The 'Uparkot Buddhist Caves', rock-cut caves inside an ancient fort, are located in which city?

The Uparkot Buddhist Caves are located inside the Uparkot Fort, in the city of Junagadh in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.

About the Uparkot caves:

• They are ancient Buddhist rock-cut caves, dated to about the 2nd-4th centuries CE (some parts may be older).
• They were carved into the rock as a monastery for monks.
• They have three levels (storeys), connected by staircases.
• They have decorated pillars, with carvings, and water cisterns.
• Some scholars believe that they were built during the period of the Western Kshatrapa (Shaka) rulers.

Other Buddhist caves in Junagadh:

• "Khapra Kodia caves": the oldest caves in the area, near Uparkot.
• "Bava Pyara caves": a group of caves with Buddhist and Jain features.

About Uparkot Fort:

• It is an ancient fort, believed to have been first built in the Mauryan period, and rebuilt many times by later rulers.
• It contains stepwells such as the "Adi Kadi Vav" and "Navghan Kuvo", cut deep into the rock.
• It also has a mosque and cannons.

About Junagadh:

• It is located at the foot of a group of sacred hills in Gujarat.
• It was a princely state ruled by a Nawab at the time of independence.
• In 1947, the Nawab announced that Junagadh would join Pakistan, but most of its people were Hindus and the state was surrounded by India; after a plebiscite in February 1948, Junagadh joined India.
• The Gir National Park, the only home of the Asiatic lion in the wild, is in the Junagadh region.

Buddhist caves in western India:

• Maharashtra: Ajanta, Ellora, Karla, Bhaja, Kanheri, Pandavleni (Nashik) and Aurangabad caves.
• Gujarat: Uparkot, Khambhalida, Talaja, Sana and Siddhar.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Aurangabad and Nashik have Buddhist caves in Maharashtra.
• ✗Bhopal is near Sanchi and the Bhimbetka shelters, but not the Uparkot caves.