27-mar: belum caves

distance from bangalore: approx. 270 kms.

 

the last of the bumpy buses dropped us off at the belum caves' gates... from there, you drive/walk about 500mtrs inwards, pay rs.30 as an entry fee and look around for any semblance of a cave. hiring a guide is optional but a very good idea. the cave is an underground one, and the entrance, a sinkhole, has steps leading to it. a little beyond the entrance, is another sinkhole that opens like a sun-roof. beyond this point, begins the 3km long caves, 1.5km of which is open for public viewing, and reaches almost 120feet  below earth. rocks cut and shaped by water, the cave roof is smooth and very well formed. the floor of the caves is laid with tiles for easy walking, and difficult places made accessible by stairways. the entire cave is lit up by sodium lamps, raising the temperature inside to insane levels. and then there are air-vents everywhere pumping fresh air into the cave.

the cave complex is huge/tall in places, then real narrow, and at parts very low, most parts beautifully lit up and there are lot of stalactite and stalagmite formations(the mineral deposits that remain after the water evaporates). there's even a place where water drips from the rocky roof into a small tank. no snakes, no rodents, less than a dozen bats. the guide makes sure you don't miss out on the interesting parts of the cave.