Moaning Cavrens- An amazing vertical cave!

When I lived in California I had been to many hidden gems of this golden state. California is much more than amusement parks around Los Angeles, Golden Gate bridge, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite national park. It extends to badlands, high Sierras, wonderful waterfalls, forests studded with brown bears, sky kissing coastal redwoods, beautiful shorelines, caves, lakes and great cities! One such small hidden gem is Moaning Cavern in Calaveras County. ! It is a vertical cave chamber where one can go rappelling 165 ft down! 

I visited this place and few other very interesting nearby places sometime last year which I am posting now! I have been to many caverns but Moaning cavern is amazing because of the rappelling experience.  Those rock-mushrooms on the walls as you descend! To add to that in this trip, I camped at Calaveras Big Trees State Park and visited Natural Bridges where I swam across the cave, Columbia State Historic Park and drove all those 61 miles on Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway where the elvation ranges between 4,000 to 8,7000ft! This area is surrounded by the Gold Rush towns, mountains and alpine valleys!

Mysterious Caves- Crystal Caves

Caverns are one of the amazing creations of nature. It seems treasure is burried deep under the crust of Mother Earth. These caverns too take us to the visual treasure deep within. These underground cavities open up like a wonderland. Each chamber has a different natural art to talk about. The mysterious crisscrossing passages are fascinating. I totally love exploring caves.

National Parks- Kings Canyon, The rugged beauty of nature

Located in Southern Sierra Nevada range, California, Kings Canyon National Park is known for its rugged scenery, high mountains and deep canyons. Beautiful waterfalls and mysterious caverns add to the beauty of it. This national park is adjacent to the Sequoia National Park which is popular for its ancient and giant sequoia trees. Springtime wildflowers make this place a heaven.

Hill Stations- Pachmarhi

Pachmarhi is the only and beautiful hill stations in Central India. It is popularly known as Queen of Satpuras and lies inside the Satpura Biosphere Preserve. At an altitude of 3500ft the little town is a tourist retreat and bustling with tourists, touts and has a strong presence of Army base. Pachmarhi is 144KM from Bhopal, capital city of Madhya Pradesh.

Off the beaten track- Vidisha

(Udayagiri Caves- Varaha saving Bhoo Devi)

Known as Bhelsa during the medieval era, Vidisha is now a small city 76KM from Bhopal. The ancient town Besnagar, ruled by Emperor Ashoka is 3KM north of present day Vidisha. All interesting ruins, monuments and historical structures are around this area. Udayagiri Caves, at a distance of 4KM from the Vidisha city,  are the major attraction here. These caves are extensively carved and have the inscriptions dating back to Gupta period.