the monolithic Nandi mandapa sits in front of the main structure, and river goddesses flank the entrance.

Ellora Cave No 16 — Kailasa Temple

Ellora Cave No 16 is the Kailasa Temple, Ellora’s centrepiece and the largest monolithic rock-cut structure in the world — see the dedicated Kailasa Temple section above for its full history, construction, and architectural details.

Ellora Cave No 30 — Chota Kailasa

Ellora Cave No 30, known as Chota Kailasa (“Junior Kailasa”), is a Jain excavation that deliberately echoes the design of the great Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) on a smaller scale — a monolithic temple structure adapted for Jain ritual and Digambara tradition rather than Shaiva worship. As one of the five caves making up Ellora’s Jain group (Caves 30–34), it reflects the same top-down monolithic carving technique as its larger namesake, demonstrating how the engineering approach pioneered at Kailasa was later applied by Jain patrons at a more modest scale.

Ellora Cave No 33 — Jagannatha Sabha

Ellora Cave No 33, known as Jagannatha Sabha, is the second-largest of the Jain caves at this Ellora place, situated next to the more elaborate Indra Sabha (Cave 32). Dating to around the 9th century CE based on pillar inscriptions, it is a two-storey excavation supported by twelve massive carved pillars, with the upper floor reached via a staircase. The main shrine houses seated figures of Parshvanatha and Mahavira, the last two Tirthankaras in the Jain tradition, alongside detailed carvings reflecting the Digambara sect’s ascetic aesthetic that characterises Ellora’s Jain group as a whole.

Timings & Entry Fee

Wondering Ellora Caves closed on which day? Ellora Caves is open daily except Tuesdays, from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, with last entry typically permitted around 5:00 PM. Entry fees are set by the Archaeological Survey of India and are revised periodically — expect to pay a modest fee for Indian nationals and a higher rate for foreign visitors, with children under 15 generally admitted free. Confirm current rates at the ticket counter before your visit, since they do change from time to time.

Ellora Caves parking is available close to the entrance near Cave 16, with a nominal car parking fee (typically around ₹30) charged separately from the entry ticket. Unlike Ajanta, which requires visitors to park further away and take a shuttle bus to the site, Ellora Caves parking sits within easy walking distance of the caves themselves, making arrival more straightforward for those travelling by private taxi or self-drive car.

Tickets are typically purchased at the site entrance, and during peak season (October–March) it’s worth allowing extra time at the counter if you’re visiting this Ellora place on a weekend, when queues can build up faster than on weekdays. Some visitors also opt to pre-book combined tickets covering both Ajanta and Ellora if planning to visit both within a short window, though this depends on current ASI ticketing arrangements at the time of your trip.

How to Reach Ellora — Ellora Caves Directions

Looking for Ellora Caves directions? The journey from Aurangabad to Ellora Caves — also searched as Aurangabad Ellora Caves, Aurangabad to Ellora Caves distance, Ellora Caves Aurangabad, or Ellora Caves in Aurangabad — covers roughly 30 km, typically a 45-minute to one-hour drive depending on traffic through the city outskirts. The Ellora to Aurangabad distance covers the same route in reverse, with a similar travel time whether searched as Ellora Aurangabad or Aurangabad Ellora.

There is no direct rail access to this Ellora place — the Ellora Caves nearest railway station, and the nearest railway station to Ellora Caves, is Aurangabad Railway Station, roughly 30 km away, from where road transport is the only practical option. Aurangabad Airport (Chikkalthana) is the most common arrival point for visitors flying in specifically for the Ellora and Ajanta circuit.

Given the lack of direct public transport to the site, most visitors arrange an Aurangabad to Ellora cab or Aurangabad to Ellora taxi for the trip rather than relying on local buses, which can involve long waits and multiple changes. Siya Travels runs this route regularly — see our Ellora Caves from Aurangabad page for fare details, our Ajanta Ellora taxi services page if you’re planning to cover both sites during your trip, or our Ajanta Ellora caves tour package for a fully planned itinerary. For exact distance figures from various points in Aurangabad, see our Aurangabad to Ajanta and Ellora Caves distance guide.

If you’re based in the CIDCO area of Aurangabad, see our CIDCO Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar taxi service page. If you’re arriving by flight, our Aurangabad airport taxi service can pick you up directly. Pilgrims planning a broader circuit alongside their Ellora visit can also see our 3 Jyotirlinga tour package from Aurangabad.

