Experience the best of Aurangabad

Aurangabad, also called Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, took its older name from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who governed the Deccan from here before taking the throne, and the city is dotted with old gateways. Bibi Ka Maqbara, a domed tomb finished in 1668 and modelled on the Taj Mahal, is its best-known monument. The Panchakki is a seventeenth-century water mill beside a shrine, and the small Buddhist Aurangabad Caves cut into a hillside date from around the seventh century.

Ellora, about 30 km north-west, holds Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments cut into a long basalt cliff, including the Kailasa Temple, carved out of the rock from the top down. Ajanta, farther north-east, has Buddhist caves with ancient wall paintings. Daulatabad Fort, on a steep cone of rock, stands close to the city, and the Marathwada plateau stretches in all directions.

Naan qalia, mutton curry eaten with soft bread, is the dish Aurangabad is known for, and Paithani silk saris and Himroo fabrics are woven in the area. The monsoon, from June to September, turns the hills green and sets waterfalls running at Ellora, and the winter months are the most comfortable.