Aurangabad Caves

The Aurangabad Caves, now also called the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Caves, are twelve Buddhist shrines cut into the soft basalt of the hills by the city. Most were carved between the 6th and 8th centuries. They are a separate site from Ajanta and Ellora and see far fewer visitors, though the climb rewards visitors with wide views over the city.

The caves hold carved figures and traces of painting showing the Buddha and other Buddhist figures. In the western group, Cave 3 has a Buddha image more than 15 ft tall, and a fine bodhisattva figure in the Gupta manner stands out among the sculptures. Local legend says Prince Vishnukumara and Princess Vasavadatta, granted immortality by the gods, made the caves their home, and another story claims the Nizams of Hyderabad hid treasure here in the 1940s. The hills around are good for short treks.