Ajanta & Ellora

The two greatest rock-cut cave complexes in India — Buddhist monasteries with 2,000-year-old paintings (Ajanta) and the insane Kailasa temple carved top-down out of a single mountain (Ellora). Its a UNESCO world heritage center, and even though it isn’t next door its worth visiting.

Note: I haven’t been there yet, so i cannot give strong recommendations yet.

Notes:

Base: Aurangabad (officially renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar — you’ll see both names; trains and flights increasingly use the new one).
Getting there from Mumbai: 45-min flight, or an 5h train), or a long drive. The train is the atmospheric choice; the flight buys you a day.
Crucial closing days: Ajanta is closed Mondays. Ellora is closed Tuesdays. Plan around this first, everything else second.
Distances: Ellora is 30 km from the city (easy half/full day), Ajanta is 100 km (a full day with 2 h driving each way). Hire a car with driver through your hotel (₹2,500–4,000/day) - this is the standard, sensible way.
Tickets: foreigner tickets ₹600 per site; buy online (ASI website) or at the gates
En route add-ons: Daulatabad Fort (a hill fort with a genuinely fun dark spiral tunnel defense - 1.5 h, some climbing) and Bibi ka Maqbara (“mini Taj,” best at sunset, far better than its nickname suggests).
Guides: licensed guides at both gates are worth it at Ellora especially (₹1,500–2,000); at Ajanta a good audio-prep (podcast/YouTube the evening before) can substitute.