For visitors combining this Ellora place visit with a broader Maharashtra itinerary, it’s worth noting that Aurangabad also connects reasonably well by road to Pune, Mumbai, and Nashik, making it feasible to arrive from any of these cities, spend a day or two covering Ellora and the city’s other attractions, and continue onward without backtracking significantly.

Nearby Places to Combine with an Ellora Visit

Several other attractions sit close enough to this Ellora place to combine into the same day or a short extended trip:

• Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga — one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples, a short drive from Ellora
• Daulatabad Fort — a hilltop fortress roughly midway between Aurangabad and Ellora
• Ajanta Caves — best visited as a separate day trip given the greater distance (~100 km from Aurangabad)
• Ellora Valley View Point — a scenic overlook roughly 5 km from the caves area in Khuldabad, worth a brief stop if you have extra time for a wider view of the surrounding landscape

Most travellers pair this Ellora place visit with Grishneshwar and Daulatabad Fort in a single day, since all three sit along roughly the same road corridor, and treat Ajanta as a separate excursion given the longer round-trip distance involved. For a broader overview of visiting both caves together, see our Ajanta and Ellora Caves from Aurangabad guide, or our Ajanta and Ellora Caves tour page for tour-specific options.

Planning Your Ellora Visit

Whether you’re researching this Ellora place before booking a trip or already planning your itinerary in detail, the key logistics are straightforward: budget half a day to a full day for the site itself, arrive early if possible, and arrange transport in advance given the lack of direct public transit. Combined with a short list of nearby stops, a single well-planned day can cover Ellora’s highlights along with one or two additional attractions without feeling rushed.

Best Time to Visit Ellora

October to March offers the most comfortable weather for exploring this Ellora place, with cooler mornings ideal for an early start and manageable daytime temperatures for the walking involved between caves. Summer months (April to June) bring considerably higher temperatures across the largely unshaded rock terrain, making early morning visits especially important during this period. Monsoon season (July to September) cools things down and adds greenery to the surrounding hills, though it can occasionally affect road conditions on the approach from Aurangabad.

Arriving close to opening time also has a practical benefit beyond weather — the Kailasa Temple in particular draws the largest crowds of any single cave in the complex, and an early arrival generally means a less crowded first hour before tour groups and later independent visitors arrive.

Photography & Visitor Tips

• Wear comfortable footwear: the site involves considerable walking across uneven, rocky terrain between caves.
• Carry water: shade is limited across much of the complex, particularly around the Kailasa Temple courtyard.
• Photography is generally permitted for standard cameras, though video recording may attract a separate fee — check at the ticket counter.
• Consider a local guide at the entrance for historical context, particularly for the Kailasa Temple’s carved narrative panels.
• Allow at least 3–4 hours for a reasonably thorough visit covering the main Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain cave groups.

If you’re specifically researching this Ellora place for photography purposes, early morning light tends to work best for the Kailasa Temple’s east-facing courtyard, while the interior cave sculptures generally photograph better later in the day once ambient light has had time to fill the chambers more evenly.

Pune to Ellora Caves Distance

The Pune to Ellora Caves distance is approximately 250–260 km, typically covered in 4.5 to 6 hours by road depending on traffic and route. Whether you search this as Pune to Ellora distance with or without “Caves” included, the same figure applies. Most drivers take the route via Ahmednagar and Aurangabad, following NH60 and connecting highways for the majority of the journey.

Given the roughly 5-hour drive, most visitors travelling for Ellora Caves from Pune treat this Ellora place as a full-day trip or plan an overnight stay in Aurangabad, rather than attempting a same-day round trip. If you’re planning to travel Pune to Ellora Caves specifically for a day visit, an early morning departure — ideally by 5 or 6 AM — gives you enough time at the site before the return journey. See our Pune to Ajanta Ellora Caves taxi service page for direct booking from Pune.

Nashik to Ellora Caves Distance

The Nashik to Ellora Caves distance is reported variously across sources, typically ranging from approximately 165 to 190 km, with travel time by road generally running 3 to 3.5 hours. Most routes run via Sinnar and Aurangabad, following state and national highways for the majority of the journey.

