Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
walk into the Chini Mahal, where Abul Hasan Tana Shah, king of Golconda, was held
captive for 12 years before his death in 1699. Nearby, there's a 6m cannon, cast from five
different metals and engraved with Aurangzeb's name.
Part of the ascent goes through a pitch-black, bat-infested, water-seeping, spiralling tun-
nel. Guides (?450) are available near the ticket counter to show you around, and their
torch-bearing assistants will lead you through the dark passageway for a small tip. But on
the way down you'll be left to your own devices, so carry a torch. The crumbling stair-
cases and sheer drops can make things difficult for the elderly, children and those suffer-
ing from vertigo or claustrophobia.
Khuldabad
Time permitting, take a pit stop in the scruffy-walled settlement of Khuldabad (Heavenly
Abode), a quaint and cheerful little Muslim pilgrimage village just 3km from Ellora. Bur-
ied deep in the pages of history, Khuldabad is where a number of historic figures lie in-
terred, including emperor Aurangzeb, the last of the Mughal greats. Despite matching the
legendary King Solomon in terms of state riches, Aurangzeb was an ascetic in his person-
al life, and insisted that he be buried in a simple tomb constructed only with the money he
had made from sewing Muslim skullcaps. An unfussy affair of modest marble in a court-
yard of the
Alamgir Dargah
( 7am-8pm)
is exactly what he got.
Generally a calm place, Khuldabad is swamped with pilgrims every April when a robe
said to have been worn by the Prophet Mohammed, and kept within the dargah (shrine), is
shown to the public. Across the road from the Alamgir Dargah, another shrine contains
strands of the Prophet's beard and lumps of silver from a tree of solid silver, which is said
to have miraculously grown at this site after a saint's death.
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Ellora
02437
Give a man a hammer and chisel, and he'll create art for posterity. Come to the World
Heritage Site
Ellora cave temples
(Indian/foreigner ?10/250; dawn-dusk Wed-Mon)
, located 30km
from Aurangabad, and you'll know exactly what we mean. The epitome of ancient Indian
rock-cut architecture, these caves were chipped out laboriously over five centuries by gen-
erations of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monks. Monasteries, chapels, temples - the caves
