I took these photos on our recent trip to Asia this year. This is some seriously impressive architecture.
The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650 CE. They were lost for centuries under the jungle after being abandoned until a British hunter stumbled upon them in 1819. Like other ancient Buddhist monasteries, Ajanta was a kind of college monastery, with a large emphasis on teaching, and divided into several different colleges for living and for some of the education, under a central direction. The layout of the site reflects this organizational structure, with most of the caves only connected via the exterior.
The size and expanse of the caves is huge. You can read more about them here on the World Heritage site or over on Wikipedia.
Enjoy!