Given the moderate distance, a same-day round trip from Nashik is feasible with an early start, though many visitors prefer to combine the Ellora visit with a stop at nearby Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga or an overnight stay in Aurangabad to explore the wider heritage circuit at a more relaxed pace.

Ellora from Mumbai — Distance & Travel Options

The distance for Ellora from Mumbai is reported variously across sources, typically ranging from approximately 320 to 356 km, with travel time by road generally running 6.5 to 8 hours depending on traffic and the exact route. The most common route to this Ellora place runs via Nashik, following NH160 and NH52 for the majority of the journey. The same figures apply in reverse for anyone searching Ellora to Mumbai travel options.

Given the considerable distance, most Mumbai-based travellers either fly into Aurangabad Airport and complete the final 30 km by taxi, or treat the road trip to this Ellora place as a full weekend getaway rather than a same-day round trip. The train option, via Aurangabad Railway Station, typically takes 7 to 9 hours depending on the specific service. See our Mumbai to Ajanta and Ellora Caves guide if you’re planning to combine both UNESCO sites in the same trip.

Ellora in Context — Maharashtra’s Other Rock-Cut Caves

This Ellora place guide wouldn’t be complete without noting that Ellora is part of a much larger tradition of rock-cut architecture across Maharashtra. Maharashtra’s basalt rock formations — part of the Deccan Traps, a vast volcanic plateau — proved particularly suitable for this kind of excavation, and the region’s position along ancient trade routes connecting the Deccan interior to coastal ports meant religious communities could rely on merchant traffic for support. This same pattern repeats at several other well-known sites across the state:

Karla and Bhaja, near Lonavala, represent some of the earliest Buddhist rock-cut architecture in the region — Karla’s chaitya hall predates much of the work at Ellora by several centuries. Kanheri, within Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park, consists of over 100 individual caves forming one of the largest ancient Buddhist monastic complexes in India, offering a different picture of monastic life than Ellora’s more concentrated, monumental approach. Elephanta, a short ferry ride from Mumbai, is best known for its Trimurti sculpture and shares some architectural similarities with Ellora’s Hindu caves from a similar historical period.

For most visitors based around Aurangabad, Ellora and Ajanta remain the practical focus given their proximity. Karla, Bhaja, Kanheri, and Elephanta are better suited to travellers based in or passing through Mumbai and Pune. A full circuit covering all these sites would typically span 6 to 8 days given the distances involved, which is why most travellers researching this Ellora place guide choose one region rather than attempting everything in a single trip.

Ellora Place — FAQs

Common questions about visiting this Ellora place:

1. What exactly is the “Ellora place” people search for?

It refers to Ellora Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of 34 rock-cut caves near Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

2. How far is Ellora from Aurangabad city?

Approximately 30 km, typically a 45-minute to one-hour drive.

3. What is the most famous structure at Ellora?

The Kailasa Temple (Cave 16), a monolithic rock-cut temple carved from a single piece of stone, dedicated to Lord Shiva.

4. What are the Ellora Caves timings and entry fee?

Open 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM daily except Tuesdays. Entry fees vary for Indian and foreign nationals and are revised periodically by the ASI.

5. Can I visit Ellora and Ajanta on the same day?

It’s possible but rushed, given the roughly 100 km distance between them. Most visitors treat them as separate day trips.

6. Is a taxi necessary to visit Ellora?

Yes, effectively — there’s no direct public transport to the site, so a private taxi or organised tour is the practical way to get there from Aurangabad.

7. Where is the Ellora temple located?

The Ellora temple — most commonly referring to the Kailasa Temple, Cave 16 — is located roughly 30 km from Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Maharashtra, India. As one of the most visited Ellora India temple sites, it sits carved into a single rock face alongside 33 other caves at the Ellora complex.

8. What is the history of the Ellora temple?

The Ellora temple’s history spans construction mainly under the Rashtrakuta dynasty in the 8th century CE, as part of a broader complex excavated between the 6th and 10th centuries CE across Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain traditions. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Kailasa Temple was carved from the top down out of a single piece of rock rather than assembled from separate stones.

9. What is the Ellora Caves opening time?

The Ellora Caves opening time is 9:00 AM, with the site remaining open until 5:30 PM daily except Tuesdays. This applies across all the caves at the site, from the Buddhist viharas at the southern end to the Jain caves at the northern end.

