Aurangabad: 3-day Lonar Crater, Ajanta, & Ellora Caves Tour

Lonar Crater is the surprise here: a meteorite-made lake with unusual saline and alkaline water, paired with the ancient Daityasudan Temple nearby. Add Ajanta and Ellora, and you get a compact tour of Maharashtra’s art, religion, geology, and Mughal architecture. The itinerary covers three very different places, not just another cave circuit.

I like the private AC car, which matters on long Indian road days, and I like the freedom to adjust the schedule. The service has included particularly helpful drivers such as Madhav and Mr Patel, with Mr Patel noted for being informative, pleasant, and willing to go the extra mile. The main drawback is the mileage: Ajanta is about 110 kilometers from Aurangabad, while Lonar is about 150 kilometers away, one way.

Key points at a glance

• Ajanta from the viewpoint: Start with a broad view of the horseshoe-shaped cave gorge before entering the Buddhist complex.
• Ellora’s Kailasa Temple: Spend time with one of India’s great rock-cut monuments, carved from a single mass of stone.
• Lonar’s unusual crater lake: See a rare geological site formed by a meteorite impact, with saline and alkaline water.
• Private transport for two very long days: Your AC sedan or Innova Crysta keeps the schedule flexible and avoids a large group.
• Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad: Visit the Mughal-era tomb often compared with the Taj Mahal.
• Costs to plan for: Transport, tolls, fuel, water, and service charges are included, but hotels, meals, and site admissions are extra.

Why this three-day route works

Aurangabad is a useful base for western India’s best cave monuments. Ajanta and Ellora are not interchangeable. Ajanta is known for Buddhist caves and paintings cut into a curved gorge, while Ellora brings Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain monuments together, including the huge Kailasa Temple. Lonar adds a completely different note, with geology and temple architecture replacing painted walls and sculpted rock.

I like the route because each day has a clear purpose. Day one is Ajanta. Day two is Ellora with Bibi Ka Maqbara. Day three reaches farther afield to Lonar and the Daityasudan Temple. You are not constantly packing and changing hotels, since the plan returns you to Aurangabad each night.

The tradeoff is time on the road. This is not a slow village tour with long unplanned stops. Ajanta takes about two hours each way, and Lonar takes about three hours each way. The private car makes those drives easier, but it cannot make the distances disappear.

Day one: Ajanta’s painted Buddhist caves

Pickup begins in Aurangabad, either at your hotel, airport, railway station, or another agreed location. A tea or coffee stop is planned on the drive, which is welcome because the Ajanta road day is long. The listed driving distance is about 110 kilometers each way, with roughly two hours on the road in each direction.

Ajanta contains 29 Buddhist caves dating from the 2nd century BC onward. The site includes prayer halls, monastic rooms, sculptures, and paintings. The paintings are the main reason to come, but the setting matters just as much. The caves follow a curving rock face above a gorge, giving the complex a natural shape that you understand best from a distance.

Make time for Ajanta View Point before or around your cave visit. It gives you the broad image first: a long arc of rock pierced by cave entrances. Then, inside the site, you can focus on smaller details without losing sight of how large the whole undertaking was.

The planned visit lasts three to four hours. That is enough for a meaningful first visit, though you should not expect to inspect every corner at a leisurely pace. A private guide can help you decide which caves deserve the most attention, especially if you want to focus on paintings, religious design, or sculpture.

Lunch is optional and takes place at a nearby restaurant. Since lunch is not included, you pay for it directly. Water bottles are supplied during the journeys, a small but useful detail on a warm road day.

One practical note is unusually helpful: shoes are covered during entry to Ajanta Caves. Wear footwear that is easy to remove and put back on, since cave visits can involve repeated transitions between outdoor paths and interior spaces.

After Ajanta, you return to Aurangabad for the night. There is no hotel included, so you need to arrange your own room in the city.

Day two: Ellora and the scale of Kailasa

The second morning begins after breakfast with a shorter drive to Ellora. The distance is about 35 kilometers each way, with a stated drive time of roughly one hour each way. That leaves more energy for the site itself.

Ellora is one of the most rewarding stops in the region because its caves represent several religious traditions. The complex includes Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain excavations. It is not simply a row of dark chambers. The architecture ranges from simple interior spaces to enormous sculpted facades and courtyards.

The centerpiece is the Kailasa Temple, a Hindu monument carved downward from the surrounding rock. Its scale is hard to grasp from photographs. Walk around it slowly and look at the relationship between the central structure, surrounding walls, sculpted panels, and upper levels. This is the place where a guide can add real value, since the method of carving is as important as the finished forms.

The planned visit runs about three to four hours. That gives you time to see the main monuments, but Ellora can easily fill a longer day if you want to study individual reliefs. Ask your guide to shape the visit around your interests rather than treating every cave as equal.

Lunch near Ellora is optional and not included. After lunch, the tour continues to Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad.

Bibi Ka Maqbara, Aurangabad’s Mughal-era landmark

Bibi Ka Maqbara is often compared with the Taj Mahal because of its white exterior, domed form, and memorial purpose. It is not a copy in scale or setting, but the comparison gives you a quick sense of its appearance.

The visit is planned for about one hour. That is enough to see the monument, grounds, and main architectural details without turning the stop into another long site visit after Ellora. I like this addition because it changes the rhythm of the day. You move from rock-cut religious architecture to a Mughal-era tomb, then return to your Aurangabad hotel for the second night.

Admission to Bibi Ka Maqbara is extra. The same applies to Ajanta and Ellora, so keep a separate allowance for entrance fees. The tour price covers transport-related costs, not the cost of getting into each monument.

