Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit)

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit)
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To see the world’s most fascinating treasures, sometimes you have to look down. Way, way down. From glittering galleries to underground gorges and captivating caverns as vast as cathedrals, these fascinating caves across the globe are well worth taking the plunge.

By Jessica Keller

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Škocjan Caves, Slovenia – Underground rivers and canyons and waterfalls, oh my! This six-kilometre stretch of subterranean wonderland sculpted by the Reka River lies beneath the eponymous town of Škocjan, about a half hour from Trieste. Along with its giant stalactites and stalagmites, limestone pools, roaring rapids and rushing cascades, the defining feature of this UNESCO-protected cave system is its truly cavernous caverns, including Martel’s Chamber which, at a volume of 2.2 million cubic metres, is one of the largest underground canyons in the world. Should time permit, travel just 30 kilometres to Postojna Cave Park; this better-known but also more touristed counterpart to Škocjan offers diverse subterranean landscapes and even an underground train.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave, Austria – When you’ve tired of Salzburg’s classical charms, take a detour to see some of the region’s natural treasures that predate Mozart by a few thousand millennia. An hour to the south lies the city of Werfen and its greatest claim to fame: the world’s largest ice cave. Appropriately dubbed Eisriesenwelt (“World of Ice Giants”), the cave system penetrates more than 42 kilometres into the depths of a mountain, about one kilometre of which is open to the public. Armed with a traditional mine lamp, visitors wind their way across glinting galleries, through enchanting passageways and past colossal icicles in various eye-catching forms. Dress warm – temperatures hover at freezing year-round – and keep in mind that you’ll need to ascend and descend 134 metres in altitude, so a visit is only recommended to those in good physical condition.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Grotte de Niaux, France – The French countryside is lousy with the works of Palaeolithic Picassos who used cave walls as their canvas. While Lascaux stands as the most renowned example, the visitor experience is somewhat dampened by the fact that, for preservation reasons, sightseers can no longer enter the original caves and must settle for faithful reproductions of the real cave art. About 300 kilometres to the south in Niaux, however, it’s possible to gaze upon prehistoric paintings in the flesh. Here in the foothills of the Pyrenees, visitors can traverse almost one kilometre of caverns and tunnels, lit only by flashlight, before arriving in the Salon Noir to behold the lifelike images of bison, horses and ibex – some painted as many as 17,000 years ago.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Grotte di Castellana, Italy – Located in Puglia, about 40 kilometres southeast of Bari, the Caves of Castellana combine adventure with artistry in a truly unique way. For cave lovers, there’s up to three kilometres of passageways to explore, showcasing impressive stalactites, stalagmites, galleries and fossils, and ending (if you choose the longer route) in the Grotta Bianca – a vision in bright, white alabaster with crystalline walls and delicate formations. For lovers of the arts, there are multiple monthly performances of Dante’s Inferno, a spectacle of light, sound and dance using the cave’s natural balconies and terraces for a stage.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, Philippines – The island of Palawan has beckoned to many a traveller with its jungle-clad cliffs that plunge into a jewel-toned sea – the look of a place that seems as far away from your office desk as you could possibly get. Among its many allures is this 8.2-kilometre waterway that can claim to be the world’s longest navigable underground river, as well as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Most boat tours take visitors four kilometres into the cave, but some operators have special licence to go the full 8.2 – just know that boats can’t pass in some of these spaces, so you’ll have to swim. Should you be brave enough to take the dive, you’ll be rewarded with views of waterfalls, a 20-million-year-old manatee fossil and an immense crystal cavern.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Phong Nha Caves, Vietnam – Situated about a three-hour drive along the coast from Da Nang, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is an adventure-seeker’s paradise, a stunning karst landscape whose mountainous jungles belie a rich and varied landscape hidden below the surface. Here there’s a cave experience for everyone, from casual day trippers to dauntless go-getters looking to venture where few have ever gone before. Those with an intrepid mindset and generous itinerary would do well to book a multi-day spelunking tour in the Tú Làn cave system. Want to get a foretaste of the excitement? Watch the 2017 blockbuster Kong: Skull Island, parts of which were filmed in these caves.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Drach Caves, Spain – When the sun bears down on Mallorca’s beaches, pack up the loungers and head underground. With temperatures between 17ºC and 21ºC, Drach Caves on the island’s east coast offer a reprieve from the Mediterranean heat, as well as a glimpse of another side of this fascinating destination. Tours extend 1.2 kilometres into the cave and 25 metres deep, revealing exquisitely illuminated stalactites and one of the world’s largest underground lakes, Lake Martel – named for the geologist who discovered it in 1896. And that’s not even the true pièce de résistance; the tour culminates in a live classical concert played aboard a boat amid the stunning subterranean scenery.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Naracoorte Caves, Australia – In a place known as the ‘Limestone Coast’, you know you can expect some fairly epic caving – and Naracoorte Caves don’t disappoint. In addition to adventure spelunking in Stick-Tomato Cave or Fox Cave, viewing incredible rock formations in Alexandra Cave, or observing southern bent-wing bags in Blanche Cave, you can also get up close and personal with the remains of the ancient megafauna that once roamed the area. Victoria Fossil Cave is South Australia’s only World Heritage site, home to the remnants of thousands of animals, from marsupial lions to giant kangaroos, who met their end in this cavern over the past 200,000 years. [Photos courtesy Department for Environment and Water]

