गुप्तेश्वर महादेव गुफा

Gupteswor Mahadev Gufa - Patalae Chhango - Harpan River Cave - Gupteshor Mahadev Cave - Gupteswar Gupha


Useful Information

Location: Pokhara-17, Chhorepatan.
2 km from Pokhara airport, south-west on the Sidartha Highway. At Chorepatan (suburb of Pokhara), ward no.17.
(28.189267, 83.957759)
Open: Cave Temple: all year daily.
Cave behind: OCT to MAY daily, JUN to SEP (monsoon) closed.
[2010]
Fee: Cave Temple: Adults Rs 30.
Cave behind: Adults Rs 100.
[2010]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=2,950 m, VR=48 m, A=900 m asl.
Guided tours: D=30 min. V=200,000/a [2000]
Photography: allowed, except in the temple
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Daniel Gebauer (1993): Konglomerathöhlen bei Pokhara, Nepal, Reflektor
Daniel Gebauer (1993): Caves of the West Pokhara Valley, Nepal, Caves & Caving, Spring 1993, p 24ff.
Herbert Daniel Gebauer (1986): Preliminary report of the first German speleological expedition to the Himalaya International Journal of Speleology. 15: 53–56. Deutsch - German online DOI
Address: Gupteswor Mahadev Gufa Management Commitee, Pokhara 17, Chhorepatan 33700, Tel: +977-61-460587.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1950 cave discovered.
1991 cave entranc staircase built.

Description

Located at the village of Pokhara is Gupteswor Mahadev Gufa (Harpan River Cave) "... one of the most Wonderful and Larges Cave of the South Asia". At least that is what the sign at the entrance tells.

The cave is a series of fairly big chambers, but there are low passages in-between, which make it necessary to crawl. One passage leads 20 m below the surface to the nearby river, right behind the famous tourist site Devi's fall. It is possible to see the falling water from behind.

The cave is sacred cave, a religious site for Hindu worshippers. There is a Shiva Lingam, a phallic symbol of Lord Shiva, we guess its a stalagmite. There are worships or festivals on several occasions through the year.

It is possible to visit only the rather spacious entrance section with the cave temple. The second part, with the crawling is obviously subject to flooding by the nearby river during monsoon, so it is closed at this time of the year. The lowest passage is actually the underground bed of the Patale Chango river. In times of low water it may vanish completely and flow through the cave. In times of high water the cave floods and is not able to swallow the whole river. So actually the cave is a sort of underground riverbed or sewage system of Pokhara. And unfortunately it smells like it. The river brings all the waste with it, and deposits it inside the cave, There are shoes, plastic trash, and remains of plants, incluing plant seeds which start to grow underground until they reach a size where they need light and die.

There is an iron gate in front of the temple and a second one at the beginning of the cave behind, which are opened by a guide. Tourists are advised to visit the second part only with an experienced guide. Which actually means that it is not mandatory, at least until now. On 27-JAN-2010 three foreign tourists, one Indian and two Korean, entered the cave without a guide and were never seen again.