Best Time to Visit Aurangabad

November to February: the sweet spot

This is the best stretch, and the data agrees. Days are warm but not harsh, and nights get cool. December and January are the coolest months, with lows of 14°C and 13°C. You can spend a full day at Ellora Caves or Ajanta without feeling cooked. Ellora's big Kailasa temple, carved from one rock, is easy to enjoy in this weather.

It's also high season. Expect more visitors around Christmas and New Year, plus school-holiday families. Ajanta is closed on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays, so plan around that. In late February the Ellora Ajanta Festival has sometimes been held, with music and dance near the caves, but dates change, so check before you build a trip around it.

October is also rated Excellent. The land is green after the rains, though showers still turn up on about nine days. Hills near the caves look their best, and crowds are thinner than in December.

March to May: hot and quiet

March is fair, with warm days and dry air. By April and May it gets properly hot, with highs of 40°C and 41°C. Midday at Daulatabad Fort, with its long open climb, is tough then. If you come anyway, go to sights in the early morning and rest indoors in the afternoon. The cool, dark rooms of Bibi Ka Maqbara, the "mini Taj", suit late afternoon visits better.

Hotels are quieter and easier to haggle with. The trade-off is the heat, which is real. Travelling with kids or older parents? Skip these months.

June to September: monsoon

Rain arrives in June and stays until September. July is the wettest month, with 207 mm over 22 days, and sunshine drops to about an hour a day. Humidity sits above 80% by August. Skies are grey for days at a time.

It isn't all bad. The hills turn green, and waterfalls run near the caves. Ellora in the rain feels moody and calm, with few tour groups. Ganesh Chaturthi, usually in late August or September, brings drums, processions and festive streets in the old city. Still, rain can spoil photos and make cave paths slippery, so this suits flexible travellers who don't mind getting wet.

If you want the easiest trip, choose late November or December. If you want fewer people and don't mind heat or rain, pick March or the greener edges of the monsoon.