As usual start your trip right exactly after the office hours so that you save a night. And when you get up you are at your desired location. In this case Aurangabad.
It is the closest station or Bustop to visit the marathwada tourist spot Lonar, Ajanta, Ellora, Daulatabad.
Now each place is around 100 to 120 km away from each other forming a triangle. So we planned a Cyclical tour starting with Lonar and ending it back at Aurangabad. See the map screenshot for the same.
Lonar Lake - it’s a saline circular lake which has been formed by a hit by an asteroid some 50000 years ago. Please see the pictures for a glimpse of this breathtaking beauty.
Reach Lonar lake the same day either by personal vehicle or by bus (Aurangabad - Mehkar - Lonar) by late afternoon so that you can enjoy the sunset there. The roads to Lonar are very bad.
Stay - There is a MTDC Lonar right next to the Lake and the trek to the lake starts right opposite the the MTDC gate.
Other points of interest - Also there is a beautiful old temple with a stepwell called Gomukh temple ( meaning the entry point of the water to the lake)
Lonar lake trek - Get up by 6am so that you can do the declining trek to the lake early in the morning while the sun is rising. We saw a 10second glide of a peacock and also found a feather. The lake has saline water and you can’t swim in the lake. There are many Ancient religious sites around the lake. Be back by 9am so that you can get back to the hotel get fresh and Check out by 10 am.
Next destination Ajanta which is approx 4 hours drive. If you are travelling by bus (Lonar - Mehkar - Aurangabad - Ajanta)
Ajanta caves - Being a Mumbaikar had been hearing about these caves from my childhood. They are the Buddhist rock cut caves dating from 2nd century and a UNESCO world Heritage site. 1 of the 4 UNESCO sites from Maharashtra the other are Ellora, Gateway of India, Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Ajanta has mainly 3 spots Explore the caves, Chill besides the river between the valley, and sunset from Ajanta Upper view point.
Head back to Aurangabad the same Night or the next Morning depending on how tiring conditions you’ll might be in. We decided to head back cause I had a friend from Aurangabad who had his farm at 17km from Aurangabad and we spent the night drinking and stargazing between the farms on the khatiyas with 2 bulls for protection . That was a wild night.
Ajanta is closed on Mondays.
Start your day early morning by 8Am with Bibi ka maqbara, Built by son of Aurangzeb for her mother. Why 8am ?? so that you can have it all to your own with minimum tourists. The structure is a copy of Taj Mahal and is called poor mans Taj Mahal. Nothing that great click few pictures have a heavy break fast and spend your afternoon at Ellora Caves which are at a hours distance and can be considered to roam around even in the mid of the Afternoon.
If you are travelling by Bus (Aurangabad - Ellora )
They are the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, featuring Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments, and artwork, dating from the 6th century. Cave 16, in particular, features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailasha temple, a chariot shaped monument dedicated to Shiva.
Note Ellora is closed on tuesdays.
There are caves belonging to 3 religions and each one has a must visit cave which I Breathtaking and has unbelievable architecture.
After Ellora head for Daulatabad fort at a distance of half an hour for a breathtaking Sunset and history of India.
Make sure you start the Daulatabad fort Trek by 4pm it’s a 30min trek but since we are explorer we took 75min. The best Sunset of the Trip. And a history worth knowing. Daulatabad was the capital of India for 2 years.
After the magical sunset reach back to Aurangabad there are many night bus which runs to Mumbai. By the morning you are home and you got a rest day to cherish the moments.
Catch bus for Mumbai.