Why Aurangabad Deserves Three Full Days?
Most people just skip over Aurangabad and breeze through it on their way to Mumbai or Shirdi. They visit Ellora for a few hours and then just keep driving for the same day. You completely miss the only place you need to see.
Three days are needed to properly see Ajanta, Ellora, and Bibi Ka Maqbara at a relaxed pace. It was once the Mughal Deccan capital, then later, the Nizams, and you notice it if you take your time and observe the historical architecture.
Here's how to plan it up between the three days, what generally is the most unexpected, and how to get around.
Book Your Cab to AurangabadGetting to Aurangabad: Flight, Train, or a One-Way Taxi Booking
Aurangabad (currently known as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) has an airport. It has direct flights from Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. There are trains such as the Ajanta Express and Tapovan Express from larger cities that also take you there. Both are very okay options for tourists.
The bigger issue is once you've arrived, how do you get about? A lot of local drivers will offer you a round-trip rate, regardless of whether you are staying for an hour or a week. So when booking a one way taxi from Mumbai to Pune to Shirdi to Aurangabad, Cab Bazar will only charge you for your trip, not the return trip.
If you are going towards Shirdi, Pune or heading back to Mumbai when you are heading out of the city, there will be the cost of empty return trip when taking a normal cab. With a one-way cab they can also pick you up from the airport, station, hotel or wherever you want.
It's a good idea to book your outstation cab a day before, if you plan to go from October to March as there is a lot of travel. +91 9258722629 is whatsapp number from Cab Bazar, you can book your car, share the location and confirm your booking without having the app.
Best Time to Plan This 3-Day Aurangabad Circuit
Winter, from November to February, is definitely the best time for this trip. You'll be walking a lot in the caves, and the sun in Aurangabad between April and June can make that walk really tough by mid-morning.
The monsoon season, from July to September, is also pretty nice. The hills around Ellora get really green, and the light inside the rock-cut caves is beautiful. Just know a sudden downpour could mess things up, so build in some wiggle room.
One rule decides the shape of the whole 3-day plan more than the season does: Ajanta Caves stay closed every Monday, and Ellora Caves close on Tuesdays. Never schedule an Ellora visit on a Tuesday, and never plan Ajanta for a Monday, or the gate simply won't open.
| Day | Focus | Why this order works |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrive in Aurangabad, Ellora Caves + Grishneshwar Temple + Daulatabad Fort | Ellora is only 30 km out, leaving the afternoon free even after a morning flight or train |
| Day 2 | Full day at Ajanta Caves | Ajanta is a 2–2.5 hour drive each way, so it earns its own dedicated day |
| Day 3 | Bibi Ka Maqbara, Panchakki, Aurangabad city, onward one-way taxi | Half-day sightseeing followed by a one-way drop to your next city or the airport |
Day 1: Ellora Caves, and the Temple Carved From a Single Hill
Go to Ellora first thing, it's only about 30 km away. You've got 34 caves there, mixed Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain, all carved somewhere between the 6th and 10th centuries. It's pretty rare to see three faiths all on one hill like that.
Cave 16, the Kailasa Temple, is the main event. It's not built up, it's carved down, out of one single giant block of basalt. A king named Krishna I from the Rashtrakuta dynasty had it built. Photos really don't prepare you for standing on the edge and getting that it's all solid rock, the whole thing, courtyards included.
If you have time after the caves shut, the Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga temple is right there. It's worth seeing in the evening. On the way back, the Daulatabad Fort is an okay half-hour stop if you're short on time, but it really needs its own trip if you like forts.
Day 2: Ajanta Caves Need an Early Start, Not a Rushed One
Ajanta is about 100 km from Aurangabad, a two, maybe two-and-a-half-hour drive, the other way from Ellora. That's why trying to do both in one day just doesn't work, even though it looks easy on the map.
Leaving by 7 AM makes a big difference. The caves are in a horseshoe gorge and it gets hot by late morning. The paintings people come for, especially the Padmapani Bodhisattva in Cave 1, are way better before the crowds and heat build up.
Your car has to stop at a designated parking lot. Then, a shuttle takes you the rest of the way to the cave entrance. Definitely bring water. Make sure your shoulders are covered up, something comfortable. Seriously, don't touch the painted walls. Skin oils really do more damage to old paint than most people realize.
If your schedule lets you, staying overnight near Fardapur before or after this trip makes a long drive much easier. It also gets you to the gates right when they open.
Day 3: Bibi Ka Maqbara and the Aurangabad Most Visitors Skip
Save Bibi Ka Maqbara for the last morning. Aurangzeb's son built this tomb for his mom, Dilras Banu Begum. It's pretty similar to the Taj Mahal, you know, with the four towers, garden, and domed gravestone in the middle. But here, only the dome and its base are marble. The rest is lime plaster. It's a quiet sign that the treasury was pretty thin by then.
It photographs beautifully in the first couple of hours after opening, before the heat sets in. Budget about an hour for the visit, including a walk through the charbagh garden.
From there, Panchakki, the centuries-old water mill built to power grain grinding using a channelled mountain stream, makes an easy add-on nearby. With a few hours left before the onward journey, the old city's bazaars near Aurangabad's Mughal-era gates reward a slow, unhurried walk far more than another checklist stop would.
Booking a Cab: WhatsApp, the App, and Skipping the Counter Queue
You can totally handle the transport for this route without calling anyone. CabBazar's WhatsApp handles airport pickups, trips to Ellora, and your final drop-off. Just send your pickup and drop-off points, and you'll get a car type and driver confirmed fast. Writing it all down avoids confusion when you meet.
Look, if you're doing this circuit more than once, installing the CabBazar app is a good move instead of just sticking with WhatsApp. The app logs past trips, gives members deals, and shows you your driver's location. This is super handy on the Ajanta stretch, especially when the phone signal gets spotty through the ghats.
No matter how you book, it's a good idea to confirm upfront if it's a strict one-way trip or a round trip. For anyone heading from Aurangabad to Shirdi, Nashik, or back to Mumbai, a one-way outstation cab is usually the way to go if you're not coming back this way.
Where to Stay for This Circuit
Staying in central Aurangabad makes the most sense for all three days. It keeps your drive to Ellora short and puts Bibi Ka Maqbara easily within reach on your last morning. If you're arriving or leaving at weird times, a hotel closer to the airport-station corridor is better.
The only real exception is maybe spending a night near Fardapur, close to Ajanta. Do that if you want to be there right when the gates open on Day 2, instead of starting two hours away
A Few Practical Notes Before You Go
- Tickets for Ajanta and Ellora are cheap for Indian and SAARC citizens, but cost more for foreigners. Kids under 15 are free everywhere.
- Bring your ID and Booking online through the ASI site is smart for busy winter weekends.
- You can usually take photos inside the caves, but no flash. Tripods and drones need special permission.
- You gotta take your shoes off before the main Bibi Ka Maqbara area. So if you don't like walking barefoot on cold marble, bring socks.
- Just keep your CabBazar confirmation on WhatsApp. The drivers on this route are used to showing it at the parking spots for Ellora and Ajanta.
