5 days, 4 nights ยท Mumbai, Ellora, Ajanta, Pune
Five-day Ajanta and Ellora tour package: the greatest rock-cut caves in the world
Ellora and Ajanta are, by a considerable margin, the most extraordinary rock-cut monuments anywhere. Ellora has 34 caves carved over five centuries by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains in succession, including the Kailasa temple, cut downward out of a single rock into a full-scale temple. Ajanta has 30 Buddhist caves with painted murals from the second century BCE. Both are UNESCO sites, both are near Aurangabad, and five days is what it takes to do them properly from Mumbai.
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The caves
Why these two are not like other monuments
The Kailasa temple at Ellora is the thing people struggle to describe. It is not a building: it is a temple carved downward out of a basalt hillside, courtyards, shrines, elephants and all, removing something like two hundred thousand tonnes of rock, with no possibility of correcting a mistake. It was begun in the eighth century and it is the largest monolithic excavation on earth.
Ajanta is a different kind of astonishing. Thirty caves in a horseshoe gorge, abandoned around the fifth century and forgotten until a British hunting party found them in 1819, which is why the murals survived. The paintings inside — the Bodhisattva Padmapani above all — are the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian painting anywhere.
They are about 100 kilometres apart and both need the better part of a day. Trying to do them on consecutive half days, which shorter itineraries attempt, is how people come away saying the caves were fine. Five days gives each one its own day, which is the minimum honest allocation.
The practicalities
Opening days, light and walking
Both sites have specific constraints worth knowing before you plan the week.
Closing days
Ajanta is closed on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays. An itinerary that gets this wrong loses a whole day, so the desk checks it against your dates before fixing the run sheet.
Light in the caves
Ajanta's murals are lit dimly to protect them, and flash photography is prohibited. Morning light through the cave mouths is materially better than afternoon, which is why the Ajanta day starts early.
Walking
Ajanta involves a shuttle bus from the car park and then a good deal of climbing between caves along the gorge. Ellora is flatter but Kailasa has steep steps. Both are real walking, and sensible shoes matter more than at most sites.
The driving
Four legs, with two long ones
About 900 kilometres over five days — more driving than the four-day circuit, in return for the caves.
- Mumbai to Aurangabad — about 335 km, 7 hours North-east through Nashik, or via the Samruddhi Expressway where it helps. A full day, scheduled with an early start.
- Aurangabad to Ellora and back — about 30 km each way, 45 minutes Short, with Daulatabad fort on the same road and worth an hour.
- Aurangabad to Ajanta and back — about 100 km each way, 2 hours North-east, then a shuttle from the car park to the gorge.
- Aurangabad to Pune — about 235 km, 5 hours; Pune to Mumbai — about 150 km, 3 to 3.5 hours South-west across the plateau, then the Expressway, split across the last two days.
Aurangabad
What else is there while you are based
Aurangabad itself is usually treated as a dormitory for the caves, which sells it short. Bibi ka Maqbara, a seventeenth-century tomb built by Aurangzeb's son in deliberate imitation of the Taj Mahal, is an interesting building in its own right and a revealing one — it shows exactly how much the Taj depended on materials rather than design.
Daulatabad fort, on the Ellora road, is the more compelling stop: a hill fortress on a conical rock with a moat, a spiral tunnel designed to be defended in darkness, and a climb of several hundred steps to the top. It was briefly the capital of the Delhi Sultanate, after Muhammad bin Tughlaq marched the entire population of Delhi there and back again.
The Aurangabad caves above the town, largely ignored, are a third option — Buddhist excavations with good carving and no crowds at all. Any of the three fits into the Ellora day or the morning before the Pune leg, and the coordinator will build whichever you want in.
Booking
How to book the five-day circuit
Book the transport direct on the booking page, fare fixed before payment. The closing days at the two sites are the single most important planning constraint, so the desk checks your dates against them first. A licensed guide is worth taking at both caves; we arrange them and bill at cost. Ask through the contact page for hotels. Cancellation is free beyond 72 hours, then 10%, 50% and 100%.
