45 Caves to Explore in India

Jatashankar Temple is a natural cave and Hindu shrine located north of Pachmarhi. It is located in a deep ravine with enormous boulders perched above. The cave serves as a shrine to the God Shiva and is a popular destination for pilgrims and It contains stalagmites that are revered as naturally formed lingams.

Jogimara caves are situated at Ramgarh hills back in 300 B C. There are paintings of animals, birds, human beings and flowers. These paintings seem to be among the first few early missions towards paintings by human beings. The ancient people have beautifully carved out these caves and we can see the architectural brilliance of the ancient people.

Seven rock-cut caves and monolithic lion pillars are present at Kadia Dungar, near Bharuch. The caves suggest that they were viharas. A Brick stupa was also found in the foothills. These caves were in use during 1st and 2nd century AD.

This is a group of caves and rock cut monuments cut into a massive basaltic outcrop in the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi national park . They contain Buddhist sculptures , releif carvings, paintings and inscriptions dating from the first century BCE.

The Kedareshwar Temple is another Shiva temple situated in the Sailana Village of Ratlam District which was built in a man-made cave that has been carved out of a cliff of igneous rocks. The area around this temple is also a popular picnic spot in the place. People come here to enjoy the spiritual as well as natural beauty.

The caves are situated at the foot of small hillocks on the banks of a spring. They are carved out of limestone rocks. There are three caves, the central one contains the stupa which is known as chaitya cave. There are two sculptures of Bodhisattva on the either sides of the gate of the chaitya cave. These caves are maintained by the Archaeology Department of Gujarat state.

This is a limestone cave formed in the Kanger limestone belt. The main ecotourist place in the Jagdalpur region of Chhattisgarh. There is a vertical fissure in the wall of a hill that serves as the main entry for the cave, and from there for the convenience of tourists, a concrete path has been made extending to the end of the cave. This is a wonder made by nature.

The 8th century cave temple carved out of a large boulder.

Mahakali Caves, also known as Kondivite Caves, are centuries old and are located in the western part of the city of Mumbai in Andheri. Mahakali Caves comprise a total of nineteen rock-cut monuments, built between 1st and 6th century. The main cave consists of Buddha figures and stupas and there are several Buddha idols carved on the rocks too.

Highest point in Hampi to get an areal view of the city and surroundings. Trekkers paradise, viewpoint. There is a small temple and a cave in the hill.

The Mogalarajapuram Caves in Vijayawada is one of the prime attractions of Vijayawada. The Mogalarajapuram Caves is popular for the three cave temples in the caves. The cave temples date back to the 5th century. Most of the temples are worn out and what only traces of an unnatural architectural beauty remains.

Pakshipathalam, a natural rock cave deep inside the forest in the Wayanad district of Kerala State in Southern India lies at a height of 1,740 meters in the Brahmagiri hill ranges. The trekking trail here is famous for its richness of bird life and it takes you through moist deciduous forests, rolling hillocks, open grasslands, slippery trails, and narrow rocky caves.

Pandav Leni caves or Sometimes Nashik caves are a group of 24 caves carved between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE, though additional sculptures were added up to about the 6th century, reflecting changes in Buddhist devotional practices mainly. The architectural styles and the sculptures in the cave is an excellent example of the Buddhist architecture.

Patal bhuvaneswar is a limestone cave temple 14 km from Gangolihat in the Pithoragarh district . Limestone rock formations have created various spectacular stalactite and stalagmite figures of various hues and forms. This cave has a narrow tunnel-like opening which leads to a number of caves. The cave is fully electrically illuminated. Built by the flow of water, Patal Bhuvaneshwar is not just one cave, rather a series of caves within caves.

Robbers cave located near Sahasradhara (thousand fold spring), is a river cave formation in Himalaya. The cave is about 600 meters long, divided into two main parts. The cave has the highest fall of about 10 meters. In the central part, there is a fort wall structure which is now broken. It consists of an extremely narrow gorge formed in a conglomerate limestone area on Doon Valley's Dehra plateau.

Also known as Bat Cave, is located in the North-East Indian state of Meghalaya. It is a limestone cave and is famous for its stalagmites and stalactites. This cave system is more than 4 kilometers long but nearly all of it is filled with water and inaccessible.

Sittanavasal cave is a second-century Jain complex of caves. The monument is a rock-cut monastery or temple created by Jains.

There are 44 caves here for meditations and a temple on top of these caves.

The Son Bhandar caves, also Sonebhandar, are two artificial caves belong to Jainism are located in Rajgir in the state of Bihar in India. The caves are generally dated to the 3rd or 4th century CE, based on the dedicatory inscription found in the largest cave which uses Gupta script of the 4th century CE, although some authors have suggested the caves could actually go back to the period of the Maurya empire from 319 to 180 BCE.

The Talaja Caves are located in Bhavnagar district. The rock cuts are carved out into deserted conical rocks. The rock cut group include 30 caves among which about 15 are water tanks. The cave has unique architecture known as Ebhal Mandapa. The halls are plain. "On the facade there are chaitya windows with a broad bank below them." The chaitya and cells were carved during Buddhism influence in 2nd century BC.