After a 4000km hiatus, i was ready to break new ground. The last 4000 kms had been the longest stretch during which my bike had seen little more than the home-office route. With some valuable help from darth_lucifer (from bcmtouring.com) and his post, i planned my trip to Ellora, Ajanta and Lonar. But a week in advance i came across this trip being organized by bombay bikers to Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar. I did not want to lose out on Mahabaleshwar at this time of the year. So had to drop Lonar from my itinerary.

Day 1:

I started from Mumbai (Mulund) at 5.30 AM on 15th May. The route was going to be Mumbai-Nasik-Niphad-Yeola_Vaijpur-Ellora. But the next immediate stop was going to be Nasik, to pick up a camera from a friend.

Reached Nasik at about 8:15AM and anchored at the friends place. His mom offered to make some breakfast. Had the aloo parathas and set off at 10:30AM (Yes it was a long break, but was worth it for the camera and the parathas!!)

Took a right at Aurangabad Naka in Nasik to head towards Niphad.

Spotted this golden field just outside nasik... could not resist taking some pics.. had to maneuver my bike into it...

The roads are pretty well marked for directions towards Aurangabad.. so hardly had any trouble finding my way.. except for a couple of times when i lost it.. the first one was on my way from Niphad to Yeola.. it took the wrong diversion towards lasalgaon. But fortunately had to buy some mineral water, where i happened to ask him the way. That was hardly about 3-4 kms off track. I asked the store guy "which way to Aurangabad?"... one of the first questions he asked was "are you a college student?!?!!" LOL! i say college students hardly have so much cash to do long trips!! atleast i never did!

The stretch between Vaijapur and Ellora was the worst. There were no road signs for a long long time. Additionally the roads were bad in patches. Somewhere in between i halted for some sugarcane juice. After confirming if i was on the right path, i asked him the shortest way to Ellora. Says i'd have to go through Lasur railway station.

Reached Lasur Railway station and asked for directions. The road ahead was the worst patch in my trip.. and was an experience to take note of.. "When unsure always ask directions for three different people"!!

A bhala manus on this road said this was the way used by villagers and not normally by travellers/others like me.. anyway.. the main highway was only about 5 kms from where i met my messiah...

Thus, i reached Ellora at about 3:00 PM. This was pretty late, but if i had to stick to my plans, i had to do ellora today. With just a camera in one hand and about 2 hours in the other i entered the Ellora caves at 3:30 PM. The entrance was a stones throw from my hotel.

First up was obviously going to be the Kailash Temple.

What a Masterpiece!! The pictures are definitely not going to be as mesmerizing as being there yourself! A good part of the temple has corroded. The statues have lost a limb and the emotions the sculptor had intended them to have... however they have still stood the test of time.. I just wonder how beautiful it must have been when it was all in one piece!! Some pictures...

After i had seen the Kailash temple, i had about 1 hour to see the others. This was going to cover caves 29, 33 and 34 among others. Little did i know that 29, 33, 34 are going to be so far from caves 1-15. Somehow i managed to reach caves 33,34 in time, but i was late for cave 29.

Thus day one came to an end there. Returned to my room hence and had a good shower to wake up for a adventure filled day two. The night wasn't going to be easy.. with the asbestos roof, the bed felt like it was placed on a stove all night.. probably i should have gone for the AC room....

Day 2:

Day 2 began early. Went to the Ghrishneshwar Temple at about 5 minutes walk from the hotel. This is one of the 12 jyotirlings they say. This is a wonderful temple. The pictures...

It was now time to check out of Ellora and head towards Aurangabad. The plan was to anchor the luggage at a hotel in Aurangabad and then head towards Ajanta. This was so that i am closer to Panchgani for day 3 ride. On the way to Aurangabad was the Daulatabad fort. The one thing that made my day here was the Mendi tope. Such beautiful cannon..

Upon reaching Aurangabad, checked into Hotel Shri Maya (02402333093), freshened up, and left for Ajanta which was 100kms from this place. But i made sure i went through Bibi-ka-Maqbara, which, though not in the way, i had to visit. (later i regreted doing that.. wasting 1 hour for bibi-ka-maqbara... the place is in shambles.. very badly maintained by the authorities..)

Then i proceeded to Ajanta caves. They dont allow private vehicles beyond a certain point which is about 5-6 kms from the caves. You need to take and MSRTC bus to the point. Surprisingly enough (or probably rather not!!) all the pheriwalas and shopkeepers seem to know English there!!! Well... enough english to sell their product...

It was difficult to take good pictures at the caves in Ajanta without the flash and the tripod. I tried my best with the cam i had... here are some pics.

I returned to my hotel in Aurangabad at 8:30PM. Had dinner with a couple of other tourists.. chitchatting and exchanging travel plans...

Day 3:

It was going to be long ride today... Aurangabad to Panchgani. The route... Aurangabad-Ahmednagar-Daund-Patas-Morgaon-Nira-Lonad-Khandala-Wai-Panchgani. The road between Aurangabad to Ahmednagar was really good.. about 40 KMs to Ahmednagar... this was what i encountered..

Reached Panchgani at about 3:00PM where more than 30 bikers from bombaybikers.com were set to camp

The place was called Eco-Camp and is near a school in Panchgani, called Green Valley School.

Thus ended day3 with bombay bikers and some booz and chitchat at night. Day 4 was a long journey back home... Mumbai.

These 1200 KMs were the best in recent times for me..

More pictures here