Day by day
The five-day itinerary, leg by leg
Written with Ellora and Ajanta on separate days and checked against their Tuesday and Monday closures; the order flips if your dates require it.
| Day | Where | What the day covers | On the road |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Mumbai to Aurangabad | An early start north-east through Nashik, arriving in the afternoon. Bibi ka Maqbara and the Aurangabad caves in the evening light. | Mumbai-Aurangabad ~335 km, 7 hrs; depart 06:30 |
| Day 2 | Ellora and Daulatabad | Ellora at opening for the Kailasa temple and the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain groups, then Daulatabad fort on the way back. | Aurangabad-Ellora ~30 km, 45 min |
| Day 3 | Ajanta | An early start north-east, the shuttle to the gorge, and the day among the thirty caves and their murals. | Aurangabad-Ajanta ~100 km, 2 hrs each way; depart 07:00 |
| Day 4 | Aurangabad to Pune | South-west across the plateau, arriving mid-afternoon. Shaniwar Wada and the Aga Khan Palace. | Aurangabad-Pune ~235 km, 5 hrs |
| Day 5 | Pune to Mumbai | The Kelkar museum in the morning, then the Expressway down the ghat for the flight, with Lonavala on the way if time allows. | Pune-Mumbai ~150 km, 3-3.5 hrs |
What it costs
The 5-day Deccan caves circuit: two ways to buy it
Five charter days at the published rate, for the car rather than per person. The Ajanta shuttle from the car park is a site charge billed at cost; private vehicles do not go down to the gorge.
Transport package — firm, published
Every kilometre of the 5-day circuit in a private chauffeured car: the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, and the driver's meals and accommodation on the road. Priced at the published charter-day rate × 5 days, the same figure as the rates page.
From $9,750 - $11,700 per car for the whole circuit
On the international card · Premium MPV · GST extra · tolls, parking and state entry taxes at cost
All-inclusive — stays, meals and entries
The same itinerary with hotels, breakfasts, monument entries and a licensed guide arranged for you. Because we contract stays per departure date and per hotel category, this tier is quoted on request rather than published — we will not print a per-person figure we cannot hold.
Send the dates and the hotel category you want (3-star, 4-star, heritage or palace) through the contact page and the desk returns a written quote, itemised, within one working day.
| Vehicle class | Cars | Per charter day 10 hours / 300 km | 5-day circuit International card, USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium MPV 6 passengers, 5 bags |
Toyota Innova Hycross & Kia Carnival | $1,950 - $2,340 | $9,750 - $11,700 |
| Executive sedan 3 passengers, 2 bags |
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & BMW 5 Series | $1,700 - $2,040 | $8,500 - $10,200 |
| Luxury SUV 5 passengers, 4 bags |
Toyota Fortuner, Land Cruiser & Mercedes-Benz GLS | $2,250 - $2,700 | $11,250 - $13,500 |
| Group van 12 passengers, 12 bags |
Force Urbania & Tempo Traveller (executive) | $3,200 - $3,840 | $16,000 - $19,200 |
What the transport package includes
- A private, air-conditioned vehicle of the class you book, held for the whole circuit — the same car from the first pickup to the last drop, never shared and never re-assigned.
- One professional chauffeur for the whole circuit, holding a commercial licence and a state transport badge, police-verified and background-checked, in uniform and speaking English and Hindi.
- Fuel, the chauffeur's own meals and accommodation on every outstation night, and the vehicle's permits, fitness certificate and insurance.
- All airport, railway-station and hotel transfers inside the itinerary, with the flight tracked on the arrival leg and 60 minutes of waiting included after landing.
- A named coordinator at the desk for the whole trip, reachable on one number, who holds the run sheet and moves a leg when a day runs long.
- A written confirmation before departure carrying the chauffeur's name and licence number and the vehicle registration, so a security office or a hotel can check it against the operator record.
What it does not include
- Hotels, meals and anything consumed off the road — those are the all-inclusive tier, quoted on request rather than published.
- Monument and museum entry fees, which differ for Indian, SAARC and foreign visitors and change by notification; the desk quotes the current figures with the itinerary.
- Licensed local guides, which we arrange city by city on request and bill at cost.
- Tolls, parking and state entry taxes, charged at cost against receipts rather than estimated into the fare.
- Air and rail tickets into and out of the circuit, which the travel desk books separately.
- GST, added to every figure at the applicable rate, and any night allowance where a leg runs between 10 pm and 6 am.
- Airport transfers include 60 minutes of waiting after landing and meet-and-greet at the arrivals exit.
- The charter day (10 hours, 300 km) includes fuel and the chauffeur's meals and accommodation on outstation nights.
