- Published by
- Haroirum Afridi
- August 25, 2020
The site is 20 km to the north of the ancient town of Bela and 175 km from
Karachi, in Lasbella District of Balochistan. Due to the absence of
archaeological knowledge about these caves, many people attach different myths &
legends to these caves. The exact history of the town is not known, nor who
built the caves. Historians believe that the town was once a large Buddhist
monastery dating back to the eighth century, when the region was part of a
Buddhist kingdom. These caves were built by the ancient community of Buddhists
to meditate and perform religious rituals in the region. During British rule,
around 1500 caves were reported, but now only 500 remain.
The locals have
dedicated this cave city in Balochistan to a holy woman called ‘Mai Gondrani’
and have named the place after her. According to a folktale, they believe that
the area was haunted by the evil spirits until Mai Gondrani exorcised the place
and lived there until her death.
The town is also known as the Cave City of Lasbella, the Cave Dwellings of
Gondrani, “Shehr-e-Roghan”, “House of Spirits”, “The Town of Mai Gondrani”,
“Puraney Ghar”, "Gondrani” and Cave City of Gondrani, Balochistan.
