TookLocated in the Ananthagiri hills of the Eastern Ghats range in the Alluri Sitarama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh, the Borra Caves are among the deepest caves in India.
The caves are a rare geological formation formed millions of years ago mainly by water activity by the Gosthani River. They are basically caustic limestone formations which extend to a depth of 80 meters.
The ancient caves were discovered by the Geological Survey of India in 1807. Since then, extensive research has been done by various government departments and expert groups.
Due to water activity cutting through the rich limestone, many stalagmites and stalactites have formed over the years. According to the researchers, the cave is highly valuable for anthropological research, as excavations yielded the first unearthed stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic culture dating back to 30,000 to 50,000 years ago. These findings confirm human habitation in that area.
One of the region’s major tourist attractions, the caves – illuminated by artificial lighting – attract visitors from all over India, sometimes exceeding 10,000 visitors a day during peak season.
The caves are about 100 km from Visakhapatnam and the journey by road takes about three hours. Borraguhallu station is the nearest railway station.