In Pakistani village, home is where the cave is

Bomb-proof, earthquake-resistant and cheap: thousands of Pakistanis are choosing to hunker down in caves northwest of Islamabad, snapping up the hobbit-like homes amid a nationwide housing shortage.

Located around 60 kilometres from Pakistan's capital, nearly 3,000 people live in caves in the village of Hasan Abdal, according to councilor Haji Abdul Rasheed -- whose own home is among the dwellings carved into the rugged, earthen hillside embankments.

Rasheed's spartan cave -- or "buray" as it is locally known -- consists of a few minimally furnished rooms complemented by a breezy veranda.

The caves are usually dug by hand, with residents using clay to plaster the walls -- a practice which serves as a bulwark against landslides, they say.

"There is nothing like it. If you build a mud house, it collapses during the rains. This does not collapse," says Rasheed.

"It's earthquake-proof and bomb-proof."