What makes the Belum Caves of national significance?

               The Belum caves in the Vishakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh are the second largest caves in India after the Meghalaya caves. They are created naturally by the action of flowing water on limestone deposits forming stalactites and stalagmites, siphons, water galleries etc.

               The relics found in the caves are from the Buddhist era proving that Buddhist monks were living in these caves. There are other relics from older times, which prove that these caves were inhabited around 4500 BC. These ancient caves were first discovered by an English inspector of land and property called Robert Bruce Foote in 1884.

               The entrance to the caves is from a pit which was much smaller, and has been made larger now. There is a metal stairway now to climb down into, and up from the pit. In 1988, the state government declared the site protected, and the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation developed the caves as a tourist attraction in February 2002.