10. Which cave is Cave 16 at Ellora?

Cave 16 Ellora is the Kailasa Temple, the site’s centrepiece and the largest monolithic rock-cut structure in the world, carved from a single piece of rock rather than assembled. It’s the most visited single cave at the complex and typically the highlight of any visit.

11. What is at Ellora Cave 12?

Ellora Cave 12, known as Teen Tal, is a three-storey Buddhist vihara cave and one of the most architecturally impressive Buddhist excavations at the site, featuring multiple levels of sculpted Buddha figures and meditation cells.

12. How many caves are at Ellora in total?

There are 34 caves at Ellora in total — 12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu, and 5 Jain — spanning roughly two kilometres of rock face and several centuries of construction.

13. Is the Kailasa Temple in Ellora Caves the same as the Kailasanatha Temple?

Yes — the Kailasa Temple in Ellora Caves and the Kailasanatha Temple refer to the exact same Cave 16 structure. Whether you search for it as the Ellora Caves Kailasa Temple or the Kailasanatha Temple, the answer is the same monolithic rock-cut monument dedicated to Lord Shiva.

14. What is the Kailasa Temple Aurangabad distance?

The Kailasa Temple Aurangabad distance is approximately 30 km, the same as the general Aurangabad to Ellora distance, since the Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) sits within the Ellora Caves complex. The drive from Aurangabad to Kailasa Temple typically takes 45 minutes to one hour by road.

15. Is Kailash Temple Aurangabad Maharashtra the same as Kailasa Temple?

Yes — Kailash Temple Aurangabad Maharashtra (also written as Kailash Temple Aurangabad) is simply an alternate spelling of Kailasa Temple, the same Cave 16 monument at Ellora covered throughout this guide, located roughly 30 km from Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Both “Kailasa” and “Kailash” refer to Mount Kailash in the Himalayas, which the temple was designed to represent.

16. Is Aurangabad Kailash Mandir the same as Kailasa Temple?

Yes — Aurangabad Kailash Mandir (also written as Kailash Mandir Aurangabad, using the Hindi word “Mandir” meaning temple) refers to the same Kailasa Temple, Cave 16 at Ellora, covered throughout this guide. It sits roughly 30 km from Aurangabad within the Ellora Caves complex, carved from a single piece of rock and dedicated to Lord Shiva.

17. What is Ellora Cave No 10?

Ellora Cave No 10 is the Vishvakarma Cave, a Buddhist chaitya hall with a distinctive vaulted ceiling that mimics wooden roof construction and a large seated Buddha figure.

18. What is Ellora Cave No 1?

Ellora Cave No 1 is the southernmost and one of the oldest caves at the site, a simple Buddhist vihara (monastery) with residential cells from the early phase of construction.

19. What is Ellora Cave No 15?

Ellora Cave No 15 is the Dashavatara Cave, a Hindu cave named for its depiction of Vishnu’s ten avatars, known for its Narasimha relief and an inscription of the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga.

20. What is Ellora Cave No 16?

Ellora Cave No 16 is the Kailasa Temple, the largest monolithic rock-cut structure in the world and the centrepiece of the entire Ellora complex.

21. What is Ellora Cave No 30?

Ellora Cave No 30 is Chota Kailasa (“Junior Kailasa”), a Jain cave that echoes the design of the larger Kailasa Temple on a smaller scale.

22. Are the Ellora cave temples actual temples, or just caves?

Both — while many of Ellora’s 34 excavations are Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls, a significant number, especially among the Hindu group (Caves 13–29), are genuine cave temples at Ellora with full shrine architecture, most notably the Kailasa Temple.

23. What is Verul, and is it the same as Ellora?

Verul is the name of the village where Ellora Caves are actually located, roughly 30 km from Aurangabad. Anyone searching for Verul Caves information is looking for the exact same UNESCO World Heritage complex covered throughout this guide. The Aurangabad to Verul distance is the same roughly 30 km figure used throughout this guide for Aurangabad to Ellora — whether searched as Verul Aurangabad or Aurangabad to Verul, both refer to this identical route.

