10 Caves to Explore in Madhya Pradesh by Road
The ‘heart of India’, Madhya Pradesh is known for its rich history, heritage and culture. Madhya Pradesh is also known for housing some of the most enchanting caves in India. The caves exploration in this state is a unique experience which will ignite your curiosity for history further. The carvings and cave paintings, relics, sculptures, and artifacts unearth a lot about bygone ages.
If you too want to have your share of experience, you must take tour to explore these famous caves in Madhya Pradesh.
10 Famous Ancient Caves in Madhya Pradesh
- Bagh Caves
- Bhimbetka Caves
- Adamgarh Caves
- Saru Maru Caves
- Pandav Caves
- Udayagiri Caves
- Bandhavgarh Ancient Caves
- Chota Mahadev Cave
- Lohani Caves
- Bharat Neer Cave
1. Bagh Caves
Located on the Vindhya ranges of Madhya Pradesh, Bagh Caves is a cluster of nine monuments carved from rock. Earlier, these caves were the monasteries of the monks, and had many carvings and paintings. The numbers of pillars that are believed to have been carved in the 5th century, still look stunning.
- Location: Bagh Cave Road, Naingaon, Dhar, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to March
2. Bhimbetka Caves
If you are looking for cave paintings in Madhya Pradesh, you must take tour of Bhimbetka Caves. Bhimbetka Caves are famous for the cave paintings that reveal stories of the ancient times. There are around 240 rock shelters in these caves with some of the captivating prehistoric paintings. Bhimbetka Caves are the ideal destination for history buffs.
- Location: Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, Bhojpur Raisen, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to March
3. Adamgarh Caves
You can visit Adamgarh Caves to witness rock paintings in red and white, which reveal many things about the prehistoric times. The artifacts that were found in this site are believed to from Stone Age. This is the ideal place for the history aficionados to learn a lot about ancient history of India.
- Location: Adamgarh Hills, Hoshangabad, Hoshangabad District, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to March
4. Saru Maru Caves
You will find a lot of Buddhist influence in the Saru Maru Caves. Situated at a close proximity to Sanchi, there are many stupas in these caves. You will also be able to find some inscriptions of Ashoka here. It is believed that Ashoka and his family visited these cave when he was a prince. These caves are often frequented by researchers and tourists from across the world.
- Location: Saru Maru, Pangoraria village, Budhani tehsil, Sehore, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to March
5. Pandav Caves
Pandav Caves is a major tourist attraction of Madhya Pradesh as these caves were inhibited by Pandav brothers and their wife, Draupadi. You can find five sandstone caves, with each having carvings inside them. The verdant surroundings here are as beautiful as the caves are. If you are fond of knowing about history, you must visit Pandav Caves.
- Location: Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to February
6. Udayagiri Caves
One of the most famous tourist places in Madhya Pradesh is the Udayagiri Caves. The caves date back to the 5th century. You can find a lot of influence of Hinduism and Jainism in these caves. You will be fascinated to witness a massive statue of Narasimha and the sculpture of Lord Vishnu with Adishesha.
- Location: Udayagiri Caves, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to March
7. Bandhavgarh Ancient Caves
Located within the premises of the Bandhavgarh National Park, the Bandhavgarh Ancient Caves are some of the famous caves to explore in Madhya Pradesh by road. You can find inscriptions here that are carved in Brahmi script. You can also see carvings of humans, elephants and horses here. One of the largest caves here is the Badi Gufa that has nine rooms and carved pillars. A few of the caves are not accessible at present.
- Location: Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to February
8. Chota Mahadev Cave
Situated in a village called Tamia in Chhindwara, Chota Mahadev Cave is one of the most visited caves in the state. If you are fond of trekking, you will love this place even more as you can start your trek to reach this cave.
- Location: Tamia village, Chhindwara – Pachmarhi Road, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to March
9. Lohani Caves
The Lohani Caves date back to the 11th century. It is a set of rock-cut temples. Sculptures of Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and many other Hindu deities were found during the excavations.
- Location: Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to February
10. Bharat Neer Cave
Caves in Madhya Pradesh are famous for paintings, and Bharat Neer Cave is one of them where you should visit to witness the colorful cave paintings. At an altitude of 1000 meters, Bharat Neer Cave is located at the Satpura Ranges. During the excavation of this cave in 1930, many artifacts and pottery items from the Microlithic Era were found.
- Location: Hoshangabad District, Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh
- Best time to travel: October to March
While you visit these caves, you can stay at any of the Madhya Pradesh tourism guest houses which are conveniently located in close proximity of these. To enjoy the drive to these places, you can take car subscription in Madhya Pradesh by Revv. The Revv car subscriptions come with fully maintained rides including road tax and insurance in the rental so that you don’t have to worry about these.
