Baitadi’s Pattal Bhuvaneshwar area awaits tourists

A place surrounded by forests, caves and a natural lake that never dries up, Pattal Bhubaneswar in Sudurpaschim province has many notable features. 

Although the site, located in Surnaya Rural Municipality-2, Baitadi, has a great tourism potential, not many visitors come here due to the lack of promotion. The main attraction of Pattal Bhubaneshwar is its main cave which is said to be the deepest in South Asia. Several teams have tried and failed to measure the length and depth of the cave. 

In 2015, a team led by French cave expert Maurice Dussin studied up to 800 meters of the cave. The team couldn’t go beyond that point. After that, a geological team of Tribhuvan University also studied the cave. The team concluded that since the topography of the area is rocky, there won’t be any damage due to natural calamities like earthquakes. Yet another team of foreign experts tried to measure the length of this cave last month. The team led by UK cave expert Peter Alisson also failed to measure the entire length of the cave. The team has said the caving experience in Pattal Bhubaneshwar was different from other caves in the world. “This cave is deeper than the ones in Meghalaya, India, and Thailand. Commercial caving is possible in these two caves, but we couldn't go much deeper in this cave. It’s among the deepest in the world,” Alisson added.

Alisson suggested local authorities to promote these caves in the global arena so that this area can benefit from tourism. 

Kailash Chand, a member of the exploration team, said he saw an interesting structure resembling an elephant trunk and several statues and a Shivalinga. “The route narrows down as we go deeper. The cave floor is moist. We can see several structures as well as inscriptions,” he added. 

The team explored the cave for nearly eight hours on the first day and 12 hours on the second day. The local people are planning to develop the cave into an adventure tourism destination.
“The study has concluded that this area holds potential for tourism development. We need to build necessary infrastructures to welcome tourists,” Arun Bista, president of Pattal Bhubaneshwar Religious Forest Committee, said. “We need to build accommodation and also launch effective publicity campaigns.”

Pattal Bhubaneswar Cave, which is only a 20-minute walk from Dasharath Chand Highway, also holds special religious significance. According to Hindu scriptures, goddess Sati Devi’s foot fell at this place when Lord Shiva was roaming the world with her dead body. There is also a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The area wears a festive look during festivals like Mahashivaratri. But the temple is in a dilapidated state now. 

“We need to renovate the temple and build accommodations for tourists,” Keshav Raj Bhatta, a local of the area, said. 

Rural municipality chairperson Amar Bahadur Kunwar said they were preparing a master plan for the development of Pattal Bhubaneshwar area. “We are working in coordination with the provincial and federal governments,” he added.