What are Caves? Caves are natural cavity under the earth’s surface or in rocks that allows humans or animals into it. It may or may not have an entrance or an opening. They are hollow rocks that usually consist of water. There are hundreds of caves all over the world. Each of these wonders is unique and utterly different from the others. Some are made of ice, others are made of rock, and some are man-made.

If you have ever visited a cave, you know how amazing it is to stand inside. If you have yet to have the chance to visit anyone before or want to learn more about them around the world, enjoy these fantastic photos of these natural creations. In this article, you will be given a tour of the world’s most famous and beautiful caves.

Caves have been explored throughout history. In prehistoric times they were used to provide shelter, burials, or as religious sites. You can explore the underground to enjoy activity or physical exercise.

What are Caves? – Types of Caves

Caves are formed by geological processes, including:

1. Chemical reactions between rocks.
2. Erosion factors due to water.
3. Tectonic forces.
4. Pressure and atmospheric factors.
5. Microbiology.

Primary Caves

They are caves that were formed with the surrounding rocks at the same time. Such as:

1. Lava tunnels are formed by volcanic activities.
2. Sea caves are located along the coasts in most world countries.
3. Ice caves are formed by the melting process of ice and under glaciers.
4. Dissolved caves consist of the dissolution and dissolution of their constituent rocks in groundwater laden with oxides and acids, including organic acid.

Geographical Distribution

Caves are spread worldwide, but very few are explored and documented by specialists. Cave exploration is often associated with the country and region’s interest in this terrain. The explored caves appear scattered in countries such as Libya in the mountainous Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region, France, Australia, Italy and the United States of America. But it is less in China, even though China contains most of the factors that make up caves.

Deepest Caves in the World

The deepest caves in the world are in France. Some of them are more than 3,000 feet below the surface. The deepest underwater cave is the Hranice Abyss in the Czech Republic, which is 404 meters deep.

What are the most famous caves in the world?

1. Melissani Cave

Melissani Cave on the Greek island of Kefalonia. There are two chambers inside the cave, an open chamber at the top lit by the sun, while the other is dark and covered with moss.

2. Benagil Cave

Benagil Cave is located on the south coast of Portugal. It is the most famous cave in the world. Many people visit the place and have fun by paddle boarding or by boat, as the currents around the site can be strong.

3. Saeva dupka Cave

Saeva dupka Cave is located in northern Bulgaria.

It is named after two brothers, Siu and Sai, who were rumoured to have hidden in the site for some time. It is known for its excellent acoustics, and sometimes concerts are held there.

4. Reed flute cave

The reed flute cave was named after the green reeds growing outside it that people used to make flutes. This fantastic place is located in Guilin, China. Colourful lights illuminate the stone columns and rock formations inside the cave for tourists to see.

5. Jenolan Caves

The Jenolan Caves in Australia, also known as the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, are one of the highly recommended sites in the region. It is one of the oldest cave systems in the world and is filled with underground rivers.

6. Langjokull Cave

Almost like a wave, this colossal cave was formed from a hot spring under the glacier. The ice is 80 feet high in this ice cave.

7. Grotta Azzurra Cave

Grotta Azzurra, or Blue Grotto Cave, is located on the island of Capri in Italy. Although the blue water colour in this photo looks fake, the truth is that the water inside the location is crystal blue with silvery reflections.

8. Arta Caves

Shown here is the entrance to one of the chambers in the Arta Caves in Majorca, Spain. The massive boulders falling from the roof create magnificent cathedral-like structures.

9. Phraya Nakhon Cave

Phraya Nakhon Cave is located within the Khao National Park in Prachuap Province, Thailand. In the morning, sunlight fills the cave and illuminates the small pavilion at the bottom of it. The pavilion was built in 1890 for the King’s visits.

10. Diros Caves

Diros Caves in Greece were discovered in 1985. Falling from the roof are boulders, some of which are over 1,600 feet long.

11. Devetashka Cave

This massive cave in Bulgaria was once inhabited by thousands of people. Now that humans have left and no longer live in it, 30,000 bats have made it their home. One of the unique features of Devetashka Cave is that seven holes in the upper part of it allow sunlight to pass through.

