Rock paintings
Red and white.
Anuraagdey — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hansallumia verma — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Anuraagdey — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yayawar monk — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Surajkumar12111 — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, about 41 km in a straight line south-east of Bhopal. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, they hold the earliest traces of human life in India, with more than 750 rock shelters spread over seven hills across about 10 km. Some of the shelters were lived in more than 100,000 years ago, and the site shows the change from hunter-gatherers to farming. Many have prehistoric paintings, the earliest dated to about 10,000 BCE, showing animals, dancing and hunting, and later scenes of riders on horseback; they are the oldest known rock art in India, and the site is one of the largest prehistoric complexes anywhere. A short trail winds among huge sandstone boulders and overhangs, through natural rock arches and dark passages, past walls and ceilings painted in red and white. Dry forest surrounds the hills, and from the rocks the view stretches across the green Vindhya landscape. Entry is paid. Morning brings the best light and cooler air, so carry water, and do not touch the paintings, which are fragile and very old.
Red and white.
Natural passages.
Over the Vindhya land.
Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh, India
The oldest date to about 10,000 BCE.
About an hour and a half for the trail.