- Borra Caves
The Borra Caves are located in the Anatagiri Hills of
Eastern Ghats , nearVishakapatnam ,Andhra Pradesh State inIndia . They are at a height of about 800 to 1300 metres aboveMean Sea Level and are famous for millions of years oldstalactite andstalagmite formations. They were discovered byWilliam King George , the Britishgeologist in the year 1807.They are in the
Borra village and panchayat inAnanthagiri Mandal ofVisakhapatnam district . They are about a 4-hour long journey from Visakhapatnam and the route is a steep, winding, ghat road.Borra Guhalu ("Guhalu" means caves in Telugu)
railway station is in theKothavalasa -Kirandul railway line inEast Coast Railway ,Indian Railways .River Gosthani which originates above the lime stone foundations is given the legendary name "Gosthani" ("go" means cow and "sthani" means udder) as it resembles the udder of a Cow while flowing out of the caves.The caves get their name from a formation inside the caves that looks like the
human brain , which in the local language, Telugu, is known as "borra". The river Gosthani flows right beside the caves. The caves extend into the ground so much so, that the river can be heard flowing above from inside the caves. The landscape around the cave is wild and mountainous. The geology is complicated and thelimestone where the cave is located is surrounded bymica . Several mines in this mica are prospected for precious stones like rubies.The legend of the discovery of the caves is quite popular. According to this legend, a cow, grazing on the top of the caves, fell down 60 metres, through a hole in the roof and the cowherd came across the caves while searching for the cow. There is also a stalagmite inside the cave that resembles a
Lingam , and many people flock to the cave to get a glimpse of it.ee also
*
Araku Valley
*Luray Caverns
*Caves of India References
* [http://www.vizagwaves.com/visakhapatnam/arakuvalley/index.html VIZAGWAVES - Borra Caves Picturs Gallery]
* [http://www.showcaves.com/english/in/showcaves/Borra.html Borra caves from showcaves.com]
* [http://www.go2india.in/ap/borra-caves.php Borra caves from go2india.in]
*Ramesh Y (1990). Geomorphic Studies in Upper Gostani River Basin with Special References to Borra (Karst) Caves Visakapatnam District, A.P., India. , India.
*Le Bas, M.J., Subbarao, K.V. and Walsh, J.W. Metacarbonatite or marble? - the case of the carbonate, pyroxenite, calcite-apatite rock complex at Borra, Eastern Ghats, India, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 20, 2002, 127-140.External links
* [http://www.cave-biology.org cave-biology.org] Cave biology (biospeleology) in India.
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