A Visit to Kotumsar Caves, Jagdalpur District, Chhattisgarh State

A Visit to Kutumsar Caves, Jagdalpur District, Chhattisgarh State

Recently, I attended the convocation of Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur. I was accompanied by my friend of 35 years and law professor, Vijay Kumar. We went there essentially to see the National Tribal Museum located at Jagdalpur. As luck would have it, the museum was closed, so we looked for alternative places of interest. Thanks to Google, we found the Kutumsar Caves. The name signifies the nearby village close to the cave. The original name is Gopansar Cave. “Gopan,” in the local language, means “hidden.” This is a limestone cave formed in the Kanger Limestone belt, situated on the banks of the River Kanger, a tributary of the Kolhab River. The entrance to the tunnel itself is a challenging experience.

 

Figure 1 Cave entrance

 

Once you crawl for about six feet, you enter the main tunnel. The main tunnel of the cave is nearly 200 meters long, with several lateral and downward passages. Various types of speleothems (ridges or projections from the upper roof/lower floor of a cave comprising minerals leached through water) can be seen. It is indeed a different experience. The instructions warn people with claustrophobia and high blood pressure to avoid this site. These caves are 330 million years old and located 35 to 55 metres below  ground level.

 I am a compulsive traveler and like visiting different places. The cave I had visited earlier was a very small one in the Baba Budan Hills, Chikmagalur, Karnataka(The place where coffee was first grown in India). That was a much smaller cave. I went there without any trained guide and explored it myself. I found the experience scary. I believed that I was allergic to caves and thought I had a phobia of them. The second cave I visited was at Sithannavasal , Pudukotai district ,Tamil Nadu . Naural light fell in this case(sunlight, moonlight, starlight) and it had comfortable stone beds made during 4^th century .It was not scary and infact comfortable. 

https://profmurali.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-visit-to-samanar-padukai-stone-beds.html

In fact,at Kutumasar I was in two minds even after buying the ticket. Each ticket to the cave costs ₹1,100 per person. The money paid to the Forest Department is more than worth it. They take you in a Maruti Gypsy with a professional driver. In addition to the driver, a guide accompanies you throughout the visit inside the cave.I congratulate the forest department for facilitating such an experience to the visitors.

Kutumsar Caves were created by a natural, very long-term chemical weathering process, where acidic groundwater dissolved the limestone, creating fissures that eventually evolved into large chambers. Our guide was Hari Kesh. He was a local person who had studied up to plus two. In addition to the cave, they took us to a waterfall located on the River Kanher. Since it was the beginning of March, there was less water in the waterfall, but it was very enchanting. I warmly record my appreciation for both our driver, whose name I do not know, and Mr. Hari Kesh, the young guide who took us into the cave. They are good and competent people.

Figure 2 Yours sincerely DRIVER Hari Kesh Patel-shot by :Prof. Vijay

The cave is subject to frequent flooding during the monsoon season (June to October/November). The site is closed to tourists during this period. Within the cave, there are many water pools fed by seepage. The water is colorless and clean and houses crabs and fish. These crabs and fish are used to a totally dark environment and normally never see light. Over a period of time, their eyes become useless or vestigial organs. As there is no light in their environment, they eventually become blind. Biology is indeed very interesting. We were told occasionally porcupines visit these caves. It must be a scary experience to encounter such wildlife in total darkness.

Figure 3 Yours sicererly and ever younger Prof Vijay

These caves are limestone deposits. They comprise both stalactite and stalagmite formations. These formations hang like chandeliers or rise like pillars inside the cave. It takes about 6,000 years for the formation of one inch of these stalactites and stalagmites. Considering that some of these formations are more than six or seven feet long, it must have taken millions of years for them to form. Conservatively, the place is about 300 million years old.The cave has been reasonably explored by Indian scientists, assisted by international cave experts, and it has been professionally mapped.Unlike other important places of natural formations,that are usually discovered and documented by Western Explorers,this cave was first scientifically explored by Prof. Shankar Tiwari, a geography professor and subequently mapped by Dr. Jayant Biswas .MAY THEIR TRIBE INCREASE! The Forest Department has taken commendable steps to make it visitor friendly and has also laid down a walkway, which at places provides a handrail for support. Though the cave is just 200 meters long, it takes at least about an hour or a little more to complete the 200-meter trek.

Within the cave, there are sub-caves. Exploring these would require crawling nearly 100 meters to see more elaborate cave structures, as seen in the pictures. That was not for me. Even the main cave experience was quite humbling.

 

Figure 4 Naturally oozing artwork

 

I always thought that I had a phobia of caves. Thanks to my friend Professor Vijay and the competent guide who accompanied us, I was able to complete the visit without incident. However, I am not sure whether my fear of caves has completely gone. Nevertheless, I found the experience enjoyable and exciting, and it took me at least a couple of days to recover fully from its impact.

Figure 5 Watermarks of earlier floods over millions of years

Stalactites are formations hanging from the roof of the cave, and stalagmites are formations rising from the ground. In this cave, you find both.Within the cave, there is a stalagmite that is surprisingly similar to a Shiva Linga. This natural Shiva Linga is worshipped by the local people. They visit the cave in large numbers during Shivratri.

 

While we were walking out of the caves, We also met two women. One of them was a Delhi lawyer  also an Advocate on record, Supreme Court. The other was the mother a Trademark Lawyer. They told me that they had come from Delhi just to visit this cave. I asked them if they were not scared to visit the cave and trek inside. They said they were not scared and that they enjoyed trekking inside the caves. Truly empowered women. I have their oral permission to post their pictures. About me I must admit I wad scared. Whether I will do it again ,I am not sure .But if I have an encouraging friend like Prof. Vijay, why not?