Luray caverns, US counterpart of Borra Caves

Luray Caverns can best be described as the USA counterpart of Borra Caves situated at Araku Valley of Alluri Sitarama Raju district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Both the caves contain stalagmites and stalactites. But the comparison ends there. Luray Caverns are well preserved, well maintained, and tourist-friendly whereas Borra Caves are poorly maintained and tourist-unfriendly. It is very difficult to get down into the Borra Caves particularly for persons of age above 50 years and equally difficult to climb up back.

Luray Caverns, previously Luray Caves situated in the state of Virginia in the United States of America, were discovered way back in 1878 by five young enthusiastic boys, which later changed several hands.

Presently, it is owned by Ouray Caverns Company which runs the tourist centre that attracts more than five lakh tourists across the world.

The Tourism department of Andhra Pradesh has to learn many things from Luray Caverns Company on how to make the caves tourist-friendly. The Caverns are electrically lighted and the temperature inside the caverns is uniformly 12 °C.

The Luray Caverns, which is about 2.4 km long, are well-paved and with railings arranged throughout the caverns, make it very convenient and safe for the tourists of all ages. Throughout length of the caverns, each of the 19 columns is named with elaborate descriptions. For instance, column number 117 (the first column of the 19 is numbered 101) is named Fried Eggs since the stalactites formation looks like fried eggs.

In the middle of the Caverns, there is a spring of water called Dream Lake that has an almost mirror-like appearance. Stalactites are reflected in the water making them appear to be stalagmites. This illusion is often so convincing that people are unable to see the real bottom. It looks quite deep, as the stalactites are higher above the water, but at its deepest point the water is only around 50 cm deep.

Then there is the Wishing Well, a green pond where the tourists drop coins, that is three feet deep at the bottom. Like Dream Lake, the well also gives an illusion, however it is reversed. The pond looks three to four feet deep but at its deepest point it is actually six to seven feet (180 to 210 cm) deep. The coins are collected and donated to charity every year.

One could walk on the pavement holding the railings looking at the stalagmites and stalactites and their wonderful formation over centuries. However, it is said that Luray Caverns remains an active cave where new formation deposits accumulate at the rate of about one cubic inch (16 cm3) every 120 years.

Added attractions at the Caverns include Car and Carriage Museum, which features an impressive collection of over 140 vintage vehicles and carriages relating to early transportation including a Conestoga wagon and an 1892 Mercedes-Benz, Toy Town Junction Museum that offers an array of vintage miniature trains, dolls, and other collectible toys on display and Luray Valley Museum containing many regional artifacts of significance including a 1536 Zurich Bible and a patented dog-powered butter churn. In addition, there is a maze and rope course for adventure seekers.

One hopes that the officials of AP Tourism department make it a point to visit Luray Caverns and develop Borra Caves on those lines to make them tourist-friendly.