Day three: Lonar Crater and Daityasudan Temple

Day three is the longest road day. Lonar Crater lies about 150 kilometers from Aurangabad, with a stated drive time of around three hours each way. You leave after breakfast, travel by private AC vehicle, and spend about two to three hours exploring the crater and nearby sights.

Lonar is a meteorite-formed lake with unusual saline and alkaline water. That makes it a very different stop from Ajanta and Ellora. You are coming here to see a geological event made visible, not another royal building or cave shrine. The crater gives the day a strong sense of place and helps explain why this route is more varied than a standard Aurangabad monument tour.

The experience is best approached with realistic expectations. The information provided describes crater exploration and nearby attractions, but it does not promise a long nature walk, a boat ride, or a particular viewing trail. Your guide and driver can help shape the visit within the available time, but the long return journey limits how much extra sightseeing can be added.

The nearby Daityasudan Temple provides the cultural counterpoint. It is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and the planned visit lasts about one hour. You get geology first, then a religious site with a different visual language from the Buddhist caves and Mughal tomb.

Lunch is optional and paid separately. Afterward, you return to Aurangabad and are dropped at your preferred airport, railway station, hotel, or other agreed location. This final drop-off is useful if you are connecting to a train or flight, but allow enough buffer for road delays and confirm your departure time with the operator.

The private car and guide setup

The tour uses private transport, so only your own group participates. For one or two people, the stated vehicle is an air-conditioned Toyota Etios sedan. For three to five people, the vehicle is an air-conditioned Innova Crysta SUV.

That difference matters on the Ajanta and Lonar days. Two people may find the sedan efficient, while a larger group will appreciate the extra space of the SUV. The vehicle includes fuel, tolls, parking, taxes, and service charges, so you are not repeatedly negotiating small road costs during the trip.

A professional driver speaks Hindi and English. An English-speaking professional guide is available if you choose the option that includes a guide. Do not assume every booking option has the same guide arrangement. Confirm that detail when you reserve if interpretation at the caves is important to you.

Drivers Madhav and Mr Patel are names associated with especially strong service on this tour. Mr Patel has been described as helpful, informative, pleasant, and attentive to the group’s priorities. A manager may also meet you on arrival to review the plan, which is useful if you need to adjust the order or protect time for a particular monument.

The schedule is flexible. That does not mean every stop can be extended without limit, especially on the long drives, but you can discuss your priorities and adjust the day’s order where practical.

What the $79 price really covers

At $79 per person, the tour can be good value if you are traveling with one or more companions and want private transport across three demanding sightseeing days. The cost includes the car, driver, fuel, tolls, parking, taxes, service charges, bottled mineral water, and pickup and drop-off.

The price does not include hotel rooms, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or admission to Ajanta, Ellora, Bibi Ka Maqbara, and Daulatabad Fort. Daulatabad Fort is not part of the stated three-day sightseeing plan, but its admission is listed among the extra costs, so ask about it if you intend to add that stop.

The most important value question is the guide option. A private car and driver can handle the roads and timing, but the caves make more sense when someone explains the religious art, carving methods, and layout. If the price changes for an English-speaking guide, decide if that added context is worth it for you. I think it is particularly useful at Ajanta and Ellora.

Because meals are not included, you retain some control over spending and pace. You can choose the optional local restaurant stops, but you should budget for them rather than treating the advertised price as an all-in total.

Who should book this tour

I would choose this tour if you have three days in Aurangabad and want to combine the major cave sites with something less predictable. It suits couples, families, older visitors, and small private groups who value door-to-door transport and schedule control.

The arrangement also suits visitors arriving by air or train, since pickup and drop-off can be arranged at the airport, railway station, hotel, or another desired point. It is wheelchair accessible, though the supplied details do not explain which paths or individual cave interiors have step-free access. If that is important for your group, ask for a site-by-site accessibility check before booking.

I would think twice if you dislike long drives. Ajanta and especially Lonar require substantial time in the car. A slower plan with extra nights might suit you better, but this three-day format is efficient for fitting the region’s main sights into a short stay.

Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later. Those terms help if your Aurangabad schedule is still moving, but they do not remove the need to check admission fees, meals, guide inclusion, and vehicle size before confirming.

Should you book it?

Book this tour if you want maximum coverage with private transport and you are comfortable with two long road days. Ajanta gives you Buddhist art and a dramatic setting, Ellora delivers the monumental Kailasa Temple, Bibi Ka Maqbara adds Mughal architecture, and Lonar brings rare geology into the plan.

Skip it if your ideal holiday moves slowly or leaves plenty of room for spontaneous stops. For most people with only three days around Aurangabad, though, the route makes sound use of time. Confirm the guide option and extra entrance fees, then choose the vehicle size carefully. Those two details will shape the experience more than the headline price.

FAQ

How long is the tour?

The experience lasts three days, with two overnight stays in Aurangabad.

Where can pickup and drop-off take place?

Pickup and drop-off can be arranged at an Aurangabad airport, railway station, hotel, or another desired location.

Is the tour private?

Yes. Only your own group participates in the activity.

What vehicle is used for two people?

For one or two people, the stated vehicle is an air-conditioned Toyota Etios sedan.

What vehicle is used for three to five people?

For three to five people, the stated vehicle is an air-conditioned Innova Crysta SUV.

Is an English-speaking guide included?

An English-speaking professional guide is available with the option that includes a guide. The driver also speaks good Hindi and English.

Are meals and hotel stays included?

No. Hotel accommodation, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are not included. Lunch stops are optional and paid separately.

Are entrance tickets included?

No. Admission to Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Bibi Ka Maqbara, and Daulatabad Fort is not included in the tour price.