Belum Caves

The Belum Caves stretch 3.2 km underground beneath the flat Erramala plateau of Nandyal district, making them the longest cave system in the Indian plains and the second-longest in the subcontinent. Of the 3.2 km, 1.5 km is open to the public; the remainder lies behind locked gates managed by the Geological Survey of India for safety reasons. The caves were carved over millennia by the Chitravathi river and a system of underground streams cutting through the limestone bedrock. Archaeological finds inside the caves date Buddhist monastic occupation to the 5th–7th centuries CE. A meditation hall, called the 'Saptaswarala Guha' (seven-note hall) for the natural musical resonance of its stalactites, was used by Buddhist monks; pottery shards, stone implements, and meditation pedestals recovered from the site are now housed in the Anantapur museum. Jain ascetics also used the caves before Hindu temples were built nearby. The Andhra Pradesh tourism department installed lighting, walkways, and air shafts in 2002, making the caves family-friendly. A 13-metre statue of the seated Buddha at the entrance, built in 2006, marks the historical Buddhist association. Inside, named formations include the Banyan Tree Hall, the Mandapam, the Patalaganga (an underground stream you can hear but not see), and the Thousand Hoods (a stalactite cluster shaped like Adishesha).