Belum Caves
I had first read about Belum caves sometime in 2011 and it was on top of my travel bucket list from then.
The only reason it couldn't materialise for so long was because of the distance. It is 300+ kms from Bengaluru. 700Kms in one day seemed a little too tiring and except for may be one or two blogs on BHP there wasn't much information as well on it.
But then once the travel bug really bites you and you find the right companions, no distance is too far. One of our friends- Raju readily said that we can do it in a day and that we must! Now that it was decided that we will do it in a day's trip it was obvious that we must start really early.
I caught a little cold the night before unfortunately and it proved costly for me later. We started out quite early and by early I mean around 5. As usual Google maps was our savior and we did not encounter any trouble. Take the NH-7 toward Ballary. Roads are good as long as your'e on the highway but once you take the turn near Gooty it's a SH and after that all you see along the way are those factory and mines lorries and small village roads. Bad and small roads coupled with hot blazing sun tires you out quickly. It ain't no joke to make a one day trip to this place.
Some 10-12 kms before Anantpur there were two policemen who were waving for lift and we thought will drop them. Turned out they were working in a village station doing night duty and were returning home. We asked them for good hotels in Anantpur for breakfast and they suggested a place. We dropped them on the by-pass before Anantpur and headed towards the city for breakfast but we just roamed in circles without finding the place the policeman suggested and sadly no other decent looking place was also open. We finally found a small hotel, had breakfast and started on our way.
It was still August and the sun was mercilessly burning us. Once we took the turn near Gooty it's a bit deserted and at times we did wonder if we were on the wrong path. Drive was neither picturesque nor pleasant and we were happy when we finally reached the Belum caves.
We took the tickets and were about to go in when some guys approached us asking if we need guides. They said they are Govt. certified and we can pay them as we please later as they don't really insist on money etc. We decided to take the guide and now looking back I feel we did the right thing. Because the caves are huge and there are many places only a guide can take you and explain in detail.
Belum caves is the largest and longest caves in India. At its deepest point it's 150 feet below ground level. There are good pathways and enough lighting and at places pipes with air supply is also provided. Guide showed us some good spots where photos will come nicely. Ofcourse, I do not own a DSLR and those were still my humble HTC mobile days.
We saw a meditation area and a place where fresh water fountain was there and as we descended further, the cave got more beautiful and hot. Guide informed that he has lost up to 20 kgs after he had started giving tours here! Some places were like sauna! We were sweating at the same time just mesmerised by the cave. We got to its deepest point called Patala Ganga and by that time we were totally exhausted.
It's good to carry a bottle of water but sadly we had not, thinking why take unnecessary weight but we were so wrong. Even with a guide who took us only to all the right spots we took an hour to explore the caves. He informed that there are still many places that are yet to be explored.
He showed some more spots for photos and took his money and went (we paid him a 100 bucks as I remember). And as we climbed up, we saw many families with small kids entering the cave and wondered how will they manage inside. I was all red and sweating profusely. With all the blood gushed to my face, I look like a tomato when I'm under sun for too long. Some people gave sympathetic looks!
It was already noon by the time we came up and we relaxed for sometime. Except for a small shop selling cool drinks and chips etc there is no proper restaurant there (there is a board for AP Govt. restaurant- Haritha I guess, which was closed). So we decided not to eat anything and just head back to Bengaluru.
There is a statue of Buddha a little distance away from the cave but we were so exhausted that we settled to just clicking a picture from far.
My cold was completely gone by the time we came up from caves but as it was very hot we kept the car AC at high and within no time my cold was back. We stopped at some Dhaba on the highway and ate and by the time we reached Bengaluru I had high fever and was not even able to open my eyes. First thing we did after reaching Bengaluru was to go to a doctor! and it took me 2 more days of sick leave from office to get well !
You can combine Belum caves with a visit to the Lepakshi as well but we did not do it as I'd been to Lepakshi on a different occasion (blog will be coming up soon).
But my sickness apart, Belum caves was one of the best places I've seen till now and it's totally worth all that effort. It could be a world famous site but sadly our Govt. does only so much.
There are no words to describe the beauty of each stone and the lines created by running water through millions of years. What if with some sickness later, I finally had a tick on my bucket list of Belum caves!
