BEYOND IMAGINATION CHARM OF KASHMIR

Jammu and Kashmir has served India with some of the most jaw dropping beauties like the city of Srinagar, Pahalgam and the closest place to heaven- Ladakh. This snow covered place always amazes the people with its mighty mountains, the rapid gushing rivers, the temples and their delicacy. Along with these, there is a mysterious place which has caught the eye of many foreign adventure enthusiasts. It would be hard to believe if someone says that a cave passes through the Indian land and opens up directly in Russia. But it’s true! In Kashmir’s Kupwara district in the Kalaroos village lies a cave, known as the Kalaroos cave. It is barely 90kms away from Srinagar in the Lolab Valley near the Lahwal River.

THE MYSTERY OF KALROOS CAVE

Kalroos is derived from the word Qil-e-Roos, meaning, a Russian fort. The legend of this cave states that the route connects to a tunnel directly to Russia. It is like a gigantic stone kept in the place which has 7 doors on it. The stone is called as ‘Satbaran’ and the seven doors that it holds are known as ‘Sath Barr’ in the local language. People believe that these doors connects India not only to Russia but many different countries. An old man living in the Kalaroos village said that he heard from his ancestors that the Russians used to enter India through those caves. The cave includes some water bodies as well. So it is evident that it is quite a big cave. The religious experts say that the cave was in fact a temple in the ancient times and it was a place where the ‘Paanch Pandavas’ used to worship. But these are just some theories. What is the actual truth? Does it really connect India to Russia?

UNVEILING THE TRUTH

To reveal the secrets about this perplexing cave, many people came and tried to unravel the paths. In the year 2018, an American explorer couple landed in India to know the truth about this cave’s history. Out of the seven doors of the stone, they entered the two doors and started investigating the cave’s topography and other features. Their research came to a conclusion that the first two caves might have been connected in the past as one showed upward inclination and the other showed a downward slope. The wanted to see what the other caves have in them but as the caves were closed by the Indian army, they couldn’t explore more of it. They didn’t find anything else in the first two caves other than the Himalayan porcupines. They hit dead end in both of them.
Weather the tunnel leads to Russia or it leads to a dead end, the place is worth a visit. The village is not known to many people so it is a very calm and composed location. People can visit the Lavnag spring which has clean and crystal water and is around 3 feet deep. So in your next trip to Kashmir, add this hidden and unexplored gem in your itinerary.