Aurangabad is one of the oldest places in Maharashtra and is also filled with history and knowledge. Here are some places to explore in Aurangabad.
Aurangabad will steal your heart.
Ajanta caves
Ajanta caves are a series of caves in Maharashtra filled with many Buddhist murals, and this place will transport you to an era filled with chanting and devotion. With colours still vivid, the painter has taken a break and will return to complete it.
Ellora caves
Ellora caves are like siblings to the Ajanta caves. Filled with Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu temples and murals, this place used to be a retreat for monks and ascetics during the rainy season for meditation. During hot summers, these caves remain surprisingly calm. Seriously, when you enter this place, you may feel drowsy and may wanna take a nap, and that’s how peaceful it is.
Trimbakeshwar temple
Being one of India’s 12 holy and legendary Jyotirlingas, this temple is situated near the origin point of the holy river Godavari. Peshwas, during their time, built this temple complex around the main shrine. The dark-coloured temple reminds you of the calm and kind Lord Shiva who resides in the temple.
Shirdi
Shirdi houses the Temple of Sai Baba. Devotees come in huge numbers to this temple in their devotion to the Divine. With its electric devotional aura, this place re-energises you.
Panchakki
Attached to a Dargah dedicated to Sufi Saint Baba Shah Musafir, this place is one of the picturesque parts of Aurangabad. Panchakki complex consists of a reservoir, a water mill, a mosque, and zenanas. It brings its water from the Harsul river and puts it in the reservoir which is on top of a hall. This hall remains cool in summer, and then water is let down from height to provide water to the watermill. The calm of this place surely will give you peace.
Shani Shignapur Temple
Dedicated to Lord Shani, this temple is famous for its open temple complex. People come here to pray to Lord Shani to help them and give them strength. What is unique about the town it is located in is the fact that no building around the 1 KM perimeter of the temple has locks and latches. This is due to the people’s belief that Lord Shani protects this place.
Daulatabad Fort
Now, this fort is really interesting. It has a history since the 9th century, and it used to be called Devagiri. What makes this fort one of India’s most peculiar forts is that it used to be an unwinnable fort. Tight and narrow lanes of the fort, leading to a complex network of booby traps meant to repel and kill the attackers. It feels as if you are in a maze.
Lonar Crater Lake
This place may take some time to travel from Aurangabad, and the effort is worth it. During the Pleistocene Epoch, a meteorite collision created this beautiful saline soda lake with lush-green-coloured water impact.
It is one of four known hypervelocity impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth. One can see the temples and the greenery, and it will awe you a must-visit place.
These were only some of the places to visit in Aurangabad. There are many places more in and around Aurangabad that will impact and be with you for a long time. So pack your bags and make sure that this vacation season you visit Aurangabad.
