The rock shelters at Bhimbetka

The end of October could have felt like anything, really. With the mercury still hovering around the 40 degree Celsius mark I could have sworn that I regretted my decision to explore the prehistoric caves in Bhimbetka, some 45 kilometers from Bhopal.

In the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, to attend a friend's wedding I had carefully planned to explore these caves among the other things while there. The memory of the previous night's chicken biryani still lingered on the tip of my tongue despite the heavy breakfast we'd devoured that morning. This exploration business was one that made me really hungry.

We booked a cab to go there and I spent the ride from Bhopal to Bhimbetka in slumber. I tried to stay awake, but the journey felt like I could have been anywhere in any part of the country. We crossed small towns on the way and nothing of particular interest caught my fancy. Luckily for me, the nap paid off later on the trip.

I was gently nudged awake and told that we had reached. I blinked hard to allow my eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight that assaulted me as I woke up. I looked around at the dusty, brown and yellow landscape broken by trees with thick foliage and cringed at the thought of having to come out of the air conditioned car.

Parking outside the cave complex. Photo by Priyanka Michelle Das

I could see the tall rock structures through the trees and wondered how they had managed to form like this. I was hoping that this trip would teach me something new about how mother nature creates wonders for us to look at and marvel. However, I could not get over the nagging feeling of how hot it would be walking through the sun baked rocks. Just then a gust of cool wind greeted me and I breathed a sigh of relief.

To my utter surprise, as we walked into the complex, we were surprised by the cool gusts that whirled around us. There weren't many other groups of people there, and the largest group there had a guide who had just finished giving them a tour of the place and we could see that they were on their way out.

It sure did not look like it would be crowded. And thank goodness that it was not, for while we were still marveling at the the rest of the people who were there left as well.

The very first exhibits that we came across were interesting and thought provoking. The huge natural structures are carved out in various places in order to accommodate a human or two. Or that's what I think. And nothing could stop me from taking as many pictures as I possibly could.

Rock shelters at Bhimbetka.

Once we got walking through, I forgot my apprehensions about the heat as cool wind gushed through the passages between the tall rocks. There were shelters of all sizes. Some that could accommodate, entire families and some that could accommodate a single person.

Passage leading into the cave complex.

I was close to jumping for joy when I did see the tunnel leading to the rest of the caves. No amount of photographs I clicked seemed enough to do justice to the spectacle in front of me. Among the many thing that caught my attention were the hollows in the walls of the caves that I imagined were used by people to sleep for the night protecting them from the elements during extreme weather.

Tunnel leading to the cave complex.

Hollows in the rock that can fit people.

The prehistoric paintings that have faded with time. The impression of the hand of what is assumed to be a child of those times was of great interest as it seemed to match the size of my hand!  Further on we came across some more paintings that belong to a later time.

The faded paintings of animals at on the walls of the cave called the 'Zoo Cave' are still visible.

I guess I could easily climb into that shelter and be comfy.

Size of the impression of a hand of a child. 

An exhibit depicting the possible lifestyle of the people who inhabited these rock shelters.