Ellora Caves
Maharashtra
Photos
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The Kailasa temple was not built. It was excavated — a full-size temple carved downward out of one piece of mountain.
What you're looking at
Thirty-four rock-cut caves along a two-kilometre basalt escarpment, made between roughly the 6th and 10th centuries. What makes Ellora unlike anywhere else is that Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments sit side by side in one continuous line, built across the same centuries by the same communities of workers.
Why it matters
Cave 16, the Kailasa temple, is the largest monolithic structure on earth: around 200,000 tonnes of rock removed to leave a temple standing free in its own courtyard, complete with towers, bridges, life-size elephants and shrines. It was cut from the top down, meaning it could never be corrected. A single serious error would have ruined the whole thing.
Look for these
01
There are no joins anywhere
Walk right up to a pillar in Kailasa and look for a seam. There is none, because nothing was ever placed there — everything you see is what was left when the surrounding rock was taken away.
02
Ravana shaking Mount Kailash
On the south side, a panel of the demon king heaving at the mountain while Shiva calmly presses down with one toe. The deepest-cut relief on the site, and the figures almost come free of the wall.
03
The elephants holding up the base
The whole temple appears to rest on a herd of carved elephants. Many are damaged — the trunks were deliberately broken in later centuries.
04
Three religions in one line
Caves 1 to 12 are Buddhist, 13 to 29 Hindu, 30 to 34 Jain. Walking the escarpment end to end takes you through a period when they coexisted here.
05
Traces of the original paint
Kailasa was once plastered white and painted. Look up into sheltered corners of the ceilings and you can still find patches of colour.
Before you go
- Closed on Tuesdays.
- Kailasa alone deserves two hours; the full escarpment is a long day.
- Climb the path on the north side for the view down into the Kailasa courtyard — most visitors never do, and it is the shot that explains the scale.
- Grishneshwar, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, is a few minutes away and easy to add.
- Comfortable shoes: the ground is uneven rock throughout.
Visitor guide to Ellora Caves.
Visiting
Entry fee and daily timings weren't available from an official source — please confirm on site.
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