Glimpses of Chhattisgarh --- Part 3

 More About Kanger Valley National Park

Travel about 24 KM away from Jagdalpur, in the southeast direction, and we reach the Kanger Valley National Park.

Rules You Should Follow in National Park

You are required to read and understand all rules before entering the national park. If you disobey any rule, strict legal action will be taken against you. You must have a valid permit to enter the national park. With every vehicle goes an official guide who will guide you all through your way and you should obey him for your safety. You should always take your drinking water bottle with you. You need to be disciplined and remain silent, so that, animals do not go away due to any noise. If you see an animal on the road, you should wait for it to cross first. You are to wear light coloured, with nature blending, coloured clothes. If you feel or notice someone undertaking undesirable or suspicious activities during your visit you should inform the nearest forest officer or employee about it. When you spot a wild animal see to it that your vehicle maintains at least 50 meters distance from the spotted wild animal. You should not interfere with animals and should respect their privacy. You should not view a spotted wild animal for more than 15 minutes. You should maintain a minimum distance of more than 20 meters from all wild animals. Cordoning, luring, or feeding wild animals is prohibited in every way. The speed of your vehicle should be limited to 20 km. per hour.  

Things You Should Not Do in the National Park

You cannot take firearms in this national park. You can’t carry, consume, or take along with you cigarettes or alcohol. In addition to these, you also cannot take or use a match box, lighter, and can’t light the fire. Any negligence in this regard may cause forest fires. You can’t take with yourself or play inside any tape recorder, or music. You should not throw cans, bottles, or plastic bags inside the national park but should collect such garbage and dispose it off, outside of the national park. You should not leave the vehicle and get down unless the guide asks you to do so. Also, you should not chase, lure, or tease animals in any way. You should not pick up any things or trees or plants or animals to take away with you and should take only photos and memories of the national park visit with you.    
You can book the safari and accommodation 60 days before the safari or accommodation through the online website of Kanger Valley National Park.
Tickets for Kotumsar Cave and Teerathgarh Waterfall can also be bought from the Kanger Valley National Park Ticketing counters.

Charges for the National Park

For Indian or Foreign children of age 0 to 12 years entry is free, for Indians above 12 years entry fee is INR 25, for foreigners above 12 years entry fee is INR 150, guide charge is to be paid by all groups of visitors mandatorily and it costs INR 300, visitors above 12 years of age also have to pay INR 25 towards Biodiversity Conservation Fee, and Teerathgarh Waterfall visit entry fee is INR 25.

For booking Gypsy Safari the fee is INR 1,800.

For Still or Digital Camera fee of INR 25 will be charged. For a Handy Cam or Normal Video Camera, INR 200 will be charged.

If you cancel the ticket more than 7 days before the visit, then 10% of the ticket amount will be deducted. If you cancel the ticket from 7 to 4 days before the visit, then 25% of the ticket amount will be deducted. If you cancel the ticket from 3 to 2 days before the visit, then 50% of the ticket amount will be deducted. If you cancel the ticket less than 2 days before the visit, then 100% of the ticket amount will be deducted.

My Experience

We booked a safari, some sat with the driver, some behind the driver, and yet others stood at the last section in the safari vehicle. We got a view of the dense forest and in a few places, I could find Deer and Neelgaya. Birds and animals seemed to have been running to hide and save themselves when they heard the safari sounds. Web designs from one tree or plant or shrub to another were also visible, in which were trapped small insects.  At 2:30 it had to close, so we left for the next place to be visited.

After an hour's drive, we reached Kotumsar Cave, which is known to have been a place where certain forms formed naturally, and that too in great infinite numbers. Each formed shape is something different. Inside the cave it was quite dark, many people could not enter it out of fear. Few who could go into it found and even touched various naturally formed shapes and this was a different sort of excitement.

Kotumsar Cave
Scientists researched the internal and external surfaces of this cave and found that these were made up of limestone about 250 million years ago. Various scientists from the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, Birbal Sahni Institute of Pelkotani, Lucknow, and Geo-womb Studies, Lucknow did carbon dating and found that prehistoric humans had lived in this cave. Akashvani Kendra used stones from this cave as the Wadi device and different types of tones were produced by using each different stone.

             Kotumsar Cave --- One of the CG Tourist Places ; CG means Chhattisgarh (View 1)

            Kotumsar Cave --- One of the CG Tourist Places ; CG means Chhattisgarh (View 2)

This cave was originally named Gopansar Cave as Gopan meant hidden but as it was near the village Kotumsar, soon it was named as Kotumsar Cave, based on the name of the nearby village.

About the Cave

This cave seems to have been built on its own due to natural changes in the flow of water. Calcium from water kept depositing to form it. When water dropped calcium from it got collected and formed the calcium pillars from the ceiling. In 1951, the renowned geography scientist Dr. Shankar Tiwari discovered it. Kotamsar is the local language means ‘fortress surrounded by water’ and scientists have also found through their study that this region was actually submerged in water in the past.
Once you go down into the cave find three waterfalls appearing before you one by one. The first waterfall seems to be about 30 feet high. Stepping down from there you face a dark corridor of dimension 65 inch X 0.5 inch X 45 inch. On its right solid figures suggest that lime deposits created pillars. Calcium from water droplets was collected and deposited and such pillars got formed naturally from the ceilings.
Kotumsar cave is 330 metres long. It is 40 meters deep below the ground level. Several irregular chambers are made in it giving it a look like that of a honeycomb. You can find fish and frogs in the ditches in the cave while spiders, crickets, and bats are found on the ceilings and walls of this cave. Even millipedes are found inside the cave.  

This limestone cave was formed within the Kanger limestone belt, near the River Kanger’s bank which is known to be a tributary of the Kolab River. Its height from the sea level is 560 m. People enter through the fissure in the cave which is 5 feet in height and 3 feet in width. This cave has five chambers. Such chambers have several blind wells and only one such well is covered with a sheet of rock which when struck off produces a hollow sound. A concrete path within the cave till the end of the cave was made for tourists to explore the cave properly. Within the cave, there is a main tunnel which is 200 m long and has several lateral and downward passages. Different types of formations out of deposited calcium offer various kinds of panoramic views. Air and water temperatures within the cave are relatively stable. Several water pool seepages also exist in this cave.

How these forms get formed. Gradually dripping water forms such structures when it reacts with carbon dioxide when it passes through an organic matter. Those limestone forms that fall from the ceiling or sides of a cave are called Stalactites and those that are inverted Stalactites as they rise from the floor are called Stalagmites. Such structures that took a long time to be formed are used and will be further used by various academicians and meteorological experts to research to explore the distant past.

Inside View Of Kotumsar Cave --- One of the CG Tourist Places ;

CG means Chhattisgarh (View 1)

Several depressions have been found on the cave floor that make up very small ponds for smaller animals. At the extreme end of the cave is a Shivaling made up of limestone depositions. You can take the help of a guide and solar lamps to understand or explore things inside the cave.
Stairs are made available up to the first three levels so that the entrance is easily accessible by anyone.

Visit Closed

During the monsoon season, the cave remains flooded and for this very reason from the middle of June to the middle of October month, this cave is closed for tourists.  

Concluding Remark

I am highly impressed by the way CG Tourism has maintained these places. CG is the standard abbreviation of Chhattisgarh. By now the Chhattisgarh Tourism Places are really making me excited.

Inside View Of Kotumsar Cave --- Stalactites in Kotumsar Cave

One of the CG Tourist Places ;

CG means Chhattisgarh (View 2)