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Day1 |
Arrive Bombay : Assistance and transfer to the hotel. Check-in time is 12 Noon. Overnight at the hotel. |
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Day2 |
Bombay : Pick up at 0900 hours from the hotel and transfer to Gateway of India for visit of Elephanta Caves. The rock-cut Hindu temples at Elephanta, an island 6 miles across the harbour provide an exciting glimpses of Indian sculpture dating from 600 AD. Huge panels depict episodes relating to Lord Shiva, the central one being the most imposing one – a five metre bust of the god, represents his three aspects as creator, preserver and destroyer. Afternoon city sightseeing tour.
Bombay – Political capital of Maharashtra and commercial capital of India, it has no recorded ancient past. Although Buddhist and Hindu dynasties ruled the region until around the 13th century, there were only scattered settlements on the island. The real development of Bombay commenced soon after under the East India Company. Gateway of India built to commemorate the royal visit of George V and Queen Mary in 1911, the Prince of Wales Museum housing collection of Indo Saracenic architecture, Flora Fountain, Victoria Terminus, St. Thomas Cathedral, Crawford Market, Malabar Hill and the Hanging Gardens and Dhobi Ghat(Washerman’s village) are some of the attractions. Overnight at the hotel. |
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Day3 |
Bombay-Aurangabad flight : Transfer to airport for flight to Aurangabad. Assistance and transfer to the hotel. Afternoon visit Ellora Caves. Ellora Caves, 34 cave temples were carved out of the hillside with hand tools. Only 12 of these 34 caves are Buddhist. The 17 Hindu caves in the centre are the most impressive. The massive Kailash Temple(cave 16) is nearly one and half times taller than the Parthenon and occupies almost twice its area. It is believed that it was constructed by excavating approx. 200,000 tones of rock and is possibly the world’s largest monolithic structure. Shiva’s Himalayan home, the temple is exquisitely sculpted with scenes from Hindu mythology, each pulsing with drama and passion. The depiction of the demon Ravana shaking Mount Kailash is a masterpiece. |
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Day4 |
Aurangabad : Full day visit of Ajanta Caves. Ajanta Caves were discovered in 1819 by a British hunting party. There isolation had contributed to the fine state of preservation in which some of the paintings over 2000 years old remain to this day. Aurangabad is known for the caves excavated and painted by Buddhist monks between 200BC and AD 600. The 30 caves at Ajanta are the superb example of India’s finest artistic treasures. They depict scenes from the life of the Buddha and Buddhist fables with skill and devotion. the best known caves(1,12,16,17, 19) contain magnificent depictions of the bodhisattvas, Avlokitesvara and Padmapani.. |
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Day5 |
Aurangabad-Bombay flight – 1955/2055 hours : Morning at leisure. Check-out time is 12 Noon.Transfer to airport for flight to Bombay and onward connection. |
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| The Tour Ends |
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