Nice historical place to visit!. Review on Bhimbaithika

On the way from Hoshangabad to Bhopal airport this April, 2023 I stopped by at Bhimbaithika, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has rock carvings and cave paintings from ages ago. Since this was reached just by taking a 4 km deviation from the route to the airport, I set off just before afternoon to pay this place a visit.

ABOUT BHEEMBAITHIKA ROCK SHELTERS

This consists of many hundreds of rock shelters and caves located in the Satpura Hill range. But for visitation purposes, only 10-15 of these caves are open, located in a fenced area inside the core area of Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary. The place had been existing since many crores of years ago and was even submerged at a certain point in time. Certain recent additions have been made here since. But several of them are well preserved. It was also supposed to be one of the places the Pandavas visited during their exile. It is called Bheembaithika, since it was considered to be the resting place of Bheem by some. Or so it is believed.

It is one of the oldest rock art shelters and one of the greatest pre-historic complexes of India. As you enter, there are placards explaining the timelines relevant to the site and the paintings, tracing the lines upto Homosapiens and the years gone by. Here, you can explore several cave paintings depending on the respective civilizations believed to have drawn them by a given method. There are placards placed at most of the places explaining the significance of what you are witnessing.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THE VISIT

1] The paintings look a tad childlike as they did not have the tools, that we do now.

2] The paintings in ‘red’ or ‘brown’ are attributed to blood of animals the painters killed. The ones in ‘green’ or ‘yellow’ are attributed to the vegetation available at the time for dyes etc. There are 1 or 2 other shades used (‘white’ being one of them) borne out of chemicals and clothing etc.

3] The subject matter often involved the activities the humans indulged in and their beliefs. The animals that existed then and what they were used for.

4] One can even see the evolution of geometric shapes or style in some of the paintings.

5] Some of the paintings were worked upon by multiple civilizations – partly by one and partly by others at times successively, which is evident from alterations in styles etc.

6] There are rock formations / carvings which look like multiple things or animals. Right near the exit, there is a huge one which looks like a dinosaur. In the distance, somewhere inside, a rock formation resembles a turtle. Another looks like a giant frog.

7] Some of the paintings are on very high rocks which have no visible evident ways to get there. Apparently, there were trees earlier at the location which helped people paint those at some high altitudes.

8] One strange thing is the occurrence of a mammoth like creature in the paintings, although mammoths have always existed in a different part of the world.

Other than that the depictions of other animals are quite relatable and normal.

9] The carvings and paintings supposedly cover Paleolithic, Maesolithic, Chalcolithic, early historical and medieval times.

10] All of this was interesting to watch. One can do this with a guided tour with the help of freelance guides or the placards placed there also serve as good info.

11] The area that we are allowed to visit can be covered by walking from anywhere between 1 to 2 hrs.

12] Vehicles have to be left outside the entry gate and you have to buy an entry ticket for a nominal fee.

13] Maybe the remaining caves are repetitive or too deep inside the core area of the forest, because of which visitors do not have access to the same.

I finished my visit in a little more than an hour and it was time to head back to the airport where I intended to catch a flight back home. All in all, a good and refreshing visit, easily accessible on the way to the airport from Hoshangabad side.