Maybe I was expecting too much: the raving reviews on this website, my memorable visits to Chinese rock-carvings in 2007, and even the rare praise from ICOMOS in the evaluation report all had me geared up to a visit of one of the highlights of the WH List. The site did fail to capture me. There were only a few caves that I found really worth seeing. They all are pretty dark inside and the floor is uneven so you have to be careful where to step. It would be good to bring a torch.

My favourite cave was number 10: a Buddhist cave, the only chaitya among the monasteries. It was used as a music gallery and has fine acoustics. The exterior has a sculptured balcony, the ceiling carved ribs. A window was placed so to illuminate the big teaching Buddha in the center of the cave.

Another one not to miss is of course the enormous Kailasha Temple. An unimaginable load of work has been done to carve this all out of a monolithic rock. Its size and structure is difficult to capture on a photo. It resembles the Churches at Lalibela (though these carvings are even cruder).

I visited on a Saturday morning, and especially the Kailasha Temple was overrun by Indian daytrippers. Young men ignore every warning sign, climb the sculptures and get overexcited on seeing a white blonde female. While travelling in India over the past weeks and attracting a lot of attention, I’ve resorted to only saying ‘Hi’ or shaking hands with anyone that looks under 10 years of age. The rest should just grow up and behave themselves. Guards that should protect the structures from vandalization are almost absent at this and the other Indian WHS that I have visited. And that in a country where every public service is seriously overstaffed, where crowds of 10 waiters/helpers/managers/big bosses fight over each other in a small restaurant to bring you one spoon or fill up your glass.