Khangkhui Mangsor

Khangkhui Limestone Cave

Useful Information

Location:	11 km from Ukhrul, Khangkhui Khullen, Shirui Hill, Ukhrul district, Manipur
Open:	No restrictions. [2009]
Fee:	Free. [2009]
Classification:	Karst cave Cretaceous limestone
Light:	none
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Khangkhui Mangsor.
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History

1942	visited by the Manipur King Budhachandra.
1969	explored and excavated by Dr O. K. Singh.

Description

Khangkhui Mangsor (Khangkhui Limestone Cave) is a cave system in Cretaceous limestone. The wild cave is guided by locals for tourists, but is not developed except for some trails. Lamps are provided by the guide. The number of visitors seems to be rather low, so interested tourist groups are narrated the legend about the cave by the village elders of Khangkhui Khullen.

As often the legend is told in different ways, so we try to give an overview. According to legend a King named Mangsorwung had a lovely Queen and built for her a chamber of the cave which still is remembered as first wife chamber inside the Khangkhui Cave. The next chamber has been christened as Second Wife Chamber, because the King erected it for his second wife. Subsequent chambers are named after his sons. The biggest hall was the throne room of the king. In some versions of the story the king is called the Devil King.

The cave has a pit with a diameter of 5 m and a depth of 30 m, which is called Shirata (falling star hole) in the local Tangkhul dialect. A passage at the bottom is said to lead to Thoubal River on one end while the other leads to Loktak. This would make it at least 150 kilometers long. As far as we know there is no evidence for this local lure.

The cave was used as a shelter during World War II by the locals.

When the cave was excavated by Dr O. K. Singh in 1969, he discovered items like combs, kettles, and plates. The findings have similarities with items found at caves in China, so Dr Singh interpreted the origin of the people as Mongoloid.