The 5-day Maharashtra tour package goes by private car from Mumbai to Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) for a full day each at Ellora and Ajanta, then crosses the plateau to Pune before returning down the Expressway. One chauffeur drives the whole circuit, and the car is priced per kilometre with a minimum of 250 km a day.
Who this five-day circuit is for
This itinerary is for travellers who have come for the caves. Ajanta and Ellora are two of the finest monuments in Asia: one a gorge of painted Buddhist halls, the other a cliff carved over five centuries by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains. They are also a long way from Mumbai, and seeing them properly takes two unhurried days. RutzIndia.com wraps those days in a loop that uses the car efficiently, driving out one way through Nashik country and returning through Pune, so you never cover the same road twice.
It suits art and history lovers, photographers, and anyone who prefers depth to breadth. Travellers who want Mumbai and the ghats rather than distant monuments should look at the 4-day Maharashtra tour package, with Elephanta, Lonavala and Pune and far less driving. Pilgrims can bolt on Shirdi (see below), and anyone arriving from Pune can start there.
Plan your dates around the closing days
The single most important rule for this package: Ajanta is closed on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays. Both sites are managed by the Archaeological Survey of India, and the weekly closures are strict. The plan puts Ellora on day 2 and Ajanta on day 3, which means:
- Do not start the trip on a Monday (Ellora would fall on a Tuesday).
- Do not start on a Sunday (Ajanta would fall on a Monday).
- Any other start day works; Wednesday to Saturday starts avoid the weekend crowds at Ellora too.
If your dates are fixed, the desk can swap days 2 and 3 to fit. Arrive at both sites at opening time: the light is better, the heat is lower and the caves are quieter.
Inside the painted caves at Ajanta, flash photography is prohibited, and visitor numbers in the most famous caves may be regulated to protect the murals. A torch is not needed; the key caves have low lighting. The Wikipedia article on the Ajanta Caves and the one on the Ellora Caves give an excellent overview of which caves to prioritise.
The roads: Deccan highways, one expressway and a ghat
Day 1 is the longest drive. From Mumbai the classic route climbs the Kasara ghat to Igatpuri and Nashik, then crosses the plateau via Vaijapur to Sambhajinagar. The Samruddhi Mahamarg, the new expressway between Mumbai and Nagpur, now offers a faster alternative for much of the distance; your chauffeur chooses based on where you are staying in Mumbai and the traffic reports that morning. Either way, a 06:30 departure makes all the difference.
The Ajanta road is a good two-lane highway through small towns, with speed-breakers and slow-moving farm traffic; two hours each way is realistic. Day 4, from Sambhajinagar to Pune through Ahmednagar, is a straightforward state highway across open farmland. The last leg, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, is tolled and fast, with a steep descent through the Bhor ghat. Tolls on all these roads, and parking at the cave sites, are charged at actual cost.
Your chauffeur plans meal stops at the reliable highway restaurants around Nashik and Ahmednagar and carries water for the cave days, when the car waits at the visitor centres for several hours.
Where to stay in Sambhajinagar and Pune
- Sambhajinagar (three nights): the business hotels along Jalna Road and near the railway station are convenient for early starts to both caves. A few quieter resorts sit on the edge of town. Staying three nights in one hotel is the great comfort of this plan.
- Pune (one night): Koregaon Park and the Camp area have good hotels and restaurants within easy reach of the Aga Khan Palace; Shivajinagar and the old city are closer to Shaniwar Wada and the Kelkar Museum.
MTDC runs a resort near the Ajanta visitor centre for those who want to be first at the gates, but it means an extra hotel move. The RutzIndia.com travel desk can reserve any of these and send a single written quote.
When to go
November to February is the prime season: dry, sunny days in the high twenties on the plateau and cool nights. March to May gets very hot, often above 40°C in Sambhajinagar, and the cave walks become gruelling by midday. The monsoon from late June to September turns the Deccan green and fills the waterfall at the head of the Ajanta gorge, a lovely sight; roads can be slow and some paths slippery, but crowds are thin.
Local holidays and long weekends bring large domestic crowds to Ellora, and Mahashivratri draws big pilgrim crowds to Grishneshwar. Diwali, in October or November, brings busy roads out of Mumbai and Pune.
Choosing a vehicle for a thousand-kilometre loop
This is a long-distance trip, and comfort pays off. For two travellers, a sedan such as a Dzire is economical and perfectly capable; an Ertiga gives three or four adults more room. For families and anyone who values legroom on the 335 km first day, the Innova Crysta is the classic choice. Groups of ten to seventeen should consider the Force Urbania, whose reclining seats and smooth ride make the long plateau drives much easier than an older-style van. All RutzIndia.com cars are within four model years.
The car fare in plain terms
Actual driving adds up to roughly 1,050 km, slightly under the minimum of 250 km a day, so the billable distance for five days is 1,250 km. The table multiplies this by the class rate: Rs 72/km for a sedan, Rs 84/km for an Ertiga, Rs 114/km for an Innova, Rs 204/km for an Urbania. The chauffeur's night allowance of Rs 3,000 a night, tolls, parking and 5% GST are added on top. There is a little spare distance for the Aurangabad caves or a detour to Lonavala on the way home. Cave tickets, guides and hotels are not in the car fare; the travel desk quotes them in writing if you want them handled.
Longer, shorter or different
- Shirdi: Sai Baba's town is about two hours from Sambhajinagar and on the way back to Mumbai via Nashik; adding it makes a six-day trip. The Mumbai to Shirdi taxi page and our Shirdi road guide have the distances.
- Nashik and Trimbakeshwar: temples, the Godavari ghats and vineyards on the Mumbai side; see Nashik by road.
- Lonavala overnight: break the final day with a night in the hills, as in the Lonavala road guide.
- One way to Goa: finish at Pune and continue south on a Goa tour package.
For the full destination story, read Aurangabad, Ellora and Ajanta by road. More trips from the two cities are on tour packages from Mumbai and tour packages from Pune. State tourism information is on the Maharashtra Tourism site.
Booking it
Set Mumbai as the pickup and five days in the online booker, choose a car and pay by card or UPI; a GST invoice is generated for business travellers. For hotels, a licensed guide at the caves and tickets, ask the travel desk for a quote. Free cancellation holds until 72 hours before pickup, after which 10%, 50% and finally 100% apply under the cancellation policy.