- Night driving between 10 pm and 6 am carries the night allowance per night; a second chauffeur is added on days over 12 hours.
- Tolls, parking, state entry taxes and permits are charged at cost against receipts; monument and guide fees through the travel desk are itemised.
- No gratuity is expected. GST is shown separately on every invoice. Cancellation terms are on the cancellation policy page.
- Vintage cars and stretch limousines are quoted per event.
- GST at 5% on chauffeured hire (18% where input credit is claimed) is added to every figure. The full international card is on the rates page; the charter builder prices a circuit of any length live, and the booking page takes the payment direct.
- Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before the first pickup, then 10% inside 72 hours, 50% inside 48 hours and the full first day inside 24 hours or for a no-show — the schedule on the cancellation policy page.
Questions
The 5-day Deccan caves circuit: frequently asked
Which days are the caves closed?
Ajanta closes on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays. Getting this wrong loses a full day, so the desk checks it against your dates before fixing the itinerary.
Can Ajanta and Ellora be done in one day?
Not properly. They are 100 km apart and each needs most of a day. Itineraries that attempt both in one are why people come back unimpressed by two of the great monuments of the world.
Can you photograph the Ajanta murals?
Photography is allowed in most caves but flash is prohibited, and the lighting is deliberately dim to protect the paintings. Morning is materially better than afternoon.
How much walking is involved?
A good deal. Ajanta has a shuttle from the car park and then climbing between caves along the gorge; Ellora is flatter but Kailasa has steep steps. Proper shoes matter here more than at most sites.
Is Daulatabad worth the stop?
Yes — a hill fort with a moat and a spiral tunnel built to be defended in darkness, and several hundred steps to the top. It sits on the Ellora road, so it costs no extra driving.
Should we fly to Aurangabad instead of driving?
You can, and it saves the seven-hour first leg. But then the car is not with you for the caves and the Pune leg, and the circuit stops being a single booking. The desk will price both if you want to compare.
Same circuit, other lengths
The Maharashtra and the Deccan caves in a different number of days
On the route
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Book
Book the five-day Deccan caves circuit direct
Five charter days price live by vehicle class, fare fixed before payment. The desk checks the Monday and Tuesday closures against your dates first.
Weddings, film units, multi-day chauffeur hire, outstation journeys and anything with more than one vehicle are quoted by a person: call (877) 860-3388 or send the outline and a coordinator replies with a written quote.
Offers through BookingWorldwide.net
Hotels and flights for this itinerary, through BookingWorldwide.net
The stays along this route are on BookingWorldwide.net; reserve them there or ask our desk for the all-inclusive quote, and the chauffeured legs are lined up against whichever you choose.
Flight + hotel packages
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa and Kerala bundles for festival weeks, school holidays and long weekends, with the airport transfer added to the same itinerary.
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Delhi, Agra and Jaipur hotels on one booking, and the RUTZ.IN chauffeur for the whole circuit quoted beside it.
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Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Hyderabad palace hotels, chosen with the transfer distance from the airport in mind.
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Beach and backwater resorts for the weeks a chauffeur is only needed at each end of the stay, with Dabolim, Mopa or Cochin airport pickups timed to the flight.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Hill-station stays
Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie, Darjeeling, Ooty, Munnar and Coorg hotels, with the SUV from the gateway airport quoted on the same plan.
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Ranthambore, Jim Corbett, Kaziranga, Periyar and Bandhavgarh lodges and safari permits reserved before the car is dispatched.
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Taj Mahal entry, Kerala houseboats, Jaipur hot-air balloons, city walks and festival tickets reserved ahead so the chauffeured day runs to the plan.
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Fares into every airport on the airports page, so the car is timed to a confirmed arrival rather than an estimate.
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For the middle days of a trip, returned to the airport where the RUTZ.IN chauffeur collects you again.
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See also, and where the facts come from
On RUTZ.IN: India tour packages · 4-day Maharashtra tour · Chauffeur service in Mumbai · Chauffeur service in Pune · Charter · Rates · City to City.
Official references used on this page:
- Maharashtra Tourism: official site State tourism department site for Pune and the hill stations around it.
- Maharashtra Tourism: Nashik State tourism page for the wine district a day charter reaches.
- Ministry of Tourism, Incredible India Official destination guides and tourist statistics.
- National Highways Authority of India Expressway and toll information for the intercity routes we drive.