Borra Caves

The Borra Caves, also called Borra Guhalu in Telugu language (‘Borra’ means something that has bored into the ground and ‘guhalu’ means caves), are located on the East Coast of India, in the Ananthagiri hills of the Araku valley (with hill ranges elevation varying from to ) of the Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. The Caves, one of the largest in the country, at an elevation of about , distinctly exhibit a variety of impressive speleothems(pictured) ranging from very small to big and irregularly shaped stalactites and stalagmites. The Caves are basically Karstic limestone structures extending to a depth of (considered the deepest cave in India).

History

In 1807, William King George of the Geological Survey of India discovered the caves.

Legend

On the discovery of the caves, there are several legends, which the tribals (Jatapu, Porja, Kondadora, Nookadora, valmiki etc.) who inhabit the villages around the caves narrate. The popular legend is that a cow, grazing on the top of the caves, dropped , through a hole in the roof. The cowherd while searching for the cow came across the caves. He found a stone inside the cave that resembled a Lingam, which he interpreted as the Lord Shiva who protected the cow. The village folk who heard the story believed it and since then...
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