About The Cave Shelters :
The Cave Shelters in Panchmarhi are the archeological sites having paintings dating back to 10,000 B.C. Pachmarhi is the loveliest place in the Madhya Pradesh in Central India. Large plateau is the base of Pachmarhi, surrounded by the hills of Satpura range. Pachmarhi is bestowed with jewels of nature. It is called as the queen of Satpura owing to its splendid beauty. This hillstation is situated at a height of 3550ft. in Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh. Pachmarhi is surrounded by low lying hills, dense forests, ravines, tranquil pools, miloky waterfalls which are 12 in number. This saucer shaped valley was chanced upon by Captain James Forsyth in 1857. At that tie it was developed as a sanatorium. It has got very pleasant weather. Pachmarhi has lots of colonial structures. Besides that it has got archeological significance also as there are many ancient rock paintings in cave shelters on many location in the Satpura Hills. Dhuandhar around Pachmarhi are the best cave shelters in Pachmarhi and group of shelters. The paintings, mostly in white, include a group of arches with the typical gond bun and hooped earrings. At Bhrant Neer (Dorothy deep), depict animal paintings. At the time of excavation in 1930s, many microlith and pottery shards are found. Other group of cave shelters in Pachmarhi is at Astachal (Monte Rosa), you will find linear drawings in four shelters. In Jambu Dweep valley, there are six shelters. It has paintings depicting animals, humans and including battle scenes. Harper’s cave so named because of one of it’s paintings – a man seated and playing a harp. There battle scene depicting two chieftains on horses in the the chieftain’s cave. On the terrace that runs the length of the south, south-east and east faces of kites crag there are some fine cave paintings, the majority of which are in white or outlined in red.
General Information about The Cave Shelters :
Location: Pachmarhi
State: Madhya Pradesh
Capital: Bhopal
Language: Hindi, English
Temperature: Max 42˚C, Min 27˚C (summer), Max 26˚C, Min 14˚C (winter)
Best Season: October to March
How to Reach The Cave Shelters :
By Air:
Bhopal airport, located at a distance of 195 km from Pachmarhi, is the nearest airport to the hill resort. Flights of major airlines like Air Deccan (to Delhi, Jabalpur), Alliance Air (to Mumbai, Indore, Delhi, Gwalior), Sahara Airlines (to Delhi, Guwahati, Goa, Indore, Lucknow) and Jet Airways (to Delhi, Mumbai, Indore) link Bhopal to other places in India. However, only Air India operates international flights to Dubai and Sharjah from this airport. Visitors travelling by air can disembark at the Bhopal airport and hire a bus/ taxi to reach Pachmarhi.
By Rail:
The nearest and most convenient railhead is Pipariya, located 47 km from Pachmarhi. Positioned on the Allahabad – Satna- Jabalpur- Itarsi -Bhusawal line, it lies on the Mumbai-Howrah mainline, via Allahabad. Major trains that halt at this junction include Vindhyachal Express, Mahanagari Express, Sanghamitra Express, Saket Express, Pawan Express, Revanchal Express, Amarkantak Express and Tapti Ganga Express. Tourists travelling to Pachmarhi by rail need to dismount at the Pipariya station and proceed to the hill station in a bus or taxi.
By Road:
Even though a hill resort, Pachmarhi has excellent road links that connect it to important locations nearby. Daily bus services connect Pachmarhi to places like Bhopal, Hashangabad, Nagpur, Pipariya and Chhindwara. Taxis are also available at Pipariya, from where a highway leads to Pachmarhi. It is about two hours drive from Pipariya to Pachmarhi. One can also avail MPTDC buses, cars and private jeeps to reach the place.