Exploring Belum Caves | Hot Underground Caves | 2/2

Towards Belum caves: We took an auto  from Gandikota to Jammalamadugu. Finding good food at Jammalamudugu is a bit difficult. We had some roti sabji at a hotel which I didn’t like much hence had some coconut water to be energized enough for Belum caves 

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How to Reach Belum From Gandikota

1. Take a bus from Gandikota till Jammalamadugu (7am, 10am, 4pm and 6pm) or take a private auto if you get one – 20 mins – 20 Rs
2. Again take a bus till Kolimigundla – 1.5 hrs – 30 Rs
3. Take a share auto till Belum Caves – 10 mins – 5 Rs

Once done with the caves you can get a bus straight to Tadi Patri for Rs 23 🙂

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We took a bus which dropped us till Kolimigundla. From here you can share the rickshaw for Rs 5 per seat till Belum caves. Once you reach  Belum caves  the first thing you notice is the jaw dropping white idol of Lord Buddha. This idol can be spotted from far off on the left side of the road. Make sure to reach before 1700 hrs – closure time.

Fun facts

• The Belum cave system is the second largest cave system in the Indian subcontinent coming second only to the ‘Krem Liat Prah’ caves  in Meghalaya
• Of the 3.3 km length of the caves only 1.5 km is available for tourists.
• But even this 1.5 kms got us sweating heavily because of the hot & humid conditions. There are few  air shafts here and there which bring in some fresh air. One definitely feels rejuvenated standing under them
• All my pics has a orange , whitish hue because of the lighting. However the entire cave is actually made up of black limestone 
• The caves were formed millions of years ago due to continuous flow of water. However they were only recently discovered in 1884 by a british explorer – Robert Foote. Then  onwards the caves were lost from limelight till 1982,when  a German-Indo exploration team led by Daniel Gebauer documented the caves in detail.

After the Buddha idol the first thing that is visible a small canteen. People  were guzzling colddrinks like anything. I did the same two hours later after exploring the caves.

Bro Tip

• It is better to not carry any weight inside as it becomes tiring after a while roaming in the 3.3 km long cave system
• Do carry a water bottle. Add your favourite electoral if you wish
• Wear light clothes preferably cotton. Carry napkin for that extra sweaty forehead
• If you wish to explore the dark corners of the caves a torch will come handy and so will the shoes with good grip
• Mind your forehead

Once we got the tickets and entered the natural cave through the artificial stairs we had reached a new world.

At the entrance itself you  can see the stalactites a.k.a. the calcium carbonate teeth .

We wondered our way through the caves with great enthusiasm till  the point everything started to  appear the same. But that was very much at the end.  The artificial lights does provide a  good background for pictures.  I went trigger happy.

There are speakers installed around the place which plays some shitty music making it very spooky indeed. If the power would have been cut off it might give a heart attack or two. However I am not the only one who thought of that and the organsiers have back up generators ready all the time. I walked till all the possible ends of the cave moving across the wavy walls and taking care of my forehead hitting against the undulating roof. One arrow pointed towards the lowest point of the cave. I followed that.

After a while i reached the lowest point of the cave aptly called – Patalganga. This is the place where we find underground water. After this point we ventured to the another part of the caves where there were lots of stalactites. All the places around the caves are named so fancily that i fail to recollect any apart from Patalganga. Towards the stalactite area.

After having seen these stalactites and a whole lot of caves painted in hues  of orange we returned back to the top. Just one last sweat check

I  was very happy to finally reach out in natural light and catch some fresh air.

Once out,  i guzzled a litre of water & ice creams and whatever i could lay my hands on. The trip had reached its end and Lord Buddha seemed to wish me goodbye

This has to be one of the best weekend trips i did. Feeling happy took the bus back to Tadipatri where we found out a room for Rs 500. The pending sleep quota lulled us to sleep. Next day we took the Chennai express back to Mumbai .

Bye !

You would definitely like my video log. Took lots of effort to make it. Have a look

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