5 Days Itinerary for Aurangabad Maharashtra

You know how important it is to have a good itinerary for short vacations. More so when you know you may never make a second visit there. My situation was just that; with 5 days of winter vacation I planned to tour the historic city of Aurangabad that has not one but two amazing UNESCO sites.

The itinerary to tour Aurangabad in Maharashtra was finally made! We planned the holiday in Aurangabad with a solid transportation plan. The destination: Ajanta and Ellora caves, a feast for the eyes. Both set of caves at Ajanta and Ellora are listed in UNESCO world heritage sites of India since 1983.

Tickets were made long back, children were waiting eagerly for the holidays to begin, and I too was secretly longing for the trip. All that I had struggled to study in my History lessons, the Hinayana and Mahayana sects, the chaityas, viharas, stupas and other endless terms, I was going to see them for real.

Will the sculpted images talk? Will the murals show signs of life?

Best Time to Visit Aurangabad Maharashtra

Weather in Aurangabad is best during winters when the temperature range is 12° to 29°. During summers the temperature during day can shoot up to 35°. Now you know why Aurangabad is the holiday destination in winters!

Journey to Aurangabad by Train

We started off from Bangalore Majestic on 23rd Dec. 2007, 1920 hrs by Karnataka Express. Total duration in train was 16hrs 30min. We got off at Ahmednagar.

From Ahmednagar to Aurangabad it was another 114km which we covered by road. This journey took around two and half hours.

Our night in train was a memorable because of the  cockroaches. The moment we would open our food packets they would all start peeping and moving out of the crevices. Cleanliness around was just okay.

The compartment needs a Pied Piper of Hamlin playing a different tune for the cockroaches immediately. Our return trip compartment by Karnataka Express to Bangalore from Ahmednagar was far better.

Stay at Taj Residency Aurangabad

Ahmednagar to Aurangabad, Taj Residency, a total distance of around 120 km took us two and half hours. The drive was a pleasant one and the driver Mr. Ajay Pathak who drove us around for the next six days was a local from Aurangabad.

He took pride in explaining the development of the city and how reputed companies like Bajaj Auto, Skoda Auto, Wockhardt were setting up their industries there. All these were possible because of the new airport that opened for the tourists to visit Ajanta and Ellora.

We did the road trip of Aurangabad with his help. We logged approx 800km of road trip here.

Google map of road trip in Aurangabad

Map for 5 Days Itinerary for Aurangabad – Google map of road trip in Aurangabad

Must See Places in Aurangabad Maharashtra

The travel desk people helped us chalk out the plan and places to visit the next few days.

• Ajanta and Ellora caves were magical;
• the Daulatabad Fort was mysterious with its Bhool Bhulaiya zigzag dark passages.
• It was touching to see the tomb of Emperor Aurangzeb. The tomb was a plain mound of earth with few Tulsi plants growing on it.
• This tomb is very simple when compared with that of his wife’s at Bibi ka Maqbara.
• The 300 years old Panchakki; is an engineering marvel.
• Then there were the tempting Paithani sarees at a Himroo weaving center.
• A visit to the Lonar Crater near Buldhana; we realized how insignificant we are in this universe.

5 Days Itinerary for Aurangabad Maharashtra

Few destinations can beat Aurangabad. It has a tremendous mix of religion and history. The magnificent caves, majestic forts, ancient temples, meteoric lake and sepulchres. Aurangabad is a dream come true for all history buffs.

Day 1 – We toured the Ajanta caves.
Day 2 – The day was set aside for Ellora Caves, Grishneshwar Temple, Bhadra Maruti Temple and Tomb of Aurangzeb.
Day 3 – We did a good tour of Aurangabad city, visited Daulatabad Fort, Panchakki and Aurangabad Caves.
Day 4 – Fourth day of tour and we visited Bibi ka Maqbara.
Day 5 – The last day we visited the Lonar Crater in the outskirts of Aurangabad.

We returned on 30th, blessed after visits to series of temples there! The way back we halted at Shani Shingnapur Temple. We were just on time to catch the return train to Bangalore from Ahmednagar. (This post was first published on Jan 3rd 2008.)

Pin this for later…