Practical advice for travel lovers. Underground world of Majorca

Address: Coves d "Arta, Ctra. De las Coves s / n, Canyamel
Operation mode: The caves of Art Mallorca are open for visits from October to May from 10.00-18.00
Ticket price: from 9-13 euros
Tel .:+34 971 841 293
Official site: http://www.cuevasdearta.com

The island of Mallorca is very famous in the tourist environment and is famous not only for its comfortable coast, but also for its many amazing caves. The sea and limestone rocks that make up the island are two indispensable conditions for their formation. Several thousand caves, large and very small, have been found in Mallorca, about 200 of them are currently under study. But even an experienced tourist can visit not all. Arta Caves in Mallorca is one of the amazing places that awaits a curious tourist.

Arta's Divine Comedy

The Arta cave was discovered more than five centuries ago and one of the two that is allowed to enter tourists. It is located in the northeast of the island, 11 km from the town of Arta, near the town of Canyamel, at an altitude of 150 meters above sea level. It has a natural entrance, which is led by a wide staircase.

The Arta Cave is very huge and completely consists of stalactites and stalagmites, which for a thousand years have taken very interesting bizarre forms. Inside the cave there are several halls, since their diversity is simply breathtaking, they are overgrown with names: Purgatory, Heaven and Hell, Theater and the Diamond Hall. There is a Flag Hall, in which two stalactites are very similar in shape to hanging flags. In the Hall of Columns among the forest of pillars is the highest stalagmite in the world - the Queen of the Columns, its height is 23 meters! Although, it is surprising if the vaults of the Arta cave itself sometimes reach 40 meters in height. Especially for tourists there is a network of paths and stairs that allows you to move from one hall to another. Groups are not crowded, there is always the opportunity to make a good photo without other visitors in the background.

Guided tours of the Arta Cave are usually conducted in German, English, French and Spanish. But if you successfully get into the group, you can talk with the Russian-speaking guide. At the end of the underground journey in the cave of Hell on the observation deck of all awesome light show. The hall for 3-4 minutes is illuminated with bright color light and chamber music sounds.

As in any real cave, in the caves of Arta in Mallorca, a constant temperature of + 17 + 18 degrees, which only adds to the real sensations of the tale seen.

When to visit and how to get there?

The Arta caves in Mallorca are open to the public from May to November from 10.00 to 18.00. Children under 6 years old - pass for free. Photo and video shooting is allowed. Groups run every half hour, the whole tour lasts about 40 minutes. It is recommended to buy a guidebook, because at the end of the tour sometimes lotteries are held on them. If you look at the map of Majorca, the road to the caves of Arta goes along the rocky coast along the sea, so it is better to go or take a bus with an organized group. Near the cave there are two free parkings (upper and lower), toilets, a cafe. If you get on your own, and it is about 15 minutes drive from Arta, it is better to stay down, so as not to interfere with the tourist bus parking. In order not to panic, that you missed the pointer, and not get lost, it is better to pre-enter the coordinates in the navigator: 39.656075, 3.450908. For children, it is recommended to take light outerwear.

Interesting Facts:

in fact, Arta’s cave is only one, it has one entrance and one exit, but its halls are so different and have their own names, that for several decades all these halls in total are called “Arta caves”;
according to the legend of the cave Art Mallorca, famous science fiction writer J.Vern once visited;
not only the Queen of the Columns has a name, but many stalactites and stalagmites: waterfalls, knights, flags, octopuses and many others. In addition, most even have their own sound and, at times, very pleasant.

If you like adventure, the next day of excursions can be devoted to exploring or to be able to fully embrace the underworld of Majorca.

Arta Caves (Cuevas de Arta) located in the northeast of Mallorca, 11 km from the town of Arta, near the town of Canyamel, at an altitude of 150 meters above sea level. These caves were discovered in the 16th century.

The caves of Arta are huge, their arches in places reach 40 meters in height and consist of stalactites and stalagmites, which over the millennia have acquired strange shapes. The caves have a natural entrance, which is led by a wide staircase. Inside there are several halls with interesting names: Purgatory, Heaven and Hell, Theater and the Diamond Hall. There is a Flag Hall, in which two stalactites are very similar in shape to hanging flags. In the Column Hall, among the forest of pillars, is the largest stalagmite in the world - the Queen of the columns, 22 meters high. Especially for tourists there is a network of paths and stairs that allows you to move from one hall to another. At the end of the underground journey on the observation deck in the cave of Hell, everyone will have a stunning light show: for 3-4 minutes the hall is lit with bright color light and chamber music sounds.

Arta Caves are open to the public. from May to November. Opening hours: April, May, June, October - from 10:00 to 18:00; July, August, September - until 19:00; from November to March - until 17:00.

Tickets to Arta Caves: for adults - 14EUR, for children from 7 to 12 years old - 7EUR, children under 7 years old - free of charge.

Arta caves location:Carretera de las Cuevas, Canyamel, Balearic Islands. GPS coordinates: 39.656075, 3.450908.

