Gudiyam Caves, Archaeological cave system in Thiruvallur District, India.

Gudiyam Caves is a group of sixteen rock shelters in the Allikulli Hill ranges near the Poondi reservoir in Tamil Nadu. The shelters are natural stone formations, and the surrounding surface is a low, uneven shelf of reddish-brown earth and stone scattered with loose pebbles and larger pale grey and tan boulders.

Gudiyam Caves were first identified by British geologist Robert Bruce Foote. The Archaeological Survey of India excavated the site in 1963 and 1964, and the finds indicated use by Paleolithic people. Studies of the Allikulli Hill ranges near Poondi record sixteen such rock shelters and point to the movement of early hominids across this landscape about 200,000 years ago.

The caves served as shelter for early hunter-gatherers who left behind their daily tools and remains of daily life. The stone artifacts found here tell the story of how people adapted to this landscape over many centuries.

The shelters lie in the Allikulli Hill ranges near the Poondi reservoir, about 60 km from Chennai in Thiruvallur district. The rock shelf in front of them is rough, uneven and strewn with loose stones, so watch your footing on the slope. Carry water and sun protection; the surface is reddish-brown earth and bare rock with little shade.

British geologist Robert Bruce Foote first identified the Gudiyam rock shelters; the Archaeological Survey of India later recorded sixteen such shelters in the Allikulli Hill ranges near Poondi. Director Ramesh Yanthra's short documentary Gudiyam Caves was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015.