Belum Caves

Belum Caves sit near Belum village in Kurnool district's Kolimigundla mandal, recognized as the second-largest cave system on the Indian subcontinent open to public access (after Meghalaya's caves), with a network of long passages, expansive galleries, deep freshwater chambers, and siphons carved over thousands of years by an underground stream working through limestone. The caves were historically used by Jain and Buddhist monks for meditation, and several chambers carry names reflecting this history — Meditation Hall, Pátálagangā (an underground water channel), and the Thousand Hoods Chamber among them. Belum Caves suit travelers pairing an underground exploration with Gandikota's above-ground canyon drama, roughly 60 km away — a well-lit, developed walkway system makes a meaningful portion of the cave network accessible without technical caving skill, though the scale and depth (extending several kilometers, with visitor access covering roughly a third of the mapped passages) still deliver a genuine sense of adventure. The site's national historical importance designation reflects both its geological significance and its documented human use stretching back centuries, giving Belum Caves a substance beyond pure natural spectacle.