Belum Caves, Andhra Pradesh.

Last week I visited the Belum Caves near the town of Tadipatri. From my place it is around 250 kms. I took an overnight bus from Nellore to Tadipatri.

Tadipatri is a small rundown town. It has nothing much to offer. Fortunately for me one of my college friends was from this place and he had recommended an hotel for me. I headed straight for this hotel as soon as I reached Tadipatri. It was good enough for the time being.

After a rejuvenating bath and a nice breakfast I made my way to the Bus stand to catch a RTC bus to Belum Caves. After a journey of around 40 mins, I found myself at the entrance to the Belum caves.
Opposite to the entrance there are a couple of eateries. Apart from them the whole area is quite remote and barren. I went inside the premises.Its a long walk to the actual cave entrance. On the right I could see a number of cars parked. There was public after all.

I went over to the counter bought the ticket and went over to the opening in the ground which was the entrance. I descended into the opening through a flight of stairs. To the left the caves started but before is was a spectacular opening in the roof. Sunlight was streaming in and lighting up the whole place. A couple of benches were provided here for the visitors. From here I moved on to the actual cave complex. A narrow entrance led to a broad opening which eventually expanded to a huge opening. There was no sunlight now and everything was lit by the bright orange colored lamps.

These caves are around 1.5km long are the largest cave system open to public in India. These were extensively explored and studied by a German team in 1982. The size of the passages inside range from huge to narrow to the point where you have to crawl on all fours.

The day I visited there were a lot of people inside which was leading traffic jams. I stopped at junction where I had to wait for almost fifteen minutes while the people in the opposite direction moved along.It turned quite suffocating with the damp earth and the number of people there. There are two exhaust fans pumping

There were a few highlights on the system the best of which was the Kotilingalu area. Millions of stalactites glistened from the roof there. Though not very sharp or pointed they looked almost magical in the light. After strolling for almost an hour and a half I finished my walk and went outside by retracing my steps. The fresh air outside felt very refreshing.I walked back to the main road and waited for a bus. Eventually one arrived and I was on my way back to Tadipatri at around 1 in the afternoon.

After a good nap in my hotel room, I left for Nellore by an overnight bus in the evening.