24. Is there an Ellora Caves waterfall?

Yes — Sita-Ki-Nahani, a natural waterfall fed by the Elaganga stream, sits adjacent to Cave 29 (Dhumar Lena) and integrates directly into the cave monument. It’s especially spectacular during the monsoon season (July–September), when water flow is at its strongest, adding a dramatic natural element to this section of the complex.

25. What is the best way to book an Aurangabad to Ellora cab?

The simplest way is a direct call or WhatsApp booking with a local operator like Siya Travels, given the roughly 30 km distance and lack of direct public transport to the site. See our taxi for Ajanta Ellora Caves from Aurangabad page for direct booking, or our how to visit Ajanta and Ellora Caves from Aurangabad guide for a detailed itinerary if you’re combining Ellora with Ajanta.

26. How do I book an Aurangabad to Ellora taxi?

An Aurangabad to Ellora taxi can be booked directly by calling or WhatsApping Siya Travels — the same booking process applies whether you refer to it as a cab or a taxi.

27. What is the Aurangabad to Ellora Caves distance?

The Aurangabad to Ellora Caves distance is approximately 30 km, typically covered in 45 minutes to one hour by road — the same figure whether searched as Aurangabad Ellora Caves, Ellora Caves Aurangabad, or Ellora Caves in Aurangabad.

28. Is the Ellora to Aurangabad distance the same in both directions?

Yes, the Ellora to Aurangabad distance is the same roughly 30 km route in reverse, with a similar 45-minute to one-hour travel time, whether searched as Ellora Aurangabad or Aurangabad Ellora.

29. What is the Aurangabad to Verul distance?

The Aurangabad to Verul distance is approximately 30 km, the same figure as Aurangabad to Ellora, since Verul is the name of the village where Ellora Caves are located. If you’re planning a broader circuit, see our Aurangabad to Shani Shingnapur distance guide for another popular pilgrimage route from the city.

30. What is the Pune to Ellora Caves distance?

The Pune to Ellora Caves distance is approximately 250–260 km, typically covered in 4.5 to 6 hours by road via Ahmednagar and Aurangabad.

31. What is the Pune to Ellora distance?

The Pune to Ellora distance is the same as Pune to Ellora Caves — approximately 250–260 km, typically covered in 4.5 to 6 hours by road via Ahmednagar and Aurangabad.

32. Ellora Caves closed on which day?

Ellora Caves is closed on Tuesdays. The site is open every other day of the week from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.

33. Is there Ellora Caves parking available?

Yes, Ellora Caves parking is available close to the entrance near Cave 16, with a nominal car parking fee of around ₹30, separate from the entry ticket. Parking sits within easy walking distance of the caves themselves.

34. What is the Ellora Caves nearest railway station?

The Ellora Caves nearest railway station is Aurangabad Railway Station, located roughly 30 km away. There is no direct rail line to the site itself, so road transport by taxi is the practical option from here.

35. What is Ellora Cave No 33, Jagannatha Sabha?

Ellora Cave No 33, known as Jagannatha Sabha, is the second-largest Jain cave at Ellora, dating to around the 9th century CE. It’s a two-storey structure with twelve massive pillars, housing shrine figures of Parshvanatha and Mahavira.

36. What is the Nashik to Ellora Caves distance?

The Nashik to Ellora Caves distance is approximately 165 to 190 km, typically covered in 3 to 3.5 hours by road via Sinnar and Aurangabad.

37. What is the Ellora Valley View Point?

The Ellora Valley View Point is a scenic overlook located roughly 5 km from the Ellora Caves area in Khuldabad, offering a wider view of the surrounding landscape — worth a brief stop for visitors with extra time.

38. What is the distance for Ellora from Mumbai?

The distance for Ellora from Mumbai is approximately 320 to 356 km, typically covered in 6.5 to 8 hours by road via Nashik, or faster by flight to Aurangabad followed by a 45-minute taxi ride.

39. What are the directions to reach Ellora Caves?

From Aurangabad city, follow the Ellora road for roughly 30 km, a 45-minute to one-hour drive. There is no direct rail or bus service to the site, so a private taxi or organised tour is the practical way to follow these Ellora Caves directions.

40. Where is the Shivling inside the Ellora Kailasa Temple?

The Ellora Kailash Temple Shivling is located in the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of Cave 16, carved from the same single block of rock as the rest of the temple and oriented eastward to catch the morning sun.