Tucked away in the rocky terrain of Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district lies Bhimbetka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers a rare glimpse into the dawn of human creativity. Set against the Vindhya mountain range backdrop and fringed by dense forests, the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters transport visitors back tens of thousands of years to when early humans expressed themselves through vivid paintings etched into stone.
The Bhimbetka rock shelters—over 700 in number—are a treasure trove of prehistoric art, believed to date back to as early as 30,000 years ago.
Discovered in 1957 by Indian archaeologist V.S. Wakankar, these naturally formed rock shelters feature a remarkable sequence of paintings created by different generations of prehistoric communities. Bhimbetka is special because of its age and the continuity of human habitation and artistic expression seen here across millennia—from the Paleolithic era to the medieval period.