Early in the 19th century a party of British officers scrambling over the thickly wooded slopes of the Sahyadri hills discovered these caves buried under debris and screened by foliage. Strung out in a sweeping horseshoe shape in an inner fold of the hills, the caves were a secluded retreat for Buddhist monastic orders and yet offered easy access to the trade routes that swung past here to the coast. With little more than hammer and chisel but with a deep faith inspiring them, these simple monks excavated chaityas, chapels for prayer and viharas, monasteries where they lived and taught and carried out ritual performances. The 29 caves at Ajanta, some unfinished, span a period of 800 years and contain numerous images of Lord Buddha. They depict the story of Buddhism, spanning the period from 200 BC to 650 BC.

Cave 1 houses some of the most well preserved wall paintings, which include two great Boddhisattvas, Padmapani and Avaloketeshwara. Cave 2, 16 and 17 also contain amazing paintings, while caves 1, 4, 17, 19, 24 and 26 boasts of some of the most divine sculptures. The flying Apsara of cave 17 and the image of Buddha preaching in cave 17, are a couple of unforgettable works of art.

In their range of times and treatment the paintings of Ajanta are a panorama of life in ancient India.