BOGDULA GUPHA
29.745300,80.050300
Description
Two north-west facing cave entrances give access to a WNW-ESE trending rift cave that takes a seasonal stream to a third, south-east facing resurgence entrance (after Laumanns 2006.03.25 cave plan: Bogdula Gupha). SITUATION: Some 15 m north-west of –>Bogdula Gupha 2 and »about 500 m east of Raiagar [note 1] village and approximately 50 m below the tarred main road. The entrances open on an ridge covered by pine forest and exposeing black limestone blocks of Precambrian age« (Laumanns & Breitenbach 2006.04.15 Mss). According to the GPS positions recorded for Bogdula Gupha, the cave entrance lies about 6 km in a direct line SSW of Berinag (N29°48': E080°04') and about 2 km NE of Koteshwar (N29°44': E080°02') or 2.4 km SE of –>Musleswar Gupha. CAVE DESCRIPTION: »This cave has three entrances and is basically a large rift passage that is divided by boulders into different levels. The southern entrance can be reached via a tight squeeze from the upper cave level only. Some dry calcite formations are present in the 45 m long cave« (Laumanns & Breitenbach 2006.04.15 Mss). CAVE POTENTIAL - Outlook: »The small ridge hosts a nearly eroded system of old caves, two of which were surveyed. Another vertical rift cave remained unexplored although it is possible to descend it with a lifeline. A number of depressions on the ridge may give access to more small caves if excavated.« CAVE LIFE: »There are many mammal bones inside the cave«
NOTE 1: Raiagar (Raighar, Rajghar) is neither listed on nima.mil/geonames (accessed 16.11.2003) nor shown on AMS sheet NH44-10 Almora (U502 series, 1958 edition) or in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 12 C3).
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 2006.03.25: Sebastian Breitenbach and Michael Laumanns (2006.04.15 Mss) mapped (BCRA grade 4b) and explored.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | BOGDULA GUPHA 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Chaura, Koteshwar (Dhar-i) | ||
| 2.1 | KOTESHWAR CAVE, Raiagarh | ||
| 2.4 | MUSLESHWAR GUPHA | ||
| 3.3 | DHARICHORA GUPHA 2 | ||
| 3.6 | BUTNESHWAR GUPHA | ||
| 3.6 | BUTNESHWAR GUPHA - Sinkhole Cave | ||
| 6.3 | SANI UDYAR (Baynes 1941) | ||
| 6.4 | BHADRAKALI RIVER TUNNEL |