Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
The city long known as Aurangabad: a working Deccan town with a Mughal tomb of its own, and the one sensible base for the caves of Ajanta and Ellora.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is the city most travellers still know as Aurangabad. The central government cleared the new name in February 2023, the state notified it, and the courts upheld it in 2024. The district, the railway station and the airport have followed, though you will hear both names in the street and may see either on a booking site. It is the largest city of Marathwada, the inland part of Maharashtra, and it is a working town, not a pretty one. People come for what lies around it. Ellora, with its 34 rock-cut monasteries and temples and the great Kailasa, is about 30 km away. Ajanta, where Buddhist caves keep wall paintings some fifteen centuries old, is roughly 100 km off on a different road, and takes a full day there and back. The hill fort of Daulatabad stands on the way to Ellora. The city has a share of its own: Bibi Ka Maqbara, the tomb of Aurangzeb’s wife, built in open imitation of the Taj Mahal; a small group of Buddhist caves in the hills near it; an old water mill; and a scatter of surviving gates. Two things shape any plan. Ajanta is shut on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays, so the order of your days depends on when you arrive. And from March to May it is hot, with daytime highs close to 40°C.
Explore Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
What Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is for
A half day in the city, a day on the Ellora road and a long day out to Ajanta.
In the city
- Bibi Ka Maqbara, about 3 km from the centre, is the mausoleum of Aurangzeb’s wife Rabia-ul-Durrani, believed to have been raised by her son Azam Shah. Marble covers only the base and the dome; the rest is plaster over basalt. Judged as a building in its own right, it holds up well.
- The Aurangabad Caves are twelve Buddhist excavations in three groups, dated by the Archaeological Survey to between the third and seventh centuries. The second group has the best sculpture; the third cannot be reached.
- Panchakki is an old water mill, fed through an underground channel, in the garden of a Sufi shrine. A short stop that pairs easily with the Maqbara.
- The gates. The state tourism department counts 52 historic gates and calls this the City of Gates. Only some survive, and you will pass a few without trying.
On the Ellora road
- Daulatabad (Devagiri) Fort, 16 km north-west of the city, covers a conical hill about 200 metres high. The Yadavas founded it as Deogiri, and in 1328 Muhammad bin Tughluq moved his capital here from Delhi before moving it back. The way up passes moats, spiked gates and a dark rock-cut tunnel; the full climb is put at about 750 steps.
- Ellora has 34 caves cut into a basalt ridge: 1 to 12 are Buddhist, 13 to 29 Hindu and 30 to 34 Jain. Cave 16, the Kailasa, is an entire temple carved downwards out of the rock under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I. Start there, then choose two or three more.
- Grishneshwar temple, about a kilometre from the caves, is one of the twelve jyotirlingas of Shiva. The present building is of the eighteenth century, and it is a working shrine.
- Khuldabad holds the grave of Aurangzeb: a plain plot open to the sky inside a Sufi saint’s shrine complex, as the emperor asked.
A full day out
- Ajanta is thirty Buddhist caves cut into a horseshoe-shaped cliff above the Waghora stream; the oldest, Cave 10, goes back to the second century BCE. The Archaeological Survey names Caves 1, 2, 16 and 17 as the ones where the paintings survive best. Give those four your time.
- Paithan, the Satavahana capital once called Pratishthan, gave the Paithani silk sari its name. It suits a spare day.
How long to give it
Arrive, and the Maqbara
Check in and keep the afternoon short. Bibi Ka Maqbara is at its best in the later light; add Panchakki or the Aurangabad Caves only if you have the energy.
Ajanta
Leave early. The drive is roughly 100 km each way and the site wants about three hours on foot. Concentrate on the painted caves, 1, 2, 16 and 17. If today is a Monday, swap this day with tomorrow.
Daulatabad and Ellora
Take the fort first, while it is cool, and climb only as far as you want. Then drive on to Ellora for the Kailasa and a few caves from each group. If today is a Tuesday, this day changes places with Ajanta.
How to reach and move
Easy to reach by air or rail; the caves themselves need a car or a bus.
Getting there
- By air: the airport is at Chikalthana, around 10 km east of the town, and the Airports Authority now lists it as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Airport; the code is still IXU. The state tourism department says it has direct flights from Mumbai and Delhi. Other routes come and go.
- By rail: the city station was renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in October 2025 and given the code CPSN. It sits on the Secunderabad–Manmad line of South Central Railway, and the district administration lists trains to Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur.
- By road: highways link the city with Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalna and Mumbai. Pune and Mumbai are each a long drive.
Getting about
- A car with a driver is the practical way to do Ajanta and Ellora, because you set your own hours at each site. State transport buses also run to Ajanta, Ellora and Daulatabad.
- At Ajanta you leave the car at the parking area and take a shuttle bus on to the caves. The state tourism department began replacing the old diesel bus with electric ones in September 2024.
When to visit
Cool months for comfort, the rains for green hills, and never without checking the weekday.
The season both the Archaeological Survey and the state tourism department recommend, and the one for long hours on open rock.
Hot. Average highs approach 40°C in May, and the district has recorded nearly 46°C. Start at opening time and be indoors by early afternoon.
The hills around both cave sites turn green, and a waterfall runs beside the Ellora caves after heavy rain. Carry an umbrella.
Ajanta is closed on Mondays. Ellora’s weekly holiday is Tuesday. Decide which site falls on which day before you book travel.
The city’s character
A Deccan capital several times over, with a name that has changed as often as its rulers.
Names and rulers
- The city is usually traced to Malik Ambar, minister of the Ahmadnagar sultanate, who founded it in 1610 as Khadki. Aurangzeb, then Mughal viceroy of the Deccan, made it his seat and gave it his own name.
- The present name honours Chhatrapati Sambhaji, son of Shivaji and second ruler of the Maratha state. The campaign for the change ran for close to three decades, and you will still hear both names.
Cloth and food
- Himroo shawls and Paithani saris are the local textiles; ask where and how a piece was made before you buy. Naan Qalia, flatbread with a spiced meat curry, is the dish the city claims as its own.
Practical tips
Mostly about weekdays, names and footwear.
Before you book
- Fix the weekdays first. A two-day visit that covers a Monday and a Tuesday still works, but only in one order: Ellora on the Monday, Ajanta on the Tuesday.
- Search under both names. Airlines, railway sites and maps do not all use the new one yet. The airport code is still IXU; the station code is now CPSN.
- Who should skip it: anyone who dislikes long drives and old stone. There is little here otherwise.
On the day
- Do not plan on photographing Ajanta’s paintings. When the Archaeological Survey allowed photography at its monuments in 2018, the Ajanta caves were left out. Ask the attendants, and never use a flash.
- Wear shoes with a grip, and carry water and a hat. Floors are uneven rock, interiors are dim, and both cave sites mean hours outdoors.
- Mobility: the Archaeological Survey lists ramps and wheelchairs at Ajanta and Ellora, but both sites involve steps. Daulatabad’s upper fort is a strenuous climb.
Nearby
The two cave sites the city exists to serve, and the Sahyadri side of the state beyond them.
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