How to get there:the road to the Arta Caves goes along the rocky coast along the sea, so it’s better to rent a car or take a bus with an organized group.

Tips: near the Arta caves there are 2 free parkings (upper and lower), a cafe and toilets. If you are getting on your own, it is better to stay down so as not to interfere with tourist bus parking.
Tour groups run every half hour, the whole tour lasts about 40 minutes. We advise you to buy a guidebook, because at the end of the tour sometimes lotteries are held on them.
In the caves of Art allowed photo and video shooting. It is possible to make a good photo without other visitors in the background.
In the caves kept a constant temperature of + 17 + 18 ° C; for children it is better to take light outerwear.

Interesting facts about the Arta caves:

. in fact, there is only one cave, it has one entrance and one exit, but its halls are so different and have their own names, so for several decades these halls have been called the Arta caves;

. according to the legend of the Arta cave, famous science fiction writer J.Vern once visited;

. not only the Queen of the Columns has a name, but many stalactites and stalagmites: there are flags, knights, waterfalls, octopuses and other interesting names. In addition, most even have their own sound, sometimes even very pleasant.

Official site Arta Cave:: www.cuevasdearta.com

Majorca, by its nature, an island quite unique. Almost from all sides, it is closed by mountains framing the inner lowland part of the terrain. These mountains are ancient, chipped by faith and washed by the seas, with a huge number of all kinds of caves (about 200) and underground lakes. There are only five of these tourist caves, but the Drak and Arta caves are particularly popular.

Here in the cave of Arta, we decided to eat with my daughter, imbedded the pedal of the rental cabriolet. The entrance to the caves is located in the mountain on Cape Vermel, at an altitude of 150m on the sea, straight above the beach of the town of Canyamel and the view from the parking lot is simply magnificent. The sandy beach of a small resort town in combination with the blue-green sea looks simply amazing.

Long sotli no nature winds and rains worked on coastal mountains, giving them a bizarre shape outside and huge voids inside. This giant in size and amazingly beautiful cave was known as early as the 16th century, and still attracts crowds of curious tourists.

Of course, they will not let you into the caves themselves (in order to avoid excesses), but every half hour, a guided tour takes place. The guide, by the way, is unique there. The group with which we were going was not an excursion, but a self-recruiting one. At the same time, the linguistic and ethnic composition of the group consisted mainly of Spaniards, Germans and French, and only I raised my hand to a request for English. Having found out the linguistics of the group with such a survey method, the guide did not hesitate to begin a consecutive story in Spanish, French, German and English. Moreover, he owned all of them quite freely ....

The cave inside is certainly impressive - no words. Huge stolactites and stolemagnets, ideal and constant temperature of 17C inside, huge open spaces. For tourist purposes, the cave is divided into several rooms with different lighting and music "Purgatory", "Hell", etc. Immediately imagine the heroes of "The Lord of the Rings" walking through the caves of Moria.

Walking on these huge caves, you unwittingly catch yourself thinking about the futility of human existence, compared with the millennia of the existence of such sculptures of nature ....

The island of Mallorca is the largest in the archipelago of the Balearic Islands. The geographical landscape of the island consists of two mountain ranges of Serra de Tramuntana and Serres de Llevant, parallel to each other and oriented from south-west to north-east. Between the two mountain ranges stretched the fertile valley of the “Pla” with small hills. The mountain ranges on the island, consisting mainly of limestone, are permeated with many karst cavesformed over millennia by erosion. About the most famous of them will be discussed in this article.

Caves The dragon (Cuevas del Drach)

The most popular with tourists and the largest on the island are Dragon Caves (Cuevas del Drach) or Drac Caves - as they are often called. Located on the rugged, numerous bays and bays of the rocky northeast coast, not far from the small port and the cozy town of Porto Cristo, these caves are one of the most mysterious local attractions.

The name of the caves - Cuevas del Drach, translated from the Catalan language means "Dragon Cave". The existence of the cave has been known since time immemorial. According to existing legends, the entrance to the cave was guarded by a formidable dragon with the body of a snake and bat wings, which guarded the numerous treasures hidden in it. More local legends tell of the many treasures that hid in these caves pirates and the mysterious order of the Knights Templar. Maybe in order for local residents to be less interested in these dungeons, a story about a terrible dragon was invented. The memory of these events has been lost for centuries, and only legends have reached our days. However, thanks to the search for the treasures of the Knights Templar, the first written records of caves, which date back to 1338, appeared. Then, on the written order of the Governor of Majorca, a group of soldiers was sent to search for the lost treasures of this mysterious order, rumors about which stirred the entire island. But to the great disappointment, neither the pirates' treasures, nor the Templars could be found, but the first plan of the caves was made.

Thanks to the financial support of the Austrian Archduke Louis Salvador, patron of the arts and a great lover and connoisseur of the nature of Majorca, the cave was better explored. The French caver Edward Martel in 1886 studied and carefully mapped a total of about 1,300 meters of underground passages. In the depths of the cave, the French speleologist discovered a huge crystal clear lake, whose water has a constant temperature of 20 ° C. In honor of its discoverer the lake got its name. Today Martel Lake is considered one of the largest underground lakes in the world, its dimensions are 177 meters long, 40 meters wide and 9 meters deep.

