The caves of Gondrani

A city of caves called the House of the Spirits

An archaeological site 20 km north of Bela in Lasbela District, Balochistan, about 218 km from Karachi, known as Shehr-e-Roghan and by a run of evocative names: the Cave City of Lasbela, the Cave Dwellings of Gondrani, the House of the Spirits and the town of Mai Gondrani. Nobody knows its full history, or who cut the caves. Historians believe the town was once a large Buddhist monastery of the eighth century, when a Buddhist kingdom held the region; André Wink thought the caves undoubtedly Buddhist, while others say they only show definite Buddhist characteristics. Each cave had its hearths and its niches in the walls for lamps, and some have verandahs. Local legend fills in the rest: the town was plagued by demons until a holy woman, Mai Gondrani, gave her life to destroy them and free the people, or in another version drove the spirits out and lived here until she died. Her grave nearby is a well-known shrine. Around 1500 caves were recorded under British rule; about 500 remain, slowly eroding with nothing done to protect them.