LOREN (Krem)
25.298600,91.906100
Description
At least three vertical cave entrances (potholes) give access to a rift cave passage, apparently of gravitational origin, and formed in Danian (Upper Cretaceous) Langpar Sandstone. ETYMOLOGY: The meaning of the Khasi cave name "Krem Loren" has not yet been discovered. It may derive -- but this is mere guesswork -- from the Khasi ”u l'oh” (noun ),a short form of ”u lyoh”, signifying »a cloud; the mist« (SINGH, N 1906: 119) but the Khasi noun ”ka lór” is the word for »a surface; the external part« (SINGH, N 1906: 119) and "U Ren“ is »a sea monster« (SINGH, N 1906: 172) of, perhaps, a fabulous nature. SITUATION: At a travelling distance of about 2 km approximately south of Pynursla (N25°18'30”: E92°54') and where the road descending down to Dauki (N25°11'10”: E92°01'20”) takes an exceptional, deep-cut hairpin-bend to the left (note 1). In the nick of the curve lies a 10 m long, adit-like "cave" (Krem Loren 2) and on top of the 'peninsula' around which the road sweeps, lie the pothole entrances to Krem Loren itself. The rift that controls the cave complex, extends across the whole length of the approximately 250 m long peninsula and is indicated on the surface by a garland of closed depressions (sinks and collapse dolines). Near the north-eastern base of the peninsula is the cave entrance to Synrang –>Ur Ban close to the footpath down the cliff. CAVE DESCRIPTION: At least three pothole entrances lie hidden in the scrubby jungle but the south-westernmost was found to be the most convenient to rig. A more than 25 m long rope allows descending into a chamber (5 m wide, 18 m high, and 16 m long) with an uneven floor of fallen boulders. Both ends of the chamber run into initially high and eventually collapsed rifts. A hole in the very bottom of the entrance chamber allows descending (6m-ladder) through breakdown, which Britisher sports cavers would attempt to sell as a potentially lethal boulder collapse, into a lower chamber (5 m wide, 6 m high, 10 m long) limited by an assemblage of fallen boulders. Needless to say that these terminating boulders were brought in for the sole purpose of hiding and securing a common sea monster's collection of horizontally striped T-shirts, black-coloured eye patches, and other valuables.
NOTE 1: Locally, this accident prone curve is known as "ka tymbuit ksuid" or »the devil's elbow« by some.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1998.11.02: H. Daniel Gebauer, Gregory D. Diengdoh and Andrew "Andy" Peter Tyler entered and mapped while exploring. Having missed entertaining clouds and fabulous sea monsters, the three returned not only to the surface but also to a cup of red tea and a "biskit" (biscuit) or two.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | LOREN 2 (Krem) | ||
| 0.5 | UR BAN, Pynursla (Synrang) | ||
| 1.5 | STEW (Krem) | ||
| 1.6 | Saint Mary's Grotto | ||
| 2.0 | PHRIA (Krem) | ||
| 2.0 | PYNSHAD (Krem) | ||
| 2.8 | BLANG, Mawkyrnot (Krem) | ||
| 3.2 | WAH DIENGROT (Krem) | ||
| 5.9 | KHLIEHRIAT WAH SPAR, Langkyrdem (Krem) |