Must-see attractions in Maharashtra

The grand Aga Khan Palace is set in a peaceful wooded 6.5-hectare plot northeast of the centre. Built in 1892 by Sultan Aga Khan III, this graceful…

Drama and excitement characterise the Hindu group (Caves 13 to 29). In terms of scale, creative vision and skill of execution, these caves are in a league…

The five Jain caves, the last created at Ellora, may lack the ambitious size of the best Hindu temples, but they are exceptionally detailed, with some…

The moody Trimbakeshwar Temple stands in the centre of Trimbak, 33km west of Nashik. It’s one of India’s most sacred temples, containing a highly…

Karla Cave, the largest early chaitya (Buddhist temple) in India, is reached by a 20-minute climb from a mini bazaar at the base of a hill. Completed in…

Sevagram (Village of Service) was chosen by Mahatma Gandhi as his base during the Indian Independence Movement. Throughout the freedom struggle, the…

With carved dwarfs supporting the pillars, cave 17 has Ajanta’s best-preserved and most varied paintings. Famous images include a princess applying make…

Believed to be the excavated 5th-century remains of a temple and residential palace complex known as Pravarapura, once the capital of the Vakataka King…

Cave 32, the Indra Sabha (Assembly Hall of Indra), is the finest of the Jain temples. Its ground-floor plan is similar to that of the Kailasa, but the…

Cave 10 is thought to be the oldest cave (200 BC) and was the first one to be spotted by the British hunting party. Similar in design to Cave 9, it is the…

About 40km northeast of Nagpur, Ramtek is believed to be the place where Lord Rama, of the epic Ramayana, spent some time during his exile with his wife,…

This enthralling hilltop fort served as Shivaji’s capital from 1648 until his death in 1680. The fort was later sacked by the British and some colonial…

Cave 4 is the largest vihara at Ajanta and is supported by 28 pillars. Although never completed, the cave has some impressive sculptures, such as the four…

A largely ruined chaitya, cave 26 is now dramatically lit and contains some fine sculptures that shouldn’t be missed. On the left wall is a huge figure of…

Cave 21, known as the Ramesvara Cave, features interesting interpretations of familiar Shaivite scenes depicted in the earlier temples. The figure of the…

Cave 15, the Das Avatara (Ten Incarnations of Vishnu) Cave, is one of the finest at Ellora. The two-storey temple contains a mesmerising Shiva Nataraja…

Cave 6 is an ornate vihara with wonderful images of Tara, consort of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, and of Mahamayuri, the Buddhist goddess of learning,…

The 5-hectare Osho Teerth Gardens are a verdant escape from urban living with giant bamboo, jogging trails, a gurgling brook and smooching couples. You…

The ruined Sinhagad, about 24km southwest of Pune, was wrested by Maratha leader Shivaji from the Bijapur kings in 1670. In the epic battle (where he lost…

Emperor Aurangzeb, the last of the Mughal greats, is entombed in the courtyard of this simple (and somewhat unwelcoming) shrine. Despite matching the…