Belum Caves: Inside Andhra Pradesh's Underground World That Most Indian Tourists Have Never Heard Of

What Belum Actually Is

Belum Caves sit near Tadipatri in Kurnool district, carved by the Chitravati river over millions of years through limestone bedrock. The total mapped length runs to 3,229 metres, with a visitor circuit of roughly 1.5 kilometres open to the public. That makes Belum the longest cave system in the Indian subcontinent accessible to tourists, and the second-longest overall in India after Krem Liat Prah in Meghalaya. The cave descends to a maximum depth of about 46 metres below the surface. At that depth, the temperature holds steady around 16 to 18 degrees Celsius regardless of the season above, which matters considerably if you're visiting in April when Kurnool district sits above 40 degrees outside.