ABOUT THE
Attraction
Carved on the Chandora hill in the Satamala range of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra, the 18 caves at Pitalkhora date back to the 2nd century BC, making them one of the earliest instances of rock-cut architecture in the country. They are about 80 km away from Aurangabad.
The cave complex has four chaityas, and the rest are viharas. All the caves are said to belong to the Hinayana period, however, the paintings inside the caves are from the Mahayana period.
The site's most significant cave is Cave 3, which is also the main chaitya. Some beautifully painted images of standing and seated Buddhas can be seen even today on the fully intact pillars here. Cave 4 is a vihara with an elaborate entrance, lattice windows and other decorations on the walls.
The nearest prominent city is Aurangabad.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
Sannati
Only surviving sculptural image of emperor Ashoka was discovered here on a limestone relief.
Kanheri
Carved out of comparatively soft basalt rock in the Sihaychal range of mountains on the outskirts of Mumbai, these 12 rock-cut Buddhist shrines with 109 special entrances are one of the oldest caves in the country.
Namdroling Monastery
Namdroling Nyingmapa monastery is said to be the largest teaching centre of the Nyingmapa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world.