ABOUT AURANGABAD

HISTORY

Located within the desiccated Deccan Plateau , Aurangabad is tinged with a distinctive Arabian aura. Before 1610, Aurangabad was known as Khadke. In this year Malikambar converted this village into a city. His son Fateh Khan named this city as Fatehpur in 1626. In 1653 Aurangzeb named this city as Aurangabad.

Thousands of travelers tromp to Aurangabad using it as a  base for
exploring the caves at nearby Ajanta and Ellora. As a result of this constant influx, the tourist infrastructure is better developed in this city than in most throughout the state.  This city is surrounded by hills almost from all sides. Due to this, in the past, it had got strategic importance and also  had a pleasant atmosphere in the city.

 

INFORMATION

Aurangabad is northern Maharashtra 's largest city though it is remarkably un crowded and quiet. According to one survey Aurangabad is at 7th place in tourism industry in India. The world-famous Ajanta and Ellora caves are situated near Aurangabad. Deogiri Fort, Bibi- ka-Maquabara, Panchakki are some of the important places worth visiting. Jayakwadi Dam and Dnyaneshwar Udyan at Paithan and a hill-station at Mhaismal are well known places near Aurangabad.
It is connected to all major cities in India via air route, railway and buses. Educational facilities in the Aurangabad are amongst the best. There are engineering colleges, medical colleges in the city. All the internal parts of the city are connected by city bus network.

ORIENTATION

The railway station, tourist office are clustered in the south of the town. The bus stand is 1.5 km to the north. North-East of here is the crowed old town with its narrow streets and distinct Muslim quarter. Tourist facilities cling to Station Road most of which runs north from the Railway station.
A splinter road claiming the same name, however runs northwest past several hotels and restaurants to Kranti Chowk, Jalna Road runs east to airline offices and the airport, while Dr. Rajendra Prasad Marg cuts back to station Road. W. north of this intersection, Station road becomes Dr. Ambedkar Marg. Just before passing the Bus stand. The turn off for Panchakki on the left and the GPO on the right. Its terminus on the north end of town near the Bibi-ka-Maqbara and the Aurangabad Caves.

INDUSTRIES

Major Industries in Aurangabad are -

- Bajaj Auto Ltd.

- Videocon

- Skoda

- Endurance

- Colgate Palmolive

- Siemens

HOW TO REACH

Aurangabad is off the main line but there are still direct trains from Mumbai and Hyderabad. Ajanta and Ellora are completely off the line and are usually approached from either Aurangabad (Ellora 30 km, Ajanta 106km) or from Jalgaon (Ajanta 60km). Jalgaon is on the main broad-gauge line from Mumbai to Allahabad.

Air:   The Airport is about 9km east on the Jalna road. The NEPC Airways office is in the President Park Hotel, 2km Closer to the airport. Indian Airlines has daily 2 flights to Mumbai and NEPC also flies daily to Mumbai. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday there is an Indian Airline's flight to Udaipur, which continues to Jaipur and Delhi.

Bus:   There are MSRTC Buses From Aurangabad To Pune, Nasik, Indore and Mumbai.The MSRTC and MTDC also offer luxury overnight buses to Mumbai. The luxury bus agents congregate around the corner where Dr. Rajendra Prasad Marg becomes the court road.

Train:   There are 3 direct trains daily to/from Mumbai. The Tapovan Express departs at 2.55 PM gets you into Mumbai at 11.20pm. The Overnight Deogiri Express departs from Aurangabad at 11.00 pm and arrives at Mumbai at 7.00 am. The Nadigram Express departs at 10.00 pm and arrives at Mumbai at 5.00 am. Alternatively you can get a bus or a local train to the nearest mainline station, Manmad, 113 km north-west of Aurangabad, from where there are more frequent express trains to Mumbai. If you are heading directly to the Ajanta Caves from Mumbai, it is best to get an express to Jalgaon and then a local bus to the caves.To Hyderabad (Secunderabad), the daily Deogiri Express departs from Aurangabad at 4.45 am and the journey takes 14 hours. Alternatively the Aurangabad - Kacheguda Express departs at 7.30 PM and arrives at Secunderabad at 9am.