Barabar Cavesबराबर गुफाएँ
India's oldest rock-cut caves, cut for Ashoka's ascetics and famous for Forster's echo.
See what is open on your dateOpen in Google MapsWhereJehanabad, Bihar
Magadh
Magadh
Best time to visit15 October to 15 March and 10 July to 20 August
Good seasonsPost-monsoon (October to November), Winter (December to February)
DifficultyEasy
Height250 m above sea level
Time needed3 hrs
Base and nearbySultanpur (Barabar), Makhdumpur
EntryFree
About Barabar Caves
The oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, hollowed out of a single granite whaleback in the 3rd century BCE. Ashoka dedicated three of them to the Ajivika ascetics, and the inscriptions are still on the walls. Lomas Rishi has a carved doorway copying a thatched hut, and the polished interiors ring with the echo E. M. Forster turned into the Marabar Caves of A Passage to India. The Shiva temple on the summit draws Shravan crowds.
What to see and do
- Lomas Rishi cave with its carved hut doorway
- Sudama cave with the Ashokan inscription
- Karan Chaupar and Visvakarma caves
- The echo that gave Forster his Marabar Caves
- Siddheshwar Nath temple on the hilltop
Opening status, best time and closures here are estimates from usual seasons and past patterns, not live information. Confirm with the local authority before you go. Terms of use
More places in Jehanabad
- Nagarjuni CavesJehanabad, Bihar · CavesThree Mauryan caves cut by Ashoka's grandson, a short walk from Barabar.
- Bibi Kamal Dargah, KakoJehanabad, Bihar · Pilgrimage RoutesA rare dargah to a woman Sufi saint of the 13th century, in a small Jehanabad town.
- Dharawat Buddhist MoundJehanabad, Bihar · Monuments & HeritageAn unexcavated Buddhist mound near Barabar with Pala sculptures kept in village shrines.
All places in Jehanabad · All places in Bihar
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Jagah Pedia is a free travel guide by Santosh Pandey. Status, timings and closures are estimates from usual patterns, so confirm locally before you travel.