I visited this WHS in November 2016. Having already visited Badami Caves, Elephanta Caves and Ellora Caves, I thought Ajanta Caves were going to be somewhat of an overkill but I was so wrong.

What Ajanta lacked in terms of architecture and carvings/sculptures it made up for with outstanding paintings. A flashlight is a must to be able to appreciate the beautiful paintings especially in Caves 1 and 2. The most famous paintings are the Padmapani and the Vajrapani.

In Ajanta, Caves 2 and 16 are worth viewing for the paintings and murals, Caves 4 and 24 for their sculptures and architecture, while Caves 1, 7, 9, 10, 17, 19 and 26 have a bit of both. Cave 26 is quite similar to one of the Buddhist caves in Ellora but the one in Ajanta also has some paintings and a lovely reclining Buddha.

Cave 1 is the closest to the entrance/exit and the most beautiful of the Ajanta Caves. With this in mind I decided to head straight to the farthest cave and visit the caves in descending order ending with Cave 1. Just next to the ticket booth, you can spot the brass UNESCO WHS plaque.

The tiny ASI bookshop was selling information booklets of several WHS (World Heritage Series) at 50% so for less than 15 euros I bought all the WHS booklets of the sites I visited and of others I wish to visit.