12. Stopica Cave

Stopića Cave is located on the left bank of the Prishtavica River in Serbia. The most famous attraction to the place is the subterranean waterfall, about 10 metres high, which attracts tourists and visitors to behold its beauty and witness its magnificence.

13. Woolshed Cave

Located in South Australia, people can visit this site on Thalia Beach. This cave is an eroded cavity created by ocean waves and winds. It has sandstone rocks and a layer of limestone that forms the ceiling.

14. Algar do Carvão Cave

This cave is an ancient volcanic vent located in the centre of Terceira Island in Portugal. This photo shows the entrance to the place, which looks like you are entering a dense forest.

15. Temimina Cave

It is a small cave located within the Alto Ribeira tourist park in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The park is known for its many caves.

16. Postojna Cave

This cave is located behind an ancient castle. Predjama Castle in Slovenia is built into the side of a mountain and is the largest cave castle in the world. Under the castle is a massive cave with four floors and a network of secret tunnels.

17. Cango Caves

The Cango Caves are the largest caves in Africa, located in South Africa, and these caves were discovered in the year 1780.

18. La Cueva Horadada

This cave in Spain has a large entrance facing east, and this picture shows the hole in the cave’s ceiling. The rock walls inside the cave formed hexagonal shapes resulting from wind erosion.

19. Waitomo Caves

Also known as the Caves of the Famous Glow Worms, the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand are one of the most famous caves in the world. Thousands of colourful glowworms that give off blue light line the cave’s walls, creating an unforgettable light for those who travel. It may be difficult for visitors to see these worms, but once visitors’ eyes adjust to the cave’s dark environment, they will see what looks like a night sky full of tiny turquoise stars.

20. Crystal Caves

Besides the beaches, the Crystal Caves are one of the most beautiful natural attractions in Bermuda. The caves were formed during the Ice Age and have a lake at their base, fed by the ocean with clear blue waters.

21. Batu Caves

Batu Caves in Malaysia consist of three large caves. It is considered one of the world’s most famous and beautiful caves. It consists of some small caves made of limestone. The 100-year-old temple inside the cave serves as an important religious landmark for Hindus.

22. Fingal Cave

Fingal’s Cave in Scotland is 72 feet long and 270 feet deep. The most distinctive feature of the cave is the hexagonal basalt columns that make up its walls. The columns form a passage, allowing visitors to enter and explore the cave.

23. Son Doong Cave

Son Doong Cave is located in Phong Nha Ki Bang National Park in Vietnam. It is the largest cave in the world, and the name translates as “cave of a mountain river”. It was created two to five million years ago by river water eroding the limestone beneath the mountain.

24. Cueva de los Verdes Cave

This cave, located on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, was formed after a volcanic eruption. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was used as a hideout for the inhabitants to protect themselves from pirate attacks.

25. Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave, located at the National Park in Kentucky, is the longest cave trail in the world, at about 644 km. It is one of the great tourist attractions in North America. The park contains dozens of kilometres of underground cave paths and 214 km of forest to explore.

What are the most frightening caves in the world?

Exploring the most frightening caves in the world requires a very bold type of traveller if you are of this type and are tired of relaxing on the beaches and navigating restaurants and wanting a unique adventure.

Here are the most frightening caves in the soul, some of which extend to a depth of 40 floors, some of which are entirely inside the water, and some are inside caves of pure ice in the Alps, so let’s get to know them:

1.      EISRIESENWELT Cave in Austria

It is located in the heart of the Austrian Alps at a depth of 42 km, and you will find a cable car that can bring you to its end. Still, it has been installed since 1955, so the cable car trip itself will be terrifying enough for every adventurer. The cave enjoys awe-inspiring landscapes, except that the temperatures It is always below zero.

2.      Marble Caves in Chile

It is indisputably one of the most beautiful and terrifying caves around the world, and it is more than 6,000 years old and is entirely located under the water. It feels like it is made of polished marble and not stones.

And whoever enters it feels that he is in another world and not on earth at all, as the reflection of the blue colour on the walls, shadows, and existing formations suggest many adventures.

