The Chaturbhuj nala rock shelters, situated near Mandsaur in MP, is a pristine site which stretches over the 5 km long trail with thousands of ancient rock paintings on the wall.
Situated 30 kms from Bhanpura, a small township in Mandsaur, are these rock shelters called Chaturbhujnath Nala or Chaturbhuj Nala rock shelters which are situated within the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, encompassing spectacular views of sprawling landscape and splendid water bodies.
The site was discovered in 1977 by a local school teacher Ramesh Kumar Pancholi and his friends and was named after a nearby Chaturbhujnath temple.
Since then, many international tourists and travellers have been lured to these rock canvases who come to spend fun weekends.
Belonging to the pre-pastoral (over 6,000-12,000 years old) to the early medieval age (10th century), the site is often compared to the UNESCO approved Bhimbetka rock shelter situated near Bhopal.
Other ancient sites near Chaturbhujnath nala rock shelters
Just 5 kms from Bhanpura is a hill known as “Dar Ki Chattan” which features almost 560 man-made cupules marked on the walls. Supposed to be the earliest efforts of artistic expression by the human, these cup marks are anywhere between 1,00,000 to 2,00,000 years old, say archaeologists and scholars, Other rock-art sites in the region that existed in the ancient times and used by ancient humans are Chiber Nala, Sita Khardi and Modi. But, the most prominent and well protected till date is the site of Chaturbhujnala.