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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Elephanta Caves

Elephanta Caves, situated on the Elephanta Island is home to 1,200 year old rock cut temple of Lord Shiva. Ancient carvings and sculptures adorn the temple. The speciality of the temple is that it was built out of a single rock with space for columns and shrines. There are over 10 caves here but it's the main cave that has the privilege of being the most preserved.

This section of the cave is replete with gigantic structures that tell stories of Lord Shiva from the puranas.An astonishing fact is that even though the site was used for target practice in the 17th century by the Portuguese, the caves retained their charm and still attract loads of visitors everyday. The Elephanta Caves are now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.