Ajanta Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, Maharashtra:

The famous Ajanta and Ellora are cave memorials positioned near the Aurangabad city in Maharashtra. These are man-made rock carvings, and are graded among some of the most marvelous examples of heritage of ancient Indian architecture.

Until John Smith, a British Army Officer, inadvertently tripped on them during a hunting mission in 1819, the 34 caves at Ellora are carved into the walls of a basaltic mount and the 29 caves at Ajanta lying deep-seated inside the Sahyadri ranges were left masked in anonymity for more than thousand years.

Ajanta has been selected as a World Heritage Site, to be preserved as an artistic legacy and is thronged by thousands of tourists every year.