KAARR JUNGLE CAVE
28.258300,83.987500
Description
Not only an apparently southeast-facing cave entrance (unidentified shape, unidentified dimensions, unidentified characteristics) »in the north western wall of a large densly vegetated doline« but also a »further doline / surface collapse« with an »alternative cave entrance« is said to give access to »one end of a chamber about 15 m long« with a lateral cave passage that intersects a fluted and scalloped tube, about 0.3 square metres in cross-section and draining (September / October 1976) a stream of water (Smart, C M in: DURRANT et al. 1979: 23.8). ETYMOLOGY: No autochthonous, indigenous or locally known name has been identified for what had probably been christened »Kaarr Jungle Cave« (WILSON 1977b: 67; DURRANT et al. 1979) after the "khori" (farm, farmstead, hamlet) or "khoriya" (note 1) of Bhalam. SITUATION: North of Pokhara town and from the village of Battulechour (note 2) opposite across the Kali Khola but, unfortunately, in an unidentified spatial relation »close« to the hamlet of Bhalamkhor or, in short, Bhalam (note 3), and above the locally eastern (orographically left) bank of the Kali Khola or, if you prefer, simply on an unspecified »the upper terrace to the east of the Kali Khola, close to the small settlement of Kaarr« (Smart, C M in: DURRANT et al. 1979: 23.8). A sketch map showing the cave distribution north of Pokhara town indicates the location of »Kaarr Jungle Cave« close to and northeast from the »Window Cave« (DURRANT et al. 1979 unpaginted page opposite page 27). CAVE DESCRIPTION: »The cave [entrance] is on the north western wall or a [relatively] large densly vegetated doline [with unidentified dimensions]. … This [cave] entrance opens into one end of a chamber about 15 m long and varying between 3 m and 4 m wide with a 2.5 m high roof [note 4] in places. At the other end of the chamber a further doline / surface collapse gives an alternative entrance. There is a small stream exposed for 2 m in a minor passage (the deepest [known] part of the cave) off this chamber, but it cannot be followed either up- or downstream except by the bats which frequently appear from the upstream passage (about 0.3 square metres). There is fluting and scalloping in this tube. The cave is well decorated with calcite gours and several collections of cave pools [cave pearls? pisolithic speleothems?]. There are also a few stalagmites. Unfortunately all these formations are dry and erosion is evident in a few places« (Smart, C M in: DURRANT et al. 1979: 23.8). HYDROGRAPHY: »… the resurgence for the two cave streams in Kaarr Jungle cave and Oderibuwahn Gupha remained elusive« (Smart, C M in: DURRANT et al. 1979: 23.3).CAVE LIFE: »Most of the animals collected from the caves of Nepal [Kaarr Jungle Cave, Mahendra Gupha, Oderibuwan Gupha, Window Cave] and Mussoorie [no name mentioned: Doon View Cave] … seem to be troglophiles; many are attracted to underground life because of the high humidity and the abundant sources of suitable food in the form of guano« (WILSON 1977b: 67).
NOTE 1: khoriya (Pahari), unirrigated land (GURUNG, H 1996: 57 no. 300), »too steep to be conveniently formed into terraces« (BUCHANAN HAMILTON, F 1819: 74). 1793 »The Kohrya and Bari lands … are such as are destitute of springs, and have no stream passing through them. Of this kind are the sides and summits of many, perhaps the greater part, of the mountains of this country« (KIRKPATRICK, W J 1811 : 93). 1814 »Where the land is too steep to be conveniently formed into terraces, or where this operation has been neglected, the fields are called Kuriya, and are generally cultivated after fallows, by any person that chooses to occupy them, on paying a certain sum by the head, and not according to the extent of land« (BUCHANAN HAMILTON, F 1819: 73-74). … »On the whole, one-half of the cultivation among the mountains may be said to consist in transplanted rice. The remainder is composed of the various articles above mentioned, sown on the Kuriya, or steep land« (BUCHANAN HAMILTON, F 1819: 75). 1996 »khorio, unirrigated land« (GURUNG, H 1996: 57 item 300). 2007 »khoriya« uncultivated land, nature reserve (KRÄMER, K-H 2007: 72: unkultiviertes land, Naturpark). NOTE 2: Batulechour near (±250 m) N28°15'37”: E083°59'10” (Central Service Map 1: 125'000 sheet 40 Kaski, edition 1989) or »Battulechaur« near (±500 m N28°15'45”: E083°58'50” (FINSTERWALDER 1993: Annapurna 1: 100'000). NOTE 3: The strange »Kaarr« (DURRANT et al. 1979: 23.3, 27, 28) seems to be a stunted name for the village indicated as »Bhalamkhor« near (±500 m) N28°15'12”: E084°00'32” on the Central Service Map 1: 125'000 sheet 40 Kaski (edition 1989) and as »Bhalam« near (±500 m) N28°14'50”: E084°00'00” (unknown geodetic datum) on the 1: 100'000 map Annapurna (Finsterwalder 1993). NOTE 4: roof, the structure forming the upper covering of a building or vehicle; the top inner surface of a covered area or space. ceiling, the upper interior surface of a room or other similar compartment.
Documents
Bibliography 10/08/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1976 September / October: Christopher M. Smart »… visited the [parts of the daylight-lit surface on the approach to this] cave with a group of local children who showed me both this cave [Kaarr Jungle Cave] and Window Cave. On later visits John [Turner, J E K] and I cut a path down to the entrance of Kaarr Jungle Cave through the 2 m high grasses in an attempt to avoid the leaches« (Smart, C M in: DURRANT et al. 1979: 23.8).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | CHAMERE ODAR, Batulechaur | ||
| 0.7 | CHAMERE GUFA, Batulechaur | ||
| 0.9 | WINDOW CAVE | ||
| 1.5 | SIDDHA BABA GUFA | ||
| 1.5 | RADHE RADHE CAVE | ||
| 1.6 | CRAZY CAVE, Armala | ||
| 1.7 | MAHENDRA GUFA | ||
| 1.7 | Mahendra Cave | ||
| 2.1 | BIRENDRA CAVE, Bhalam |