The Caves of Nerja (Cuevas de Nerja in Spanish) are a series of huge caverns/caves stretching for almost five kilometres and they are also home to the world’s largest stalagmite, a 32 metre high column measuring 13 metres by 7 metres at its base. There are three Galleries inside the caves – Show Gallery, Upper Gallery and New Gallery – with each gallery containing a number of Halls. The caves were discovered by five local men back in 1959, who decided to go hunting for bats and headed for a pothole called ‘La Mina’ where they spent the night watching a these creatures going in and out through a hole in the rocks. The next day they decided to have a look inside the home of the bats and once inside, they found themselves able to descend to a huge cavern where they discovered a number of skeletons next to some ceramic pottery. The Nerja Caves were officially inaugurated in June 1960 and opened to the public visits. We booked our visit online (Ticket is 10€pp) and I highly recommend you to do that, especially when you’re visiting during the weekend. You will get a small audio guide that helps to understand this magical place. It almost feels like there is a small village down there - it's really incredible!
Did you know The Nerja Caves (Cuevas de Nerja) have been the location for the annual ‘Festival de Música y Danza’ since the caves opened to the public in 1960 and the concerts attract international stars such as Rostropovich, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Maya Pilsetkaya, Montserrat Caballé, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, José Carreras and even Joaquin Cortes!
More info: www.cuevadenerja.es
