1. Amarnath Cave
* Located in Pahalgam district of Jammu & Kashmir UT
* Considered as one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism
* Annual Amarnath Yatra is held in July and August.
2. Tabo Caves
* Located in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh
* Place of meditation for Buddhist monks
3. Koteshwar Caves
* Located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand
* Believed to be the place where Lord Shiva meditated when Bhasmasur chased him to kill him
4. Narlai Caves
* Located in Pali district in Rajasthan
* Dedicated to Lord Shiva
* Shri Naradmuni meditated here to please Lord Shiva
5. Patal Bhubaneshwar
* Located in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand
* Limestone cave temple
* Found in Treta Yug by King Rituparna of Suryavansha dynasty
* There were originally four doors to enter the cave -Ran-dwar, Paapdwar, Dharamdwar and Mokshadwar.
* Paapdwar was closed shortly after the death of Ravana and Rann-dwar was shut down after war of Mahabharata
6. Bhimbetka Caves
* Located in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh
* Of the prehistoric paleolithic and mesolithic periods
* Situated in the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary
* Pandavas of Mahabharata too shelter here during their time of exile
* Paintings of Bison, tiger, deer, figures of Yakshas, magical sky chariots and tree gods, etc are found
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7. Mawsmai Caves
* Located near Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, close to the massive Nohsngithiang falls
* Other nearby caves are Siju, Mawmluh, Mawsynram, and Liat Prah (the longest cave in India).
* These are natural limestone caves
* World’s longest sandstone cave, Krem Puri also discovered in Meghalaya
8. Barabar Hill Caves
* Located in Jehanabad district of Bihar, between the Barabar and Nagarjuni hills
* Caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect founded by Makkhali Gosala
* Four caves in it are named as Lomas Rishi Cave, Sudama Cave, Karan Chaupar and Visva Zopri.
9. Dungeshwari Cave
* Located near Bodhgaya, Bihar
* Lord Buddha had spent time meditating in these caves
* Golden statue of Buddha and idol of Hindu goddess Dungeshwari are present inside the three caves
10. Jogimara and Sita Bengra Caves
* Located near Ambikapur district of Chhattisgarh
* Claim to be the oldest theatres of the world
* Can be reached through a natural tunnel called Hathipol
* Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman spent their days during exile
11. Udayagiri Caves
* Located near Bhubaneswar in Odisha
* Udayagiri caves have 33 rock-cut chambers of Hindu and Jain sculptures and wall paintings of Gupta Period in 350-550 CE
* Famous for 5 feet tall statue of Lord Vishnu in Boar Avatar
12. Khandagiri Caves
* Located near Bhubaneswar in Odisha
* Khandagiri Caves is a group of 15 caves used by Jain monks during the rule of King Kharavela.
* Popular of it is Ananta Cave which depicts a sculpture of women, athletes and elephants on the walls
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13. Ajanta & Ellora
* Located near Jalgaon and Aurangabad Districts of Maharashtra
* Ajanta is all Buddhist rock-cut caves and Ellora is a mixture of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain.
* The 29 caves at Ajanta are of the 2nd century BC and 6th century AD
* 34 caves at Ellora are of the 6th and 11th centuries AD
14. Elephanta Caves
* Located on an island 7 km west from Mumbai
* Has seven rock-cut dating back to 6th century A.D
* Famous for Mahesh-murti depiction of Lord Shiva in three forms of the aghora, tatpurusha and vamadeva.
15. Karla Caves
* Located in the hill station of Lonavala in Maharashtra
* One of the oldest Buddhist temple arts in India as dates back to 200 BC
* Rock architecture here resembles that of wooden architecture
* Has an Ashokan Pillar at the front, statue of Buddha and a 37-pillared aisle with carved elephant heads
16. Kanheri Caves
* Located in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai
* Contain Buddhist sculptures paintings and inscriptions, dating from the 1 -10 century CE in Chaityas and Viharas
* Inscriptions found in Brahmi, Devanagari and Pahlavi
* One of the inscriptions mentions the marriage of Satavahana ruler Vashishtiputra Satakarni with the daughter of Rudradaman-I
17. Belum Caves
* Located in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh
* Caves were formed due to the erosion of the limestone deposits by River Chitravati
* Caves have a length of 3229m and the deepest point at 120 feet below the entry-level
18. Borra Caves
* Located in Ananthagiri Hills of the Araku Valley near Visakhapatnam
* Has naturally forming Shiva Lingam inside the caves and the idol of the cow known as Kamadhenu
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19. Undavalli Caves
* Located near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh on the banks of River Krishna
* Built of carved out of solid sandstone by Vishnukundin Kings in 7th century AD
* Dedicated to Narasimha & Anantapadmanabha Swamy
* Famous for four stories cave having a giant statue of Lord Vishnu in reclining position
20. Badami Caves
* Located in Bagalkot district of Karnataka
* Has four carved out red sandstone caves dating back to the 6th century AD in the Chalukya Empire
* 2 caves dedicated to Lord Vishnu and 1 to Lord Shiva and 1 to Jainism
21. Rock Fort Temple
* Located in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
* Has two cave temples namely the Lower Cave Temple and the Upper Cave Temple having deities of Lord Shiva and Vishnu.
* Caves have been built by the Pallavas, Cholas and Nayaks of Madurai and Vijaynagara
22. Varaha Cave
* Located in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu
* Rock-cut cave dedicated to Lord Vishnu built in late 7th century AD during the Pallava Dynasty
* Features Lord Vishnu in his third incarnation as Varaha, the boar who lifts Earth Goddess Bhudevi from the ocean
23. Sittanavasal Caves
* Located in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, means ‘the abode of great saints’
* called as the Arivar Koli in a local dialect and dates back to the 7th Century AD
23. Edakkal Caves
* Located in Wayanad district of Kerala
* Caves are believed to be camping shelters of the Neolithic peoples
24. Baratang Island Caves
* Located in Andaman
* Limestone Cave made up of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate)