Caving in the Abode of the Clouds 2003

'Abode of the Clouds' is the literal translation of the Sanskrit word 'Meghalaya', the name of the 21st state of India. Although there had been previous caving expeditions to the state (including MEF 98/51, also led by Brooks) this was one of the largest multinational teams ever to visit. In a marathon effort covering two specific areas - Shnongrim Ridge and the Borsora Garo - 47 'new' caves were visited, and the locations of 90 others recorded, whilst 25.7km of new passage was explored, photographed and surveyed, bringing the local total to almost 240km. Many caves started with a 60-90m deep entrance series broken into three or four pitches giving access to many kilometres of large streamway and trunk passage. A Meghalaya Cave Data Base has been created which currently records 750 cave sites, of which only 252 have so far been explored.