Borra Cave.

Borra Cave. 

We visited the Borra Caves when we were on our way for over night stay in Araku Valley.

You have to leave NH 516E and take the state highway to the Borra Caves, which are located

approximately 80 to 90 KMs north of Visakhapatnam, in the Ananthagiri Hill range of the Eastern Ghats, which vary in height from  2500 ft to 3600 ft. A.M.S.L.

The last kilometre or so of the approach road to the caves is lined with restaurants and small shops selling various knick-knacks and handicraft items. After a long drive, people need refreshments and drinks, and so the restaurants in the vicinity of Bora Caves do brisk business. Vehicles have to be parked in the parking lot , which is quite crowded, and finding a parking place can be a problem. A walk of about 250 meters or so is involved to reach the entrance to the caves.

The caves are open to the public from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with a one-hour lunch break from 1 PM to 2 PM . The entry fee for adults is Rs 80 and for children Rs 60. There are two main information boards installed at Bora Caves. One by the Visakhapatnam District Tourism Promotion Council.
On the other information board, there is no information about who installed that board. From the type of data and pictures given on this board, it is my guess that it was installed by the Geological Survey of India.
There is some variation in the information given on these two boards. The variation in information is insignificant, as most of the hard data is more or less the same.  

William King, the British Geologist discoverd the cave in 1807. Borra Caves are locally known as "Borra Guhalu", where 'Borra' means hole, and 'Guhalu' translates to 'cave' in the Telugu language.  

Proper stairs with guardrails are built throughout the cave for the convenience of the tourists.

Well-constructed steps, proper paved paths and colourful lighting. Natural light and the Sun's Rays coming down through the hole in the cave roof all give Borra Caves a dreamlike and ethereal beauty.

Most people in our group were senior citizens, and few had problems walking. The mouth of the cave is about 700 m above AMSL, and the lowest point in the cave is about 600 m AMSL, so one had to go down and climb back again by about 100m (about 300 ft)r . When they saw how deep in the cave they had to descend and climb back again, they just refused to explore the caves. I was very keen to fully explore the cave, but as most of them did not, they agreed to wait for some time and allow me to see the cave. I was given 15 to 20 mts to do the same 😞

The entrance to Borra Cave is a huge gaping hole in the mountainside. From the top, one has a very good view of the cave interior and can see proper stone stairs zigzagging and descending in the dark depth of the cave. Well-constructed steps with guardrails are built throughout the cave for the convenience of the tourists. Due to the huge cave opening, there is sufficient natural light as well as air circulation in the cave. As you descend further and proceed further in the cave, as the natural light through the cave opening diminishes, one sees a big hole in the roof of the cave, which again ensures that natural light is available till that distance. Due to limited time available to me, I did not go further even though I wanted to.

The paths are well maintained and quite clean, neat and Tidy. The recesses and nook and corners are also lit quite brightly.

With proper paved paths and colourful lighting. Natural light and the Sun's Rays coming down through the hole in the cave roof all give Borra Caves a dreamlike and ethereal beauty. One of the best cave complexes in the country.

Karhandla Farm and Resort.

 Karhandla Farm and Resort.

As you proceed from the car park to the Reception Office, you are greeted by a flock of 3-4 turkeys and a gaggle of Geese. A little further on, lots of ducks. An entertaining and amusing sight. A medium-sized pond explains the presence of these aquatic birds.

Checking in was normal. A two-sided open Verandah serves as a lobby. Antique-looking heavy teak furniture, which I was told was procured from Rajasthan.

Rooms were very spacious and very well furnished, again with some of the furniture which was old and antique in looks. The usual electric kettle and sachets of tea, coffee, milk and sugar were provided. More about it later. The bathroom was also spacious. However, the stay exposed insufficient care in maintenance. The flexible head of the shower was leaking badly, affecting the spray. In another room occupied by one of our group, water from the air conditioner had leaked and formed puddles on the floor, making it slippery. Could have caused an accident and injuries to the occupants.

I am an early riser and love my morning coffee/ tea. Milk sachets were totally insufficient and had finished. There was no response on the phone. I had to go and wake up a person from housekeeping, who informed me that milk sachets had finished and were not available. He promised that he would bring milk, as milk sachets were not available. Even after more than half an hour, there was no sign of milk. This time, when I went to enquire, I was told that the kitchen staff were sleeping and he had no access to the milk. For a resort charging Rs 8500/night, running out of various sachets and such poor service is pathetic and unacceptable.

Of the meals we had there, generally the food was satisfactory. At least on two occasions, there was excessive salt in two different dishes. Again indicative of poor supervision and/or careless attitude. 

Arrangements made for our evening get-together were nice. Except that the management should have considered before laying out the charpoys that, at our age, sitting cross-legged or without back support is avoided by all of us. So, the charpoys were replaced by chairs.  

There were 12 of us and about a similar number of items in the breakfast menu. People got an omelette but not the toast or bread. They got the cornflakes but not the milk or sugar. Puri but not the subjee; I could go on and on. There was total chaos.

The staff did apologise, but apologies are no substitute for poor service and not providing satisfaction to the customers even after charging a hefty amount.

Nice property. A disappointing stay. 

As you proceed from the car park to the Reception Office, you are greeted by a flock of 3-4 turkeys and a gaggle of Geese. A little further on, lots of ducks. An entertaining and amusing sight. A medium-sized pond explains the presence of these aquatic birds.

As you proceed from the car park to the Reception Office, you are greeted by a flock of 3-4 turkeys and a gaggle of Geese. A little further on, lots of ducks. An entertaining and amusing sight. A medium-sized pond explains the presence of these aquatic birds.

Reception.

The Lobby.

Furnished with antique-looking heavy teak furniture, which I was told was procured from Rajasthan.

The reception.

Bed. Again, heavy teak wood and antique looks.

The furniture in the well-furnished room. room.

Almirah with a weathered look, a mini fridge, and tea/coffee materials. 

The bed. Nice and comfortable.

The rooms. First-floor rooms are called machans. 

Room no 5 & 6.

Gaggle og Geese and the ducks.

General view of the property.

Chandeliers of Deer look like antlers; these were made of wood. Looked almost real. 

Dining hall.

The dinner. One of the dishes had excess salt. Sheer carelessness.

Decor. The dining hall.

Decor. The dining hall.

The lunch.

Arrangements made for our evening get-together were nice. However, charpoys had to be replaced with chairs.

Arrangements made for our evening get-together were nice. However, charpoys had to be replaced with chairs.

The calm and the serenity of morning near the small lake.

Approach road to the rooms through the bamboo tunnel. 

Approach road to the rooms through the bamboo tunnel. 

 Th lobby.

 One of the road signs.

The reception.

At Krhandla Farm and Resort.

At Krhandla Farm and Resort.