Borra Caves

Borra is a limestone cave system in the Eastern Ghats above Visakhapatnam, hollowed out by the Gosthani river which still runs through part of it. The chambers are large by Indian standards, with a high roof, stalactites and flowstone formations, and daylight entering through a collapse in the ceiling that lights the main hall in a shaft. A concrete walkway with handrails runs through the accessible section, lit with coloured floodlights that local visitors like and photographers do not. The approach is half the appeal: the road and the narrow-gauge railway climb through the Araku valley past coffee plantations and terraced hillsides of the Eastern Ghats.

History

"Borra" means "hole" in Telugu, and a local legend tells of a cow that fell 60 ft into the caves while grazing above and survived, its herdsman finding inside a stalagmite shaped like a lingam. Palaeolithic artefacts have been found in the caves, the British geologist William King George explored them in 1807, and in the 2000s the state tourism department developed them for visitors and lit the formations (Wikipedia, Borra Caves).

What's there

• The main chamber - a high hall lit partly by daylight through a roof collapse.
• Stalactites and flowstone - the mineral formations along the walkway.
• The Gosthani river - the stream that cut the cave and still flows through it.
• The Araku valley approach - coffee plantations and hill scenery on the road or railway in.

When to go

October to March is the comfortable season on the coast and in the hills, and the cave interior stays cool year round. Weekends and holidays bring large domestic crowds, so a weekday morning is far better. The monsoon raises water levels inside and parts of the route can close. The hill train runs in the morning and makes a long day trip from the coast.

What to expect

The coloured lighting is garish and floods the formations in pink and green, which ruins photographs and disappoints anyone expecting a natural cave. The walkway is short and can be shuffled through in half an hour, and it turns into a slow queue when tour groups arrive. Steps are wet and slippery. Getting here takes several hours each way for a fairly brief visit.

Nearby

The Araku valley coffee country and the beaches at Visakhapatnam bracket the route.

Key facts