Robber's Cave, Natural cave in Dehradun, India
Robber's Cave is a limestone cave in Dehradun, India, extending roughly 650 meters underground and crossed by several water channels that flow year round. The passages narrow in places, requiring visitors to stoop, while water runs past your feet and collects in larger chambers along the route.
The bandit Mansingh used the cave as a hideout during the British colonial period after carrying out robberies in the surrounding region. The British named the site Robber's Cave because they identified it as a shelter for criminals evading justice.
Local people call the cave Gucchu Pani, meaning hidden water, referring to the springs that emerge from the rock walls and flow through the chambers. Visitors today walk through the same passages where bandits once hid their loot before disappearing into the surrounding forests.
Visitors must wade through ankle-deep to knee-deep water, so waterproof shoes or sandals and clothes that can get wet are necessary. The passages can be dark in places, and a small flashlight or phone light helps to spot rocks and steps along the way.
The water flowing through the cave contains sulfur compounds and smells faintly of eggs, which surprises some visitors. Local people come here to soak their feet and hands in the water, believing it helps with skin problems.
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