<P> The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries and worship - halls of different Buddhist traditions carved into a 250 - feet wall of rock . The caves also present paintings depicting the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha, pictorial tales from Aryasura's Jatakamala, and rock - cut sculptures of Buddhist deities . Textual records suggest that these caves served as a monsoon retreat for monks, as well as a resting - site for merchants and pilgrims in ancient India . While vivid colours and mural wall - painting were abundant in Indian history as evidenced by historical records, Caves 16, 17, 1 and 2 of Ajanta form the largest corpus of surviving ancient Indian wall - painting . </P> <P> The Ajanta Caves are mentioned in the memoirs of several medieval - era Chinese Buddhist travellers to India and by a Mughal - era official of Akbar era in the early 17th century . They were covered by jungle until accidentally "discovered" and brought to Western attention in 1819 by a colonial British officer Captain John Smith on a tiger - hunting party . The Ajanta Caves are located on the side of a rocky cliff that is on the north side of a U-shaped gorge on the small river Waghur, in the Deccan plateau . Further round the gorge are a number of waterfalls, which, when the river is high, are audible from outside the caves . </P> <P> With the Ellora Caves, Ajanta is one of the major tourist attractions of Maharashtra . It is about 59 kilometres (37 miles) from the city of Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Pachora, 104 kilometres (65 miles) from the city of Aurangabad, and 350 kilometres (220 miles) east - northeast from Mumbai . It is 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Ellora Caves, which contain Hindu, Jain and Buddhist caves, the last dating from a period similar to Ajanta . The Ajanta style is also found in the Ellora Caves and other sites such as the Elephanta Caves, Aurangabad Caves, Shivleni Caves and the cave temples of Karnataka . </P> <P> The Ajanta Caves are generally agreed to have been made in two distinct periods, the first belonging to the 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE, and a second period that followed several centuries later . </P>

Ajanta and ellora caves are located in the state of