In 1819, John Smith, a British soldier, while hunting for tigers 🐯 in southwest India, stumbled upon a man-made cave. It was then, after being lost to mankind, eaten up by the forest, for 1500 years, that the spell-binding Ajanta caves, a series of man-made Buddhist monasteries carved into the mountain between 200BC-700AD, were discovered. What does one do when one finds a buried treasure that cannot be hauled away? You vandalize it of course. [see photo of John Smith’s carved name — beautiful handwriting I must say] 😆
The Ajanta caves are all Buddhist and the oldest structures many centuries older than Ellora, which has groups of temples for the three main religions in India — Hindu, Buddhism and Jain. The most impressive of them all though, in grandeur and intricacy, is the centerpiece Brahmanical Hindu temple of Kailasa, the abode of the Lord Shiva. “The Kailasa is an illustration of one of those rare occasions when men’s minds, hearts and hands in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal.” — Percy Brown. It surpasses the Parthenon in its dimensions, leaves Petra behind in its artistry, and challenges Borobudur in its conception. Truly these caves belong to the list of the most impressive wonders of the ancient world. They can compare with the great temples of Egypt, Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China, the churches and Roman ruins of Italy and any other great ancient structure that you could think of.

And the sound of waterfalls!