Yana Caves Black Limestone Formations
Two towering, jet-black karst spires — Bhairaveshwara and Mohini Shikhara — rising abruptly from Western Ghats rainforest, a rare crystalline-limestone formation that has drawn pilgrims and geologists alike for centuries.
Yana is best known for two dramatic rock spires, Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and the smaller Mohini Shikhara, rising almost sheer out of dense evergreen forest in the Western Ghats. Unusually for the region, the rock is a form of crystalline (karst) limestone rather than the granite typical of most Karnataka hill formations, weathered over geological time into the smooth, jet-black, fluted towers visible today.
A small natural cave at the base of Bhairaveshwara Shikhara houses a self-formed Shiva linga, and the site has long functioned as a pilgrimage destination as well as a trekking and geological curiosity, reached only on foot through forest that is part of the wider Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.
Getting there: Yana lies inland from Kumta in Uttara Kannada district, reached by a forest road followed by a walking trail; the Kodambale branch post office serves the surrounding villages.
The site itself
Where to get your stamp cancelled
This may not be next to the site itself — some post offices serve several nearby landmarks.
- Post office
- Kodambale Branch Post Office
- Pincode
- 581362
- Address
- Kodambale Branch Post Office, Yana, Kumta Taluk, Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka
Sources
- Project maintainer transcription of the physical Philately Passport booklet (district/landmark/post office list)
- Kodambale (Yana) pincode/post office record — Pincode.net.in