BUTNESHWAR GUPHA
29.721400,80.075000
Description
A khud (gorge) carrying a seasonal stream from the north-west enters a closed depression (up to 10 m wide, 18 m long, 145°) and sinks (–>Butneswar Gupha Sinkhole Cave) in the south-western corner. A south-east facing cave entrance (2.5 m wide), partly walled of, gives access to a descend improved with steps to a constriction into a chamber (about 5 m wide) from where a descending gallery (1 m to 2.5 m wide, 30 m long, circa 315°), containing a few stalactites (speleothems) continues across soil and occasional rocks to a rather low, in-filled distal chamber (up to 3 m wide, 1 m high, 7.5 m long) with impenetrable continuations. Apart from a ceiling chimney, there arrive two very short, steeply inclined tributary passages from south and east, the latter suspected to represent the inlet from –>Butneswar Gupha Sinkhole Cave (after Laumanns 2006.03.25 cave plan: Butneswar Gupha). SITUATION: Approximately 500 m along a route or in a direct line south-west of the village of Choarmanya / Chormanya (note 1). A perennial stream has to be crossed as well as some terraces with wheat fields (note 2) until a sinkhole depression is reached (Laumanns & Breitenbach 2006.04.15 Mss: Cave descriptions India Speleological Expedition 2006). The GPS position recorded for Butneshvar Gupha indicates a spot which lies at a linear distance of about 9 km south of Berinag (N29°48': E080°04') and about 4 km ESE of Koteshwar (N29°44': E080°02') or 5.9 km SW of –>Musleswar Gupha. CAVE DESCRIPTION: »Both caves [see Butneshwar Gupha Sinkhole] generally follow the strike of the layers that are very thin (partly less than 1 cm) and show evidence of micro-folding. The limestone is of Precambrian age. The cave entrance has been covered by a concrete shelter to prevent water from intruding the small entrance passage during the monsoon. Nevertheless, water accumulates in the subsequent room of the cave in wet weather. This water is drained towards the SW end of the Upper Cave. The middle section of the cave is roomy with a 4 m high and 1.5 m wide rift passage. It has a nicely decorated alcove with an offering place. Soon a 2 m deep drop is reached that leads to a wide but flat chamber from where mud choked crawls continue further in southerly direction« (Laumanns & Breitenbach 2006.04.15 Mss). CAVE LIFE: Relatively »large spiders« of unknown size (without comparison for scale) »inhabit the dry entrance part of the Upper Cave. There are also flies and mosquitos. Bat guano was found throughout the whole cave but no bats were seen during our visit. The cave is well known to the locals who facilitated access to all cave passages with steps« (Laumanns & Breitenbach 2006.04.15 Mss).
NOTE 1: The village (without GPS position) called »Choarmanya« (Laumanns 2006.04.14 Mss), »Chormanya« (Laumanns & Breitenbach 2006.04.15 Mss), or so (Chaurmania, Chaurmaniya, Chaurmanya, Chourmania, Chourmaniya, Chourmanya, Chowrmania, Chowrmaniya, Chowrmanya) is not shown in the area on the relevant AMS sheet NH44-10 Almora (U502 series, 1958 edition) and not listed on nima.mil/geonames (accessed 16.11.2003). NOTE 2: Three main crops are harvested in the area: Apart from wheat in December-April and mustard in May-June, maize (Indian corn) is grown at lower and buckwheat at higher elevations between July and November.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | BUTNESHWAR GUPHA - Sinkhole Cave | ||
| 3.6 | BOGDULA GUPHA | ||
| 3.6 | BOGDULA GUPHA 2 | ||
| 4.2 | KOTESHWAR CAVE, Raiagarh | ||
| 4.6 | BHUBANESHWAR, Gangolihat (Patal) | ||
| 5.5 | Chaura, Koteshwar (Dhar-i) | ||
| 5.9 | MUSLESHWAR GUPHA | ||
| 6.4 | DHARICHORA GUPHA 2 | ||
| 7.3 | JARMIRKAT CAVE |