From the rise of ecotourism and adventure tourism, visits to caves and caverns has become an alternative to growing public. The alternatives range from the simple amazement at the close encounter with the entrails of the earth to practices filled with adrenaline, like diving in underground rivers. But each cave in turn has different characteristics from one another, here we go then with the description…

Caves of the Riviera Maya:

In the Riviera Maya, you will find a powerful infrastructure of nature. The recesses and bowels of the planet always arouse a great fascination, among the more adventurous each year who come to this place. Both the caves, grottos and caves attract visitors from all latitudes, who come to challenge the darkness, silence and claustrophobia.

Altamira Caves:

A tour of the caves in the world could start by Altamira, in Cantabria Spanish, with its famous cavity viewed internationally as the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic art. Discovered accidentally by a hunter in 1868, quickly became a must for professional and amateur palaeontology. The now classic hunting scenes and the beautiful line of bison, horses, deer and wild boar drawn around the cave were initially doubt their authenticity. Finally, these powerful works in ocher, red and black were dated as having been made for about 14 thousand years. The total length of the cave is 270 meters and irregular layout, with a lobby and a gallery, but it is the side room (located just 30 meters from the entrance) that contains the best pictures. To protect the value of such work in 1982 established that a limited number of twenty people per day to access the cave, so you must request permission several months in advance of the museum and research center in charge of their preservation. The entrance has a cost of 3 euros. If you can not place, do not despair, Cantabria has a number of other caves of a similar value to that of Altamira, and the combination of Monte Castillo Caves. Another option, but in the town of Molinos (Teruel province), are the amazing Caves of Crystal, with the unique crystals that gave name and in whose interior were found the oldest remains of Aragon.

Lascaux Caves:

France is another haven for underground adventures. Staying close to Paris, the mysterious catacombs connected by an even more mysterious network of tunnels are the preferred ride for many travelers. Touching on French territory, there is an almost inexhaustible catalog for the lover of caves and grottos. To the southwest, in the department of Dordogne, near the village of Montignac are the caves of Lascaux, famous for its cave paintings up to 25 thousand years old. They were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1979, but the deterioration in the pigments that caused human breath forced the closure of the public. What one can visit an exact replica is located 200 meters from the original half-buried structure which was reproduced to the smallest detail of the cave in 1940 three teenagers discovered by chance. The option for the adventurous: Trabuc’s Grotto, located in one of the provinces most lavish in caves, the Languedoc-Roussillon. Trabuc is the largest in the region of the caves and not only was inhabited in the Neolithic but also in the Roman era.

Cueva del Viento:

Closing the European tour, Italy. Among the highlights is the Cave of the Wind. Located in the region of Tuscany, province of Lucca, the place was used in the seventeenth century to preserve food as it has a constant temperature of 10 ° C. Fully equipped for tourism, can be walked comfortably to enjoy glistening stalactites and stalagmites, multicolored washes and small lakes encrusted with crystals. Expert guides are responsible for all three types of routes: one, two and three hours, and cost per person ranges from 8 to 20 euros.

Mammoth Cave:

In America everything is done in a big way, even caves. An example of this is Mammoth Cave, the longest cave in the world with over 560 km of interconnected galleries. The cave is the heart of a national park located in Kentucky and is proud to be one of the oldest attractions in North America since it was open to the public in 1816. They say that behind every rock hides a story, this is probably why they have tours of up to 6 hours, a challenge for the fans.

Come Back… Caves of the World – Part II