Halfway up the rock there’s an open-air spiral stairway leading up from the main route to a long, sheltered gallery in the sheer rock face.
In this niche is a series of paintings of buxom, wasp-waisted women, popularly believed to represent either apsaras (celestial nymphs) or King Kassapa’s concubines.
Protected from the sun in the sheltered gallery, the paintings remain in remarkably good condition, their colours still glowing. They’re at their best in the late-afternoon light.
Modern theory suggests the female forms represent aspects of Tara – a bodhisattva and one of the most important figures in Tantric Buddhism. They are similar in style to the rock paintings at Ajanta in India, but have a specific character in their classical realist style. No one knows the exact dates of the impressive frescoes, though it’s unlikely they date as far back as the 5th century (when King Kassapa reigned).
