Caves of Nerja: Andalusia's Underground Cathedral of Stone

The Accidental Discovery

The modern history of the Nerja Caves begins on January 12, 1959, when five young men from the nearby village of Maro were out searching for bats. Francisco Navas Montesinos, Manuel and Miguel Munoz Zorrilla, Jose Luis Barbero de Miguel, and Jose Torres Cardenas discovered an opening in the rock at the Mina de la Pintada. Crawling through a narrow passage, they entered a vast underground chamber filled with enormous stalactites and stalagmites.

News of the discovery spread rapidly, and within weeks geologists and archaeologists had begun surveying the site. The caves were opened to the public on June 12, 1960, just 18 months after their discovery. A bronze plaque at the cave entrance honors the five original discoverers.

Since their opening, the caves have attracted over five million visitors and have become one of the most important tourist and scientific sites in Andalusia.

Geological Wonders

The world's largest known stalagmite column in the Nerja Caves. Photo by Mathiasrex, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY.

The cave system is divided into three main sections: the Show Galleries (open to the public), the Upper Galleries, and the New Galleries. The Show Galleries alone cover an impressive area, with chambers reaching heights of over 30 meters in places.

The Record-Breaking Column

The crown jewel of Nerja is its colossal stalagmite column in the Cataclysm Hall. Measuring 32 meters tall and 13 meters by 7 meters at its base, it holds the Guinness World Record as the largest stalagmite in the world. Scientists estimate this formation has been growing for hundreds of thousands of years, built up drop by drop from mineral-rich water seeping through the limestone overhead.

Formation Highlights

Beyond the record-breaking column, the caves contain an extraordinary diversity of speleothems (cave formations). Visitors encounter delicate soda straw stalactites, curtain formations that resemble draped fabric, rimstone pools filled with crystal-clear water, and massive flowstone cascades that look like frozen waterfalls.

The Cascade Hall features a particularly dramatic formation where flowstone has covered an entire wall in a rippling, golden-tinted sheet. The Ballet Hall, one of the first chambers encountered on the tour, gets its name from the formation shapes that early visitors compared to dancers frozen in motion.

Archaeological Significance

The Caves of Nerja are not just a geological wonder but also an important archaeological site. Excavations have revealed evidence of continuous human habitation spanning from the Upper Paleolithic through the Bronze Age, a period of roughly 25,000 years.

Notable archaeological finds include:

• Paleolithic cave paintings depicting seals, fish, and dolphins, some possibly dating to over 42,000 years ago, which would make them among the oldest known artworks in the world and potentially attributable to Neanderthals rather than Homo sapiens
• Neolithic pottery, tools, and grain storage pits indicating settled agricultural communities
• Bronze Age burial sites with ceramic vessels and personal ornaments
• Charcoal remains that have been carbon-dated to establish the chronology of different occupation periods

Research continues at the site, with teams from the Nerja Cave Foundation working to document and preserve both the geological and archaeological heritage. Some of the more sensitive areas containing prehistoric art are not included in the public tour route to ensure their preservation.

The Annual Festival

Each summer since 1960, the caves have hosted the Festival Cueva de Nerja, a performing arts event that takes advantage of the natural acoustics and dramatic setting. The festival features music, dance, and theatrical performances held in the Cascade Hall, which can accommodate an audience of several hundred. Past performers have included internationally recognized artists in classical, flamenco, and jazz genres.

The experience of attending a concert inside a cave that was formed millions of years ago, surrounded by towering rock formations bathed in theatrical lighting, is genuinely extraordinary. Check the official cave website for annual festival dates and ticket availability.

Visitor Information

Practical Tips

• The tour route covers approximately 500 meters with over 300 steps, so a reasonable level of fitness is needed
• Temperature inside is a constant 19 degrees Celsius with 80-100% humidity
• The caves are partially accessible for visitors with limited mobility, though only the first two halls have ramp access
• A botanical garden outside the cave entrance is included with your ticket and offers shade and Mediterranean plant species
• Nearby Maro village has beautiful cliff-top beaches accessible via hiking trails
• The Costa del Sol resort of Nerja itself offers excellent restaurants, a historic quarter (the Balcon de Europa), and some of the best beaches in Malaga province