When you arrive at the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters and walk amongst them you really feel small. Small in the sense that life has been going on for so long and you are just a spec on the evolution of humanity.
9000 years ago there were people living, painting and surviving right here where you stand. It's a humbling experience and suddenly you realise why it is such an important World Heritage Site.
The Bhimbetka Rock Shelters and Paintings are fabulous day trip from Bhopal. Approximately 45 km of the city it can be a little frustrating making your way out there if you don't have your own transportation.
Bhimbetka Rock Shelters are located in Madhya Pradesh province of India and in a really beautiful area near the Vindhyachal hills.
I'm just a simple backpacker, not an archaeologist and I won't attempt to write a detailed history of the site, or even try to explain what all the paintings are. There are lots of
other sites that will help you with that. What I will tell you is when you arrive and start crawling around in the rock bluffs you really feel connected to the world. It's a very strange feeling when you know this place is something special.
Try sitting down and just pretending as if you were there thousands of years ago. As you still there will be birds flying around, little lizards bathing in the sun and watching to see what you are doing. Charred walls where fires once burned are everywhere and pictures of animals and hunting styles will make your imagination wander.
Tour guides are available, generally they wait around at the parking area of the site. They will try hard to separate you from large sums of money, but I think 300-400 rupees for an hour or hour and a half tour is exceedingly fair for a budget traveler. If you are a group or traveling on a bigger budget then tip him a little more.
Though I read in a guide book that the site was pay to enter, when I arrived there was no one there, no booth or government officer to take my money. Just some tour guides hoping to impart their knowledge on me.
As I mentioned earlier, traveling to and from Bhimbetka Rock Shelters can be quite the pain in the butt. 45 kilometers is a long way to try and travel on public transit and if you don't really know where you are going it's that much harder.
With that said, there is some buses that run out on the highway in that direction which are very affordable. However when you arrive at the edge of the highway you will find yourself with a 3-4 kilometer walk in the hot Indian sun, up-hill, on a rough road to find yourself at the entrance and parking lot.
So my advice to you is to either rent a taxi for the round trip, or a tuk-tuk. I did the TukTuk method personally and spend 500-700 rupees for the round trip. 500-700 rupees for nearly 100 km is dirt cheap. Make sure you tell him you plan on spending 1-1.5 hours at the site itself and don't pay him until you have returned to Bhopal, though you can forward him 250 for fuel costs before the journey starts. TukTuk's are not the most efficient, fast, clean or comfortable mode of transportation... but they are cheap and an experience in themselves.
The Bhimbetka Rock Shelters are without a doubt one of the most memorable places I've visited in India. Temples are well and good, but this sort of history is unique and leaves with a sense of awe and wonder.
Check it out!
