2Night3Days

The World Heritage Sites Ajanta - Ellora plus Mumbai 2night 3days to see The masterpieces of Indian stone carving

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Itinerary

	City	Itinerary
1	(A city in India) Mumbai Elephanta Island Aurangabad	Take a flight to Mumbai. Upon arrival meet an staff, tour conductor or attendant and go to the city. Meet a guide on the way and move to Elephanta Island by ship. Visit the Hindu caves dedicated to the Lord Shiva on the island. Then go back to Mumbai city to visit the Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (WH site) etc. Fly to Aurangabad by an evening flight. Overnight in Aurangabad ｜Meals offered：Lunch, Dinner Overnight：Aurangabad
2	Aurangabad Ellora Caves	In the morning, meet a Japanese speaking guide and drive to Ellora. Visit a World Heritage Site of Ellora Caves. Visit not only the Hindu temples like the 16th cave of Kailasanathar Temple, but also many Buddhist caves and Jain caves as well. In the afternoon, enjoy sightseeing in the Aurangabad city (Bibi-ka-Maqbara, a mausoleum which is a so-called copy of Taj Mahal, etc. Overnight in Aurangabad ｜Meals offered：Breakfast ,Lunch, Dinner Overnight：Aurangabad
3	Aurangabad Ajanta Caves (A city in India)	Drive to Ajanta with the tour guide by a private car. Visit the World Heritage site of Ajanta Caves, including many caves with the marvelous carvings and paintings like the painting of Padmapani. Then head to the airport. Fly back to your starting city. Meals offered：Breakfast , Lunch

** Elephanta Caves and Ajanta Caves are closed on Mondays
** Ellora Caves are closed on Tuesdays
** Elephanta Island cannot be visited if the ships are not operated due to the bad weather. In that case, an alternative monument will be visited.

Price per person

Hotel Plan	Number of people (1 room)	Price (INR)
Economy	4 （2 twin/double rooms）	Please contact us.
	3 （1 triple room）
	2 （1 twin/double room）
	1 （1 room）
	Single room supplement : Please contact us.
Standard	4 （2 twin/double rooms）	Please contact us.
	3 （1 triple room）
	2 （1 twin/double room）
	1 （1 room）
	Single room supplement : Please contact us.

** 5.0% government service tax would be applicable on the prices above.
** Air tickets can be arranged on request based on best available airfare.
** For more than 4 people in a group, kindly contact us for the best possible quotes.
** The prices above are valid from 1, October 2015 to March 31, 2016. For other dates, kindly contact us.
** The prices above may amend depending on the time of inquiry or tour application
** For more than 3 people travelling or for a child under 12 year’s old, kindly get in touch with us for the best prices available.

Above mentioned prices are inclusive of:

English Speaking Local Guide (each in Mumbai and Aurangabad)　|　AC private car and its driver as in the itinerary o Economy plan  Indigo – 1 to 2 people:  Innova – 3 to 4 people o /　Standard plan:  Innova – 1 to 4 people /　Entrance fee for the monuments mentioned in the itinerary　|　Accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary for 2 people in one room. However prices of 3 people could be included as per the rates of one of Triple room. 　|　 Parking fee 　|　Meals - BF: 2, LN: 3, DN: 2

Above mentioned prices are exclusive of:

Air fare　|　 Personal expenses - Drinks, phone calls, laundry, medicine etc.　|　Tips to the guide and driver

Hotels for this tour

Economy hotel plan - Ambassador Or Similar
Standard hotel plan - ITC Welcome hotel Rama International Or similar

** If these hotels were full at the time of booking, we would book another same class hotel.

Our way of tripping

Visit Ajanta and Ellora, the popular destination like Agra and Jaipur for the Japanese expatriates in India.
Further visit Mumbai, this tour includes a total of 4 World Heritage sites.
Ajanta and Ellora, the World Heritage sites you must visit , are the masterpieces of Buddhist art. Also,  visit Mumbai's two World Heritage sites, Elephanta Islands with the Hindu Caves and the beautifully designed Chhtrapati Shivaji Terminus. You will visit a total of four World Heritage sites.

The admired wonders..!!!

Visit two of India's greatest World Heritages - The next most accepted destination after Agra and Jaipur! Spend ample time to comprehend and commend the depth of artistic carvings and Buddhist art on traditional heritages - Ajanta and Ellora.

Ajanta caves with the masterpieces of Indian Buddhist art

Ajanta was unexpectedly rediscovered in 1819 by a British officer who came there for tiger hunting. While numerous Indian Buddhist ruins are well known for their stone carvings, Ajanta caves are left with many murals  that were mainly built in two periods, the former being BC 2nd century to AC 2nd century and the latter was mid-5th century to 7th century parallel to the time when Buddhist art had commenced to prosper.
The Padmapani in the first cave is one of the pronounced works in Ajanta Caves, which is said to have influenced the manner of painting of Mahasthamaprapta in the Main Hall of Horyu-ji Temple in Japan that was destroyed by a tragic fire in 1949.
The murals were painted with some kinds of pigment like lapis lazuli, which is said to be brought from Afghanistan, or loess etc. on the wall of the caves undercoated by the materials of cow dung, clay or lime etc.
The murals show the Buddha's biography and Jataka (the previous births of the Buddha) tales that are easily understood by illiterate people.

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  Ajanta Caves

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  The mural of a foreigner with blue socks in the 2nd cave

The must-see stone carvings! Kailasanathar Temple

Ellora Caves were carved out by Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monks over a span of 500 years from AD 6th to 10th century. Among the 34 caves on the cliff stretching for 2 km, 12 are Buddhist, 17 are Hindu and 5 are Jain. Because Ellora Caves have been prominently known and complimented since the time it was started to be built unlike Ajanta, only a few paintings are present inside the caves in today’s time. However, Kailasanathar Temple, the 16th cave, carved out by digging down the basaltic hill, gives a depth and apex of Indian stone carvings, with the wondrous carvings of 4 lions above the praying hall and several gods and goddesses meticulously carved.

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  Kailasanathar Temple, the 16th cave

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  Pilgrims visiting Kailasanathar Temple

World Heritages and Bollywood - attractive Mumbai

Once called "Bombay" The name "Bombay" derives from the Portuguese phrase bom baim, meaning "good little bay". After it was given to England in 1661, the present colonial styled town starts to rise. The city served as the center of the Indian independence movement with the Quit India Movement, and was frequently visited by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. After the Independence it became the capital city of the Bombay State, which was later divided into Gujarat State and Maharashtra State depending on their own languages. Then, Mumbai became the capital city of Maharashtra. The official name of the city changed from Bombay to the local Marathi name Mumbai in 1996. Now it is famous as the home of the Hindy language film industry Bollywood (Bombay + Hollywood), where more than 900 films are produced annually. For the tourists, the city is rich in the historic monuments such as the famous railway station of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (A World Heritage site and previously called Victoria Terminus), the Gateway of India, Taj Mahal Hotel, as well as the Elephanta Island off the coast, on which there are World Heritage Hindu caves.

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  The Gateway of India seen from a boat

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  Many of Hindu stone carving artworks remain on Elephanta Island