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Crystal Cave, Bermuda – We can’t be sure whether the name refers to the glassy waters or the shimmering rock formations, but what is clear is that Crystal Cave offers an unexpected glimpse of paradise. Traversing the caverns on floating pontoon walkways, visitors gaze into placid blue waters so transparent and serene that the brilliant white stalactites beneath the surface seem close enough to touch – even though they’re more than 15 metres down. Follow up with a peek at the neighbouring Fantasy Cave, which showcases graceful rock formations and deep pools that lead out to the ocean.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Vatnajökull Ice Glacier Caves, Iceland – Not to be confused with ice caves (subterranean caves that have icy features year-round), ice glacier caves are hollows that have formed naturally within a glacier, usually carved by running meltwater or heat from volcanic vents. In the case of Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier and the site of Iceland’s most famous glacier caves, many of the majestic crystal caverns and labyrinthine tunnels have been sculpted by summertime water flows, resulting in a different ‘cave system’ every year that offers new wonders to explore. With spectacular icicles and marbled ice walls glowing mystical shades of blue, this is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter for any nature enthusiast. Note that the glacier caves can only be visited in winter, and only when accompanied by a local guide.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Rhone Glacier Ice Grotto, Switzerland – Keen on a glacier cave experience, but not on travelling so far north? Every year since 1870, a 100-metre-long ice tunnel has been hewn into Switzerland’s Rhone Glacier, about 2,300 metres above sea level. Take a stroll through this enchanting grotto, the sunlight turning the walls an array of pretty blues, and enjoy the breathtaking glacier panoramas from the viewing platform. Maybe throw in a hike in the Valais region if you’re feeling extra sporty.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Caverns of Sonora, USA – No Texas road trip would be complete without a stop at this remarkable natural attraction, situated between the city of Sonora and Big Bend National Park. In addition to stalactites and stalagmites, visitors can marvel at the more elusive helictite – mineral deposits that grow in curves and spirals, seemingly in flagrant defiance of gravity. Survey the sights on a 3.2-kilometre guided tour of the show cave, or take things further with a real spelunking adventure involving off-trail exploration and a 15-metre rock face rappel into the Devil’s Pit.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Niagara Cave, USA – Eat your heart out, Arizona. One of the many draws of this beautiful cave in Minnesota is its undulating passages emulating the wind-blown canyons of the American Southwest. Discover the beauty on a 1.6-kilometre walk, along with an underground stream, an 18-metre waterfall, 450-million-year-old fossils and eye-catching stalactite and stalagmite formations. All that splendour making you feel romantic? There’s also an underground wedding chapel. [Photos courtesy Niagara Cave]

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Ali Barbour’s Cave Restaurant, Kenya – Not all caves are just for show: this ancient coral grotto serves as the backdrop for an elegant evening of gourmet delights. Set in the coastal resort town of Diani Beach, 35 kilometres south of Mombasa, this unique restaurant offers a dining experience unlike any other. Visitors descend 10 metres underground into a natural cave alluringly lit with lanterns and candles, with a small opening through which to gaze at the stars. On the menu are all manner of fish and fruits of the sea, caught fresh in the Indian Ocean just a stone’s throw away.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Sistema Sac Actun, Yucatán, Mexico – Sun, sand and cenotes: just some of the major reasons to visit Mexico’s Mayan Riviera. Cenotes – natural sinkholes created by the collapse of limestone bedrock – are popular among visitors looking to take a swim in their clear blue waters surrounded by lush jungle foliage… and Sac Actun is the holy grail. Nicknamed “Pet Cemetery” for the many animal remains found there, the cenote measures 376 kilometres, making it either the longest or the second-longest underwater cave network in the world, depending on who you ask. Visitors can swim, snorkel and scuba dive (for the very experienced) to glimpse the intricate rock formations submerged in glasslike waters. Located 30 minutes from Tulum and 1.5 hours from Cancun, it’s within easy reach for most holidaymakers on the Riviera.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Anhumas Abyss, Brazil – Strap in, we’re going down! The only way to access this ominously named cavern in Mato Grosso do Sul state is via a five-minute, 72-metre rappel down a sheer rock face. If you don’t squeeze your eyes shut in terror during the descent, you’ll have a panoramic view of the cave, including massive limestone cones 20 metres in height submerged 80 metres below the surface of the crystalline waters. Once you reach the floating deck over the underground lake, you’ll have your choice of cave exploration activities, whether it’s taking an inflatable boat trip to see the dry part of the cave, snorkelling in the lake or scuba diving, for those who are certified.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Horne Lake Caves, Canada – From hiking to swimming and wildlife viewing, Vancouver Island is a nature lover’s dream destination – and travellers planning to make the trip can add another item to their bucket list. Near the island’s eastern shore, about one hour from Nanaimo, Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is home to more than 1,000 caves waiting to be scouted by visitors of all ages. Take the littlest spelunkers on an easy expedition of Riverbend Cave with its crystal formations and ancient fossils, or buckle up for a full-on “Max Depth Adventure” available only to brave explorers at least 13 years of age due its challenging climbs, squeezes, crawls and rappel descents.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit).
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Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand – No list of the world’s most incredible caves would be complete without a word for one of the most rare and beguiling subterranean experiences the planet has to offer. Climb aboard a tour boat and glide into the ethereal caverns of Waitomo, where untold numbers of Arachnocampa luminosa glow-worms – a species found only on this part of the globe – light up the darkness. As you go along, your Maori tour guide will regale you with the facts and legends around these captivating creatures in an experience that combines history, culture, zoology, geology and perhaps a little magic. Looking to up the ante? Take a Black Water Rafting tour that will have you racing along underwater rapids, jumping from waterfalls and, of course, gazing at the twinkling constellations of wondrous glow-worms.

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Bucket List: 18 Incredible Caves (You Can Actually Visit)

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