Best Caves

Peter Wilhelm Lund was a Danish paleontologist and naturalist who extensively excavated hundreds of limestone caves in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais during the 1830s. He is recognized for reporting extinct Ice Age mammals alongside early human remains, providing crucial early insights into Sou...

The Ellora Caves are a remarkable complex of monumental rock-cut structures located in Maharashtra, India. Carved between the 6th and 11th centuries, these caves showcase intricate religious architecture representing Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain faiths. The site’s diverse temples reflect a significant...

The Ajanta Caves are a complex of twenty-nine rock-cut cave monuments located in Maharashtra, India. Carved between the 2nd century BCE and approximately 480 CE, these caves showcase significant Buddhist art. Intricate paintings and sculptures depict scenes from the Buddha’s life and Jataka tales. P...

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Caves, also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, are a complex of underground passages and monastic burial sites located within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in Ukraine. The caves serve as the final resting place for numerous mummified Orthodox saints, monks, and historical fi...

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is a Vietnamese UNESCO World Heritage site in Quang Binh Province. It contains an extraordinary network of caves, most notably Son Doong, the world’s largest surveyed cave system. The park offers significant geological and biodiversity value attracting explorers, cave...

Carlsbad Caverns National Park protects extensive subterranean cave systems within Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The park’s most famous features are Carlsbad Cavern, a vast chamber system, and Big Room, one of the largest single rooms in any North American cave. It is a significant...

The Cradle of Humankind is a paleoanthropological site located roughly 50 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it encompasses a complex of limestone caves that have yielded a vast quantity of hominin fossils. Key discoveries within the site,...

Phra Nang Beach is a popular shoreline located on Thailand’s Railay Peninsula within Krabi province. The beach is distinguished by dramatic limestone cliffs offering stunning coastal views and sea access only by boat. A small cave houses a significant shrine revered by local worshippers and visitors...

Kahurangi National Park protects a significant portion of the northwest South Island’s wilderness. This park is renowned for its dramatic karst topography including extensive caves and forests. It offers challenging hiking experiences like the Heaphy Track, primarily enjoyed by experienced hikers an...

Mammoth Cave National Park preserves an extensive karst landscape within Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave System. It contains over 400 miles of explored caves, making it the world's longest known cave system. The park offers unique geological formations and diverse forest ecosystems. It is a destination for...

Niah National Park is located in Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo, and is centered on the Niah Caves system. Archaeological excavations in the Great Cave uncovered evidence of human habitation dating back approximately 40,000 years, among the earliest in Southeast Asia. The caves are also...

The Waitomo Karst is an extensive limestone region located on the North Island of New Zealand, characterized by underground rivers, sinkholes, and caverns formed over millions of years. It is internationally known for its population of Arachnocampa luminosa, a bioluminescent glowworm species endemic...

"Cave of Forgotten Dreams" is a 2010 3D documentary film by Werner Herzog that provides a rare glimpse inside France's Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave. The cave contains some of the oldest known human-created Paleolithic art, featuring remarkably preserved paintings of animals that date back over 30,000 yea...

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery complex situated on the hills overlooking Kyiv, Ukraine. Founded in 1051 by monks Anthony and Theodosius, it is renowned for its extensive subterranean cave labyrinths that house the relics of numerous Orthodox saints. The site f...

Patty Jo Watson is an American archaeologist who served as a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. She is recognized for her pioneering applications of processual archaeology, particularly her work developing and applying scientific methods to archaeological research in cave environments....

The Khammouane Karst is an extensive limestone region situated in central Laos, characterized by its heavily forested karst peaks and broad river valleys. The area is distinguished by its large, navigable underground river caves, most notably the Xe Bang Fai cave system, which is one of the largest...

Praia de Benagil is a small beach beside the fishing village of Benagil in Lagoa, in Portugal's Algarve region. It lies beneath the area's layered limestone cliffs and provides coastal access near Algar de Benagil, a sea cave containing a sandy interior and a large natural opening in its roof. The c...

Fiordland Karst is a remote karst landscape in New Zealand's Fiordland region, composed primarily of marble and limestone. It contains several notable cave systems, including the Aurora Cave system, which extends beneath the Southern Alps. The area is characterized by sinkholes, underground streams,...

Caves (Roguelike) is a turn-based dungeon crawler set in a science fiction universe, officially released in 2018. Designed for both mobile and desktop platforms, the game tasks players with exploring a subterranean world filled with hostile robots and creatures. It emphasizes traditional roguelike m...

The Apuseni Mountains are a mountain group in western Romania and form part of the Western Romanian Carpathians. The region is distinguished by extensive limestone karst, including caves, underground rivers, sinkholes, gorges, and plateaus; notable cave areas occur within Apuseni Natural Park. Its l...

The Nullarbor Plain is an extensive, arid limestone plateau spanning parts of South Australia and Western Australia along the Great Australian Bight. Its exposed carbonate bedrock supports a distinctive karst landscape containing caves, sinkholes, and thousands of narrow openings commonly called blo...

Pinnacles National Park is a protected area located in central California, elevated to national park status in 2013. The landscape is distinguished by its dramatic, eroded volcanic spires and talus caves formed by ancient volcanic activity. It is a crucial habitat for the California condor, a critic...

The Moravian Karst is a protected landscape area and nature reserve located north of Brno in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It is the most prominent karst region in the country, featuring over a thousand explored caves and gorges. The landscape is distinguished by the dramatic Maco...

Wind Cave National Park is a protected area in the Black Hills of South Dakota, established in 1903. It was the first cave system designated as a national park and is known for extensive calcite boxwork, a delicate honeycomb-like formation found there in unusual abundance. Above ground, the park pro...

The Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, contain the famous Cheddar Gorge and an extensive network of limestone caves that have yielded significant prehistoric human remains.