Temples
Travel Guide
Borra Caves are located about 90kms north of Visakhapatnam, in the Ananthagiri hill ranges of Eastern Ghats. It is around 29Km from the famous Araku valley.
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Borra Caves were discovered by William King, a British geologist, in 1807. Borra(hole in oriya) caves are naturally formed and to be 150 million years old. The humic acid in the water reacts with the calcium carbonate in the limestone and dissolves the minerals breaking the rock gradually. the prennial water flow over a period of time results in the formation of caves. Small streams from hillocks going towards Gosthani River(Gov-Cow, Sthani-Udder) carved out the caves. The water percolating from the roof containing calcuim bi carbonate and other minerals from mounds on the ground is called 'Stalagmites' and spear like structure hanging from the roof is called 'Stalactites'.
The stalactites and stalagmites acquire different shapes inspiring the imagination of the tourists and locals and earing in eresting names of characters like Shiv Parvathi, Mother-Child, Rushis Beard, Human Brain, Crocodile, Tiger Cows udder etc. The formation of brain-shaped stalagmite at the central part of Borra Caves can be said as the gift of nature.
The main entrance of the Borra Caves is at an altitude of 705 meters MSL while the interiors goes down to 625 meters MSL. The total length of the Borra Caves is about 200 meters, but the distance you trek in the caves is about 350 meters. The DBK(Dandakaranya-Bolangir, Kibur) train tracks is laid over the caves. the Gostani river that takes care of the thirstiness of the Vizaqites takes birth at Borra Caves areas. Breath taking hilly terrain, beautiful land scape, semi-evergreen moist deciduous forest and wild fauna of the area are a visual feast. The hill tracks are inhabited by the tribals, Jatapu, Porja, Kondadora, Kooadora, Valmiki etc.
Anthropologists of Andhra University, who conducted excavations in the cave, found the stone tools of the middle Paleolithic culture, dating back to 30,000 to 50,000 years, indicating human habitations. There is natural Siva Linga deep inside the caves and thousand of tribals visit the caves during Shiva Ratri festival every year. This cave is one of its kind in India and is a pleasure for every tourist coming to Vishakapatnam.
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