A nifty extension to any of our Indian journeys, this short trip takes us to Aurangabad (meaning “Built by the Throne”—in this case, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzed, otherwise known as Conqueror of the Universe). Outside the city are the famed World Heritage Site caves of Ajanta and Ellora. The caves at Ajanta, rediscovered by a tiger-hunting colonialist in 1819, contain innumerable masterpieces of early (Hinayana) and late (Mahayana) Buddhist art: carvings, friezes, latticework, and sculptures. And the nearby Ellora Caves—actually structures, 34 of them, carved out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills—are dominated by the awe-inspiring Kailasanatha Temple, named for Tibet’s Mount Kailas, the center of the universe for the Buddhists, Jains, and Hindus who all contributed to Ellora in the 5th through the 10th centuries, testimony to the religious harmony that graced central India during that time. We end with a nice look at Mumbai, of current Slumdog Millionaire fame, but always, as Mark Twain wrote in More Tramps Abroad, “a bewitching place, a bewildering place, an enchanting place.”

Day 1: arrive in Aurangabad • Day 2: the Ajanta Caves • Day 3: the Ellora Caves, fly to Mumbai • Day 4: Mumbai • Day 5: depart for home or other Indian marvels.