Photography: Ellora Caves #6

A view from the side as you enter into Cave #10. Above the entrance and all along below the vertical pillars are intricate carvings showing scenes from the life of Buddha. There are holes all along this ridge that are mounts for torches. The ceiling used to be entitely black from soot buildup until recent restorations. Interesting note regarding restorations is that the Japanese have pumped millions of dollars into this UNESCO World Heritage Site partly because they have tons of money stuck in India since it doesn't allow money made in the country to leave. In any case the attention paid to these caves by India and from outside sources is impressive. When I first visited them in the 80's they were plagued by bat shit, tagging, and collapsing chambers.