3.      GLOWWORM Caves in New Zealand

These unique caves in the world with their strange, frightening and magical character at the same time as the Glow Worm Caves in New Zealand, so it deserves to be one of the most frightening caves in the world.

There you will find millions of luminous hanging worms that hang from the walls and ceiling and radiate a glowing blue light with sticky silk lines, and it consists of 300 caves, and do not worry about catching worms as the whole trip takes place on a boat that tours you in the charming cave.

4.      SKAFTAFELL Cave in Iceland

These fantastic ice caves were formed in an extraordinary way, as they are the result of the melting of glaciers over the Skaftafell National Park, so the water flows through the ice cracks. When it travels through the ice, it freezes, creating a new layer of ice with the previous wonderful and frightening ice passages to become impressive passages suitable only for those with bold hearts.

5.      Orda Cave in Russia

It is one of the longest caves under the water, extending for almost 5 km, and most of it is submerged in clear water and reaches a depth of 100 feet or 33 meters, so it is not for amateur divers at all but for those who are used to adventure and transportation.

6.      Puerto Princesa Cave in the Philippines

It is listed among the seven natural wonders of the world. It moves through a series of mountains so that you will find yourself inside a beautiful water tunnel, and around you are many Buddhist statues and symbols that were considered one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1999, so it is a varied journey of adventure and getting to know the most beautiful Hidden symbols of civilisation.

7.      Krubera Cove Caves in Georgia

It is considered the deepest cave in the world and is located near Abkhazia in the Caucasus Mountains. Explorers and adventurers were able to reach a depth of 2090 meters, but so far, no one has been able to reach its end. It also extends for 16 km under the mountains, with spectacular side tunnels and winding shafts that could fool any explorer.

Underground Caves

Caves have been explored throughout history. In prehistoric times they were used to provide shelter, burials, or as religious sites. You can explore the underground caves to enjoy the activity or for physical exercise. Elim, an overview of the most famous underground caves in the world.

1.      Waitomo Caves

Waitomo Caves are one of the most important tourist attractions in New Zealand, which are located outside the main town of Waitomo. The caves are distinguished by their ornamentation, the deep limestone shaft known as Tumo and the impressive Cathedral Cave, known for its remarkable acoustics.

2.      Majlis al Jinn Cave

Majlis Al Jinn Cave is one of the largest underground caves in the world, which is located in a remote area of the Salma Plateau in the Sultanate of Oman. The cave consists of one room measuring about 310 meters by 225 metres, with a dome ceiling extending up to 120 metres. The size of the cave can accommodate 12 Boeing 747 jumbo aircraft that fit inside the cave room.

3.      Skocjan Caves

Skokjan Cave is the highest cave hall in Europe, which consists of a vast underground passage with waterfalls and a bridge over the gorge. The caves have stalactites and stalagmites and beautiful structures. The river is still on the surface for the first part of the Skokjan Caves.

4.      Carlsbad Caverns

The Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located near Carlsbad, New Mexico and includes the Great Chamber. The cave chamber is made of natural limestone measuring 1,219 by 190 meters and 107 meters to the highest point above the ground. It is the seventh-largest cave chamber in the world. The caves are decorated with stalactites, stalagmites and an impressive array of other formations that the many easy-access paths can see.

5.      Jeita Grotto

Jeita Grotto, in Lebanon, consists of two separate but interconnected limestone karst caves: the Upper Grotto and the Lower Grotto. The upper gallery houses the biggest stalactites in the world, which have a total length of 6,200 meters and are located about 60 meters below the upper gallery.

6.      Molo Caves

Mulu Caves is located in Mulu National Park, Gunung, in Borneo and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Malaysia. The park includes charming caves with karst formations in a tropical and mountainous rainforest. It contains the Sarawak Chamber, which was found in one of the underground caves, measuring 700 to 396 meters and at least 70 meters above the ground, and it is the largest cave room in the world. The large room can accommodate about 40 Boeing 747s without their wings.

If you enjoyed this article why not check out some more Geography Facts and Topics: Mountains, Rainbows, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms, Islands, Blizzards, Volcanoes and Continents.

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