I remember, as a child, reading about the discovery of the
cave paintings in Altamira
by an eight-year-old, and her wonder at seeing bison and other animals
seeming to dance in the flickering light of her torch.
Despite my fascination with palaeolithic rock art, I had never seen any.
I had read about cave paintings at Lakhudiyar near Barechhina in Almora
district, the best-known of Uttarakhand's many such sites. It's not far
from where we live, but not close enough for a casual visit either. We
had an opportunity to stop for a few minutes on a recent drive past
Barechhina.
It's not really a cave, just an overhanging rock face; and it's
a far cry from Altamira. In fact, it looks a little like it might have
been the work of a bored schoolboy waiting for a bus home. But there's
an ASI “protected heritage site” notice-board, so it must be legit…
right?
Notice the obvious (and accurate) “hairpin bend” road sign in the centre
of the image. The paintings are a bit repetitive, and unfortunately the
ones closer to the ground are quite worn.
Here's a video that
shows more of the rock face,
and another that
shows the approach to Lakhudiyar.