About the Festival

Ellora Festival is mainly a festival of dance and music, which is held every year in the month of March.

The festival is organized against the magnificent backdrop of World famous Ellora cave temple. Ellora festival showcases the best talents and is a best way to feel the magnificent caves, which narrates of centuries old history and culture. The MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) organizes the annual event in which well-known artists present their music and dance. The venue surrounded by 1,400 years old cave and rock cut temples provide a perfect ambience to enchant the Gods, Goddesses and art lovers.

Ellora Caves

The 34 caves of Ellora excavated between 600 and 1000 A.D, are located on the sloping side of Chanadri Hills. The cave complex houses the caves of three different faiths such as Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Ellora caves represents around 300 years of experiments carried out by people of different faiths, with different iconography and structural boundations. The caves sprawling over an area of 2 Kms, are carved out of Basaltic cliffs. The Hindu caves have the most impressive designs. The Kailash Temple is the most popular, it has the world's biggest monolithic sculpture of Lord Shiva, sculpted out of a rock by 7,000 labourers over a period of 150 years. The Kailasha cave is famous for its spectacular architecture and its master craftsmanship. Cave No .12 is another interesting structure which belongs to Buddhism and is also called Tintala (three-storeyed). The most interesting fact about the cave is that this three-storeyed structure has been created out of a solid rock.

What Happens During the Festival

The Ellora Festival brings together different traditions and cultures of the country on a single platform. The Ellora festival depicts the ancient history as well as culture of the place. Well-known musicians from all parts of the country gather here to take part and enjoy the unique and exclusive ambiance created by the festival. In addition to artists, the visitors and travellers also come to Ellora in a large number, to attend the festival.

How to reach there

By Air : Aurangabad (30 Kms), is the nearest airport. Flights are available from major cities of the country to Aurangabad.

By Rail :urangababd Railway station is the nearest railhead from Ellora. Trains are available to Aurangabad from rest of the country.

By Road : Good roads connect Ellora with Aurangabad and other cities of Maharashtra. One can take taxi from Aurangabad to reach Ellora.

Where to Stay

As Ellora has no sufficient accommodation facilities, so it is better to stay at Aurangabad. The hotels in Aurangabad offer plenty of accommodation options, some of the famous hotels are Taj Residency (Taj Group), Welcome Hotel Rama International, The Meadows and Hotel President Park etc.