Elllora and Ajanta

The caves of Ellora and Ajanta are unbelievable. They are stone 'caves' that were hand carved by thousands of workers over hundreds of years. These caves are actually groupings of temples and monasteries. The Ajanta caves are Buddhist while Ellora are Buddhist, Hindu and Jain. The 26 caves in Ajanta had many carvings and sculptures as well as paintings depicting the life of the Buddha. The workers and monks used simple hammers and chisels to create their amazing designs. It's hard to imagine the sheer volume of rock that must of been taken from the sites.

In the picture is the Hindu temple Kahlais, at the Ellora caves. This temple is carved from one piece of rock without the use of scaffolding. They started from the top and worked their way down.