Belum Caves Crafted By Nature

Do caves fascinate you? Or, are you scared of entering a cave? Caves not only fascinate but excite Ghumakkad!

In a span of three weeks, we visited two caves during a self-drive expedition covering 3000 kms from Hyderabad. Call it madness during the peak of summer!

This story takes you to Belum Caves in Andhra Pradesh India. These caves have been crafted by Nature over millions of years. Being limestone caves, flowing underground river has chiselled its way through the rocks. Like the tentacles of an octopus, underground caves also spread in multiple directions. More on it later.

Where is Belum?

It is 375 kms south of Hyderabad, slightly east of National Highway NH44. It is a 7-hour drive and a getaway for Nature and exploration buffs. See the map below courtesy Google Maps.

Types of Caves

Basically, the caves can be of two types- rock cut (or man-made) or natural. Belum caves are natural whereas India has many rock cut caves like Ellora, Udaygiri, etc. See the caves map of India below.

Belum Caves in Pictures

Sharing below are a set of pictures with commentary superimposed for ease of browsing. View it in full screen to 'feel' the darkness and the thrill of visiting a dimly lit cave.

See the spread of the underground caves in the engraved map below. Does it remind you of the tentacles of an octopus?

Please browse the YouTube video below shot by Ghumakkad while negotiating the dark cave. I grazed the low ceiling at many places. With only one air vent working in the cave, I had to stand below the vent to recharge the lungs and carry on. The video is a bit long but it gives you the 'real' feeling of being underground in darkness!

While writing this story, we chanced upon a post by Debashis Mukherjee, a passionate traveller and explorer. He visited the famous Postojna Cave in Slovenia in June 2024. Like Belum caves, Postojna limestone caves have also been created by a river named Pivka. 

In Debashis' words, "Visited Postojna Caves, about 55 km away from Ljubljana. I have seen many underground limestone caves in India (in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya) and all over the world (Vietnam, Spain, France, etc.) but this one is just mind blowing. These caves are over 24 km long and one of the biggest and most spectacular in the world. It is also unique in that there is a railway system inside the caves for the benefit of the visitors which was installed 140 years ago!

Photos cannot capture the magnificence and grandeur of these natural wonders created by mother nature over millions of years. One has to actually see them. That’s why I travel!"

Thanks Debashis for echoing Ghumakkad's passion. In fact Debashis and Ghumakkad did a self-drive together from Kolkata to Munsiyari and back. That story is yet to be posted by Ghumakkad. You may browse Debashis' posts with spectacular pictures by clicking here.

Sharing below three of the pictures of Postojna Caves taken by Debashis.

Postojna Caves have the world's only cave post office. See the picture below.

Continuing with our pictures of Belum Caves.

 

More Stories on Caves in India

We are sharing below the links to some of our earlier stories on caves. Just click the link to browse the pictures and videos of each of the featured caves.

Undavalli Caves- An architectural marvel in Andhra Pradesh. Monolith rock cut caves with four-stories having a reclining Vishnu idol.

Next, we have Borra Caves in the Eastern Ghats in India, 90-kms north of Vishakhapatnam. But these are natural caves formed because of rich limestone rocks. Spectacular to see, specially when lighted up. Stalactite and Stalagmite create surreal shapes. You may read the following picture story.

Beauty of Darkness - Magic created 150-million years ago by Stalactites and Stalagmites

Another cave which offers a bit of thrill and adventure is the Narsing Temple near Bidar in Karnataka. You have to wade through chest high water for half a km or so, to reach the deity in the cave. Pretty scary to say the least. Browse the last part of the story linked below to feel the thrill:

Wading through Chest-high water in a Cave - Narsing cave temple near Bidar in Karnataka India

We close with Joseph Campbell's famous words, "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." Isn't that true about the challenges (caves) we face in our lives?

Thanks for browsing. More stories on rock-cut architecture of India will follow soon. Stay connected.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ Belum Caves, Andhra Pradesh India/ 15th July, 2024

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