Nowadays, more than two kilometers of this unique natural creation has been studied, uniting a whole complex of caves: the White Cave, the Black Cave and the cave, named after the Archduke Luis Salvador. All these caves are interconnected and form a unique complex of Drakens caves.

One interesting fact lies in the fact that the famous French science fiction writer Jules Verne, who has visited Mallorca several times, mentions about the Dragon caves in his novel Clovis Dartetor (Clovis Dartetor).

In 1935, the Catalan engineer Carlos Bigas, known for creating the lighting of the Magic Fountain in Barcelona, carried out a lighting project for the cave, which represents the rising of the sun over Lake Martel. The cave auditorium located on the lake can accommodate up to 1,100 people. As soon as the last visitors take their places, an amazing presentation begins. On the smooth water surface of an underground lake, illuminated by a soft light, boats appear with musicians sitting there performing classical works. The faint light, symbolizing dawn, gradually fills the entire hall, and the whole cave is gradually filled with music and light. The spectacle is truly unforgettable. Immediately after completing this unusual concert, visitors can enjoy a short boat ride on the underground lake.

The duration of the entire tour is about an hour. The length of the entire route is 1200 meters. The temperature in the caves is constant, and is 20 ° C at a humidity of 80%. For excursions it is recommended to wear comfortable sports shoes, because in some parts of the cave the surface may be wet and slippery. Photo and video inside the cave is prohibited.

The caves of Ams were accidentally discovered on March 2, 1905, when a speleologist and one of the pioneers of tourism in Mallorca, Don Pedro Caldentey, while searching for onyx, split a large piece of rock, discovered the entrance to previously unknown caves.

Caldentei showed great interest in the caves opened by him, trying to show the beauty of the island’s underworld, he introduced cutting-edge technological innovations of the time: lighting of artistic caves with electric lighting. Electricity for this was generated using a water mill with an installed turbine. The resulting electricity was enough to illuminate the cave for 16 hours without a break.

Today, Ams caves use new technologies to share their secrets with all visitors. Today, an original combination of digital technology connected to the environment of the cave is used here. Cave caves are turned into a modern cinema, and its walls into a screen. Passing from the cinema to the cave, you will get the opportunity to see unusual stalactites, thanks to which the cave got its name. At the deepest point of your journey is an underground lake, which bears the proud name “Sea of Venice”, here you can enjoy a small concert and a light show.

Sea caves are located on the northeast coast of the island, not far from Porto Cristo, which is cut by numerous bays and coves. Access to the caves is open only from the sea. Before the excursion, individual instructors will help you to choose a special neoprene suit by size, after which a high-speed boat will take you to the grotto of amazing beauty.

Through this grotto you will be able to independently penetrate an amazing, stunningly beautiful cave with a mysterious underground lake and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a real mystical and fascinating tale of the underworld. You can enjoy the crystal-clear and calm waters of the lake, which is located inside the rocky dome and surrounded by amazing stalactites and stalagmites, illuminated by an extraordinary diffused light coming from outside. The mysterious atmosphere of the cave will turn your excursion into a real adventure that cannot be forgotten.

Successful to you hikes and research of the underground secrets of the island of Mallorca!

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Cave Arta (Mallorca, Spain) - a detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.

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Despite the mildness of the Mediterranean climate, the afternoon in Majorca is hot. But it does not matter: from the heat and the sun you can hide not only in the hotel room, but also in cool caves, which, fortunately, is enough on the island. Arta Cave is one of 5 caves open to visitors, located northeast of the city of the same name.

It was discovered as far back as the 15th century - in a rather unpretentious way, according to history: one day a shepherd just happened to stumble upon it in search of a sheep out of the flock. However, Arto, obviously, was found before that - there are signs of the presence of primitive people and ancient animals.

For a long time the cave was a sacred place for the inhabitants of the island, and at the same time a refuge for pirates.

The area of Arta is extremely large, it has not even been studied until now. Visitors are allowed only in a few rooms that are completely safe and equipped for a comfortable walk.

The whole cave is covered with a huge number of stalactites and stalagmites, which have been growing here for thousands of years and taking very odd forms. In the Hall of Columns, for example, you can see the highest stalagmite in the world. He (more precisely, she) even has a name - the Queen of the columns, and her height is 23 m.

In just 40 minutes, you can slowly stroll through the "hell", "paradise" and "purgatory". However, nothing too extreme is just the names of the halls.

The “hell” hall and in its original form makes an indelible impression, but for visitors the effect is magnified many times with the help of classical music and light shows.

Practical information

Address: Mallorca, Capdepera, Canyamel, Via De Las Cuevas, 0 S / N. Website with eng. version.

In April, May, June and October, the caves are open from 10:00 to 18:00, from July to September - from 10:00 to 19:00, from November to March - from 10:00 to 17:00.