Why don’t you visit the Carlsbad Caverns they said.. What you will witness there is out of the world they said.. Having heard quite a few comments of this nature, I set out to visit the so called Carlsbad Caverns.. What is it that some places have that transport you to such deep thought? Here I was walking into the Caverns and I couldn't help but think of the so called advancement that human beings have achieved. Here is a place that is so naturally eerie but more importantly spellbinding in the beauty it has to offer.. Anyone will end up awestruck seeing things that are so out of our day to day sightings that we are left gaping.. You get the feeling of being ushered into a different universe.
Having
reached the Caverns, we were provided with two options. The trek from ground
level to around 800 feet below ground level or taking the elevator to the
bottom and seeing the sight from the bottom.. the choice was obvious... TREK..
And it is en course of this trek that I saw some of the most unique sights I
have witnessed in my life. Remember the Bat Caves in the Batman movies.. That
is one of the first thoughts that will strike you.. But as you keep going down
you understand it has far more to offer than just being the nesting ground for
bats.. All the Sci-fi movies that you have watched portraying life in different
planets/ universes enter your mind and you get a feeling of being a part of
such an adventure. Imagine a place below ground level, no natural sunlight ever
entering it, eerie silence shrouding the place, whatever little surroundings
you see is so very alien to you and the best part of it all.. it’s just a few hours’
drive from where you live! Absolutely amazing!!
Such journeys provide food for thought. At a time when most
places above ground have been discovered and marveled at, you start thinking as
to how many such underground wonders have been uncovered. The Carlsbad Caverns
is neither the deepest, nor the longest nor the largest.. but then, it did make
me amazed at the hidden underground beauty. It is the unnatural beauty.. unnatural because we are not used to such
sights.. that actually strikes one's eye. I cannot write on this without
mentioning the authorities that govern the place. What a great job they have
done to keep the place as natural as possible while letting the public have
access to it. How much they have thought in depth is there for one to see when
you see the pains they have undergone to carve paths for the visitors without actually
disturbing the natural order. Kudos to these guys for a great job done.
I am definitely intrigued by the sights I witness and start
googling on the underground Caverns around the world. It is then that I realize
that the world's biggest cave was just uncovered in 2011.. the Son Doong cave
in Vietnam. This further propels my belief of many such wonders still remaining
hidden from the reach of humans. How
much we boast of the progress we've made.. our conquest in sending
satellites to outer space and stuff when we have so much here that we have not
been able to unravel. This thought fills me with excitement and the hope that
maybe.. just maybe we are yet to uncover things that can be added along with
the 'Seven Wonders of the World' or maybe even surpass them..
Attaching a few more of the snaps I took on the day.
The entrance of the Cave and the Calcium Deposits
The many winding paths inside
The Different formations caused by the Calcium deposits
Stalactites
A view from inside
Well.. there is nothing to say here!
The lighting provided so that we enjoy the sights better
And finally the last picture.. I just couldn't end without putting up the pic of the sky I saw when I got out of the place.. The sun had just set.. but the day just got a bit more memorable for me!
