» A cave or cavern is a hollow place in the
ground, specifically a natural underground space large enough for a human to
enter.
» Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all
aspects of caves and the cave environment.
» Ajanta & Ellora are the most famous caves in India located in the
Maharashtra.
» There are in all 34 caves at the Ellora. These date back to the 6th and
11th centuries AD.
» There are 29 caves at Ajanta. These date back to the 2nd century BC and
6th century AD.
» The caves at the Ajanta are all Buddhist caves. However the caves at
Ellora are a mix of Buddhism, Hinduism as well as Jainism.
» The Ellora caves were primarily built under the rule of the Kalachuri,
the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasties.
»
The Elephanta Caves (natively known as Gharapurichi Leni, basically Gharapuri) are a network of sculpted
caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally
"the city of caves") in Mumbai Harbour. There are in all seven ancient caves, which
are hand carved out of a single rock. These caves date back to 450 and 750 AD
and are very ancient. These are hindu caves depict the Hindu God Shiva, Brahmanical.
» The Bhimbetka rock shelters are
an archaeological site of the Paleolithic, exhibiting the earliest traces of human life on
the Indian subcontinent, and
thus the beginning of the South Asian Stone Age.
» Some of the Stone Age rock paintings found among the Bhimbetka rock shelters
are approximately 30,000 years old
» Ajanta, Ellora, Elephanta and Bhimbhetka Rock Shelters are UNESCO
World Heritage Sites.
List of Important Caves
in India and Location
Caves and Rocks
|
Location
|
Ajanta
Caves (WHS)
|
Aurangabad,
Maharashtra
|
Ellora
Caves (WHS)
|
Aurangabad,
Maharashtra
|
Elephanta
Caves (WHS)
|
Mumbai,
Maharashtra
|
Amarnath
Cave
|
Anantnag,
Kashmir
|
Bhimbhetka
Rock Shelters (WHS)
|
Raisen,
M.P.
|
Udaygiri
Caves
|
Vidisha,
M.P.
|
Badami
Caves
|
Bagalkot,
Karnataka
|
Udayagiri
and Khandagiri Caves
|
Bhubaneshwar,
Odisha
|
Sonbhandar
Caves
|
Rajgir,
Bihar
|
Dungeshwari
Cave Temples
|
Bihar
|
Tabo
|
Tobo,
Himanchal
|
Undavalli
Caves
|
Guntur,
A.P.
|
Borra
Caves
|
Visakhapatnam,
A.P.
|
Mogalarajapuram
Caves
|
Vijaywada,
A.P.
|
Trichy
Rock Fort Temple
|
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
|
(WHS)®World
Heritage Site
