Another lovely place for a weekend getaway from Bangalore that can be combined with Gandikota.
After a great experience at Gandikota on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, we headed towards
Belum Caves at around 60 kms. We could see Belum Caves from a distance as it was marked with
stones on a mountain. As we came closer we could also see the huge Buddha that is planted above
the caves!
Very well maintained place and unlike Gandikota, Belum Caves had some visitors.We got a guide who
could speak English. He took us around 1.5 Km distance inside the cave that is available for tourists.
Overall 3.5km have been explored till now. We got another surprise to know that Belum Caves are
the second longest in India! They seem to be geographically, historically and spiritually significant
as there were Jains and Buddhist monks who lived in these caves centuries ago.
Residents of the caves!
The underground water has washed out the soft lime and made patterns on these rocks
This is called Patalalinga where you can spot a stone in the shape of "Linga" near a water source.
We could feel the place getting more and more humid. The guide mentioned the interiors of caves are
always at around 30 deg C and at 80% humidity! The AP tourism has done a good job with strong
blowers and good lighting inside the caves.
While returning, the guide took us through a shortcut with a very narrow space. We had to crawl the whole stretch for around 2-3 mins. It was fun! :)
After having good lunch at a restaurant in Belum Cave premises, we headed back to home! Again a lovely drive!
We stopped on the highway to take a shot of the lovely sunset.
After the wonderful experience at "The Grand Canyon of India" and the second longest caves of India, we are now more inspired to explore such places.
