Pakistan is a land of historical wonders that has many ancient ruins of thousands of years ago. Today we discuss one of the wonders of Balochistan, Gondrani Caves. Gondrani is a historic treasure and archaeological site located in Lasbella district of Balochistan. It is a mysterious cave city surrounded by mountains that was built hundreds of years ago.
Gondrani has many alternate names such as Shehr-e-Roghan, the Cave City of Lasbella, House of the Spirits, the town of Mai Gondrani, Mahi Peer, and the Cave Dwellings of Gondrani, etc. locally known as “Puranay Ghar”. These are the historical traces of unknown civilizations that hiding many stories of the past. There were around 1500 caves in Gondrani but due to climate conditions, only 500 have remained.
These caves are beautifully made by carving mountains. Some caves have only one room and a terrace in front while many caves have different levels and big structures just like multi-story buildings. Most of the caves have hearths and wall niches for lamps. All caves are interconnected with each other through different pathways.
There was a big civilized city and made it with great skill. You can see by going inside them that their height is a little over 6 feet. As you look at these caves, many questions come to your mind, how, when, and why were they built? Who lived here etc.? You will be surprised how they construct these caves in mountains. How civilized they people were.
One of the amazing features of the cave city is a freshwater stream of Gondrani which runs through the middle of the valley. It fascinates you so much and makes it one of the wonderful places to visit in Balochistan. It’s a mysterious and unique caves city you must visit it.
Location of Gondrani Caves
Gondrani Caves are located in Bela town, district Lasbella Balochistan province. It’s 218 km from Karachi and 20 km from Bela. When you visit these caves you must try to visit other wonders of Balochistan province like Hingol National Park, Astola Island, and Moola Chotok.
History of Gondrani Caves
The exact history of the Mahi Gondrani Caves was not known. Due to the absence of exact archaeological knowledge, different myths and stories are revolving around it. Some say it is thousands of years before Christ, while others call it the 8th or 9th century.
1st myth: Many historians believe that these caves were built in the eighth century by Buddhists. It was a large Buddhist monastery and they made it for meditation and to perform their rituals. But it’s still a mystery because no one knows its exact history, what the purpose and when they built.
2nd myth: In the region of King Solomon, there was a king and his daughter name Badi ul Jamal who was put in his custody by six monsters here. The news was spread in the area, many brave and energetic came here to free the king’s daughter but they can’t able to compete with the monster. Finally, prince Saif ul Malook released the king’s daughter and killed the monsters. From that time in these caves, demons and evil spirits are lived.
3rd myth: One other conception is that in these caves the evil spirit and demons were living. They used to come out from caves to eat the flesh of local. According to the myth, one holy lady named Mahi Gondrani sacrifices her life to protect the local people and killed the demons. Mahi Gondrani Shrine is located near the cave city and followers from surrounding areas visit her shrine. The place is named after this woman. Also, visit the shrine of Mahi Gondrani near these caves.