The only reason it couldn't materialise for so long was because of the distance. It is 300+ kms from Bengaluru. 700Kms in one day seemed a little too tiring and except for may be one or two blogs on BHP there wasn't much information as well on it.
But then once the travel bug really bites you and you find the right companions, no distance is too far. One of our friends- Raju readily said that we can do it in a day and that we must! Now that it was decided that we will do it in a day's trip it was obvious that we must start really early.
I caught a little cold the night before unfortunately and it proved costly for me later. We started out quite early and by early I mean around 5. As usual Google maps was our savior and we did not encounter any trouble. Take the NH-7 toward Ballary. Roads are good as long as your'e on the highway but once you take the turn near Gooty it's a SH and after that all you see along the way are those factory and mines lorries and small village roads. Bad and small roads coupled with hot blazing sun tires you out quickly. It ain't no joke to make a one day trip to this place.
Some 10-12 kms before Anantpur there were two policemen who were waving for lift and we thought will drop them. Turned out they were working in a village station doing night duty and were returning home. We asked them for good hotels in Anantpur for breakfast and they suggested a place. We dropped them on the by-pass before Anantpur and headed towards the city for breakfast but we just roamed in circles without finding the place the policeman suggested and sadly no other decent looking place was also open. We finally found a small hotel, had breakfast and started on our way.
It was still August and the sun was mercilessly burning us. Once we took the turn near Gooty it's a bit deserted and at times we did wonder if we were on the wrong path. Drive was neither picturesque nor pleasant and we were happy when we finally reached the Belum caves.
We took the tickets and were about to go in when some guys approached us asking if we need guides. They said they are Govt. certified and we can pay them as we please later as they don't really insist on money etc. We decided to take the guide and now looking back I feel we did the right thing. Because the caves are huge and there are many places only a guide can take you and explain in detail.
Belum caves is the largest and longest caves in India. At its deepest point it's 150 feet below ground level. There are good pathways and enough lighting and at places pipes with air supply is also provided. Guide showed us some good spots where photos will come nicely. Ofcourse, I do not own a DSLR and those were still my humble HTC mobile days.
 |
| Dry and arid fields, on the way |
 |
| wind mills were plenty |
 |
| Mouth of the cave as seen from below |
 |
| A light pipe in the cave |
 |
| Entrance to the cave |
We saw a meditation area and a place where fresh water fountain was there and as we descended further, the cave got more beautiful and hot. Guide informed that he has lost up to 20 kgs after he had started giving tours here! Some places were like sauna! We were sweating at the same time just mesmerised by the cave. We got to its deepest point called Patala Ganga and by that time we were totally exhausted.
It's good to carry a bottle of water but sadly we had not, thinking why take unnecessary weight but we were so wrong. Even with a guide who took us only to all the right spots we took an hour to explore the caves. He informed that there are still many places that are yet to be explored.
He showed some more spots for photos and took his money and went (we paid him a 100 bucks as I remember). And as we climbed up, we saw many families with small kids entering the cave and wondered how will they manage inside. I was all red and sweating profusely. With all the blood gushed to my face, I look like a tomato when I'm under sun for too long. Some people gave sympathetic looks!
It was already noon by the time we came up and we relaxed for sometime. Except for a small shop selling cool drinks and chips etc there is no proper restaurant there (there is a board for AP Govt. restaurant- Haritha I guess, which was closed). So we decided not to eat anything and just head back to Bengaluru.
There is a statue of Buddha a little distance away from the cave but we were so exhausted that we settled to just clicking a picture from far.
My cold was completely gone by the time we came up from caves but as it was very hot we kept the car AC at high and within no time my cold was back. We stopped at some Dhaba on the highway and ate and by the time we reached Bengaluru I had high fever and was not even able to open my eyes. First thing we did after reaching Bengaluru was to go to a doctor! and it took me 2 more days of sick leave from office to get well !
You can combine Belum caves with a visit to the Lepakshi as well but we did not do it as I'd been to Lepakshi on a different occasion (blog will be coming up soon).
But my sickness apart, Belum caves was one of the best places I've seen till now and it's totally worth all that effort. It could be a world famous site but sadly our Govt. does only so much.
There are no words to describe the beauty of each stone and the lines created by running water through millions of years. What if with some sickness later, I finally had a tick on my bucket list of Belum caves!
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