Located in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, Belum Caves are the largest and longest cave system in India still open for the tourists.One of the centrally protected monuments of national importance, the Belum Caves has numerous pathways with intricate patterns of water stream on limestone which are bound to leave you awestruck over the sheer will of nature and the beauty it can create.
Though these caves were known to the locals for thousands of years, the first official records that mention them are from 1884, by Robert Bruce Foote, a British geologist, and archaeologist who conducted surveys for the Geological Survey of India.
A depth in advance of three thousand meters, Belum Caves goes as deep as 46 meters at one point inside the cave, which is known as Pataalaganga. A mysterious underground stream flows all year at this point, gliding over the rocks and hiding beneath the surface again.The caves reach its deepest point (120 feet from entrance level) at the point known as Pataalaganga. Belum Caves derives its name from “Bilum” Sanskrit word for caves. In Telugu language, it is called Belum Guhalu.