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Kotumsar cave is a
limestone cave A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in a soluble rock like limestone (Calcium carbonate, with chemical formula ''CaCO3''). It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, inc ...
located near
Jagdalpur Jagdalpur is a city located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bastar district and Bastar division. Before the independence of India, it also served as the capital of the erstw ...
in the Indian state of
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
. Kotumsar cave is a major attraction for people interested in ecotourism. It was initially named Gopansar cave (Gopan = hidden) but the present name Kotumsar became more popular as the cave is located near a village named ‘Kotumsar’. Kotumsar cave formed on the Kanger limestone belt, situated near the bank of the River Kanger, a tributary of the Kolab River.


Conditions and characteristics

The entrance coordinates are 18052’09”N; 81056’05” E (WGS 84) and it lies at an altitude of 560 m above sea level. A vertical fissure in the wall of a hill serves as the main entry for the cave, and from there for the convenience of tourists a concrete path has been made extending to the end of the cave. The main tunnel of the cave is nearly 200 m long with several lateral and downward passages. Various types of
speleothems A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depend ...
offer panoramic views. Air and water temperatures are relatively stable with an annual average of 28.25 ± 1.23 and 26.33 ± 0.96 °C, respectively (range = 25.0–32.7_C for air; 22.9–29.3 °C for wate

The cave is subject to frequent flooding during the monsoon season, which generally begins in the middle of June and continues until the middle of October. The site is closed to tourists during this period. Various water pools fed by seepage throughout the year also exist in this cave.


Religion

image:Entrance of Kotumsar cave.jpg, Entrance of Kotumsar cave According to
Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...
, caves are generally considered to be prominent religious locations. Many pilgrims visit Kotumsar cave to worship at a big speleothem formation (stalagmite) in one of the chambers. Earlier worshipers also burnt incense and camphor in this part of Kotumsar Cave, which polluted the cave ecosystem resulting in a decline of cave biodiversity. This practice was accordingly stopped by the authorities based on a report published by the National Cave research and Protection Organization, India.


History

The cave has been known since the British era of India, but it was not taken seriously until the 1950s when the geography professor Dr. Shankar Tiwari visited the cave and attempted to explore its chambers with limited resources and equipment. The cave was first systematically mapped in the 1980s by Dr. Jayant Biswas (then a PhD scholar), guided by a Romanian caver. The map was first published in Biswas's PhD dissertation in 1990, and in 1992 by him in the internationally recognized publication of the
National Speleological Society The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally headquartered in Washington D.C., its current offices are in ...
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New chamber

In 2011 a small but highly panoramic chamber was discovered and explored by forest officials. As the approach is not easy, it is closed to tourists.


Access

Kotumsar cave is situated in
Kanger Valley National Park Kanger Valley National Park (also known as Kanger Ghati National Park) is a national park in the Bastar district, Bastar region of Chhattisgarh state in India. It came into existence in July 1982 and covers an area of approximately . The park e ...
, which is around 35 km from the city of
Jagdalpur Jagdalpur is a city located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bastar district and Bastar division. Before the independence of India, it also served as the capital of the erstw ...
, the district headquarters of Bastar, in the state of Chhattisgarh. Jagdalpur can be reached either by road, train or air. The city is well connected by National Highways 212, 202 and 16. The nearest airport is the Maa Danteshwari Airport of Jagdalpur. To reach the park one follows the Jagdalpur, Sukma road. The cave is located around 10 km from the main entrance of the national park.


Biodiversity

The Kotumsar Cave in Central India is one of the most biologically explored caves in India,.Kotumsar Cave is biologically best known cave in Indi
The Hitavada
While surveying the Kotumsar cave one of Dr. Shankar Tiwari's then colleagues Dr. S.M. Agarwal, a biologist took interest in the biodiversity of the Kotumsar cave. He identified a species of blind fish that occupy this cave as ''
Indoreonectes evezardi ''Indoreonectes evezardi'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. Earlier it was known as ''Nemacheilus evezardi'' described by Day (1878) captured from a river stream near Pune. It is endemic to India, found in the Western ...
'' (then ''Nemacheilus evezardi'') with the help of the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. New species of crickets namely ''Kempiola shankari'

were also discovered here. The name of the discovered critter was given in honour of Dr. Shankar Tiwari. Later on several other species were also discovered in the cave by taxonomists (mostly arthropods), geomicrobiologists from the National Cave Research and Protection Organization (India) also identified various bacteria that live in the cave. The complete biodiversity of this cave has been well described by Dr. Jayant Biswas in the year 2010. There are many more caves identified around 5 km radius of this caves, but Kotumsar cave is the most biologically live cave of Kanger Valley National Park having healthy biodiversity.


See also

*
Tamda Ghumar The Tamda Ghumar Waterfalls () is a seasonal and natural waterfall located at around to the west of Jagdalpur, in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is very close to Chitrakote and Mendri Ghumar Waterfalls. Topography Tamd ...
*
Chitrakote Falls The Chitrakote Falls (also spelled Chitrakote, Chitrakot, and Chitrakoot) is a natural waterfall on the Indravati River, located approximately to the west of Jagdalpur, in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The height of ...
* Teerathgarh Falls * Mendri Ghumar *
Jagdalpur Jagdalpur is a city located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bastar district and Bastar division. Before the independence of India, it also served as the capital of the erstw ...


References


Biswas Jayant 2010
Kotumsar Cave biodiversity: a review of cavernicoles and their troglobiotic traits
Biswas J 1991
Metabolic efficiency and regulation of body weight: a comparison between life in hypogean and epigean ecosystems
Biswas J & Ramteke A 2008
Timed feeding synchronizes circadian rhythm in vertical swimming activity in cave loach, ''Nemacheilus evezardi''
Pradhan R K & Biswas J 1994
Towards regressive evolution: the periodic colour change behaviour of a troglophilic fish Nemacheilus evezardi (Day)
Biswas et al 2011
Impacts of Ecotourism on Bat Habitats in Caves of Kanger Valley National Park, India

Subterranean Microhabitat Dependent Intra Versus Extracellular Enzyme Secretion Capabilities of ''Deinococcus radiodurans''


External links


caves.res.in
National Cave Research and Protection Organization, India {{Authority control Caves of Chhattisgarh Show caves in India