Just a little over sixty years ago, an Indian archeologist travelling by train through Madhya Pradesh noticed some rock formations that reminded him of something he had seen in Spain and France. Shortly after, he went back to find what was later an addition to the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites: Bhimbetka.

The rock shelters of Bhimbetka provided a living space to humans for more than a hundred thousand years and the place is home to some of the earliest known traces of human life in India. The rock art is believed to have been made over a period of 12 000 years, from the Upper Paleolithic to Medieval ages.

There are about 700 rock shelters at Bhimbetka, but only a few dozens are accessible to general visitors. The subjects of the paintings are heavily inspired by the lives of prehistoric men, whose economy was mainly based on hunting and gathering. Animal and human figures, celebrations, religious rituals and hunting form the subjects for a number of paintings while invaders on horsebacks holding barbed spears make occasional appearances.

At the entrance is the Auditorium Cave, a massive hall-like structure, which in itself is a natural wonder. A horizontal tunnel leads to a huge chamber that has three divergent passageways. In the center of the hall is a huge rock standing tall at two and a half metres, called the Chief’s Rock. Standing out from the figures of peacocks, wild bison and several other animals painted on the walls of the cave is the hand impression of a mesozoic child.

The Zoo Rock derives its name from the hundreds of animal figures - elephants, sambars, bisons and deers - painted on its surface, while Rock Shelter S15 is known for the painting of a bison attacking a hunter.

Many generations painted new subjects over old ones and the dyes used were made of natural pigments and animal fat, which explains the longevity of the paintings. The most widely used colours are red and white, and the paintings in white are thought to be the oldest.

Even aside from the paintings, the rocks of Bhimbetka are a stunning wonder. Go explore.