Khapara Kodiya Caves

Khapra Kodia Caves are ancient caves located in Junagadh, Gujarat. These Junagadh Buddhist Caves, situated north of Uparkot Fort, are among the most popular places for history lovers to visit in Junagadh.

The so-called "Buddhist Caves" in Uparkot are not caves. It has three separate sites with rooms chiselled out of stone to use as monks' apartments, hence the name. They are all over 2000 years old, give or take a few centuries.

The Khapra Kodia caves are famous as one of Junagadh's most prominent Buddhist cave groups. The enormous rooms cut with sharp tools into the rock have become Buddhist monks' dwelling quarters. Khapra Kodia caves are worth including in the Junagadh tour package.

Khapra Kodia Caves History 

The Khapra Kodia Caves are the oldest in the Junagadh Buddhist Cave Group. It also contains the Baba Pyare Caves and the Uparkot Caves. The caverns date back to the 3rd-4th centuries BCE during Emperor Ashoka's reign. The caves are famous as the area's first monastic settlements. These caverns, also famous as Khangar Mahal, cut into live rock and are the most minor complex of the group.

After many years of usage, they were abandoned because water crept into the living quarters through ceiling fractures and rendered them useless. According to various sources, the monks then travelled to Maharashtra, where they sculpted many similar and more ornate buildings.

Architecture 

The caverns were carved along an east-west longitudinal ridge. This cave complex has two primary components: the western wing, which holds water tanks, and the L-shaped wing, where monks used to seek refuge during monsoons. 

The chambers or apartments are cut into the rock face in an east-west longitudinal ridge. We noticed that the central area was extremely narrow. 

The primary section of the Khapra Kodia caverns is the western wing. It is rectangular and dotted with a grid-like pattern of water tanks that must have served as the site's water supply.