Europe

Bulgaria, Bacho Kiro Cave is within the exquisite canyons of Andaka and Dryanovo River. The cave is a 4 story maze of galleries and corridors. Not much more info but some beautiful photos. Ledenika is a cave in the Northwest part of the Balkan Mountains. There are many passageways and large rooms. Read the interesting description and find a beautiful photo. Snezhanka (cave), and means Snow White named after the white crystal sinter. There is some description and a beautiful photograph. Click to see the larger version. Beautiful formations and circular hearths containing animal bones dating back to early Iron Age. Uhlovitsa is a cave in the Blue Pools Area. The cave is well explored and developed. It has a lot of formations with an impressive icefall at its end. Not much history or description but several nice photos.

Croatia, Velebit Caves. It "is believed" that the Velebit mountain of Croatia has several caves with some of the world's greatest subterranean vertical drops. The caves are in a special reserve, a dedicated part of the Sjeverni Velebit National Park. Biokovo is the second highest mountain range in Croatia. There is almost no info but there are two beautiful photos of this big mountain range. Crveno Jezero (Red Lake) is a lake known for its remarkably high cliffs and numerous caves. Water drains through underground waterways that descend below the level of the lake floor. Very little info but would you look at that photo, wow. Barac's caves were opened to visitors in 1892 but were abandoned and forgotten following WWII. In July of 2004 the upper Barac's Caves were reopened. Be sure to read the External Links and see more photos.

France, Chauvet Cave or Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave is in Southern France. It became famous for the walls which are richly decorated with Paleolithic artwork, the fossilized remains of many animals and the preserved footprints of animals and humans. There is much to read and a photo of a drawing of horses found within the cave. Font de Gaume is a cave in southwest France. The cave houses a collection of prehistoric cave paintings and is popular with tourists. There is just a little history but there is a nice photo of the big rock cliff where the cave is located. Gouffre Berger was discovered in 1953 and until 1963 was regarded as the deepest cave in the world but relinquished the title after further exploration. Be sure to look through the External Links. Some is in French but in the first one, about 1/3 of the way down the page, it is in English and warns of the people who have died when they were not as prepared as they thought they were. Much info and several photos in the Access details, history and survey. But the Interclubs Berger 2006 has a tab on the far left for photos and will take you to a page full of photos. Some of the crew and lots of the cave itself. Most interesting. Grotte des Demoiselles is a large cave in the south of France. The history is delightful especially the legend and story. The External Link will take you to the official website which of course is in French but it has a lot of photos. Most would not open at first, just take your mouse over the little red X and right click. Where it says Show Photo, click there and the picture will open. Some nice ones to see. Gouffre Jean-Bernard is one of the deepest know caves in the world. Long thought to be the longest, it was displaced to 4th. Almost no information and no photos. There is a link to a website for tourists but it is in French. The only thing I could read was some of the google wording. Lascaux is a complex of caves in southwest France known for its prehistoric cave paintings. While their website (under External Links) was nice, it wouldn't let me out. I had to close the link and go back to the Wikipedia page just to continue. Niaux is a village and commune in southwest France. It is world famous for its prehistoric cave paintings of bison and horses. (Sounds like that means there is a cave there somewhere but there is no other info about a cave and no photos.) Padirac Cave or Chasm or Gouffre de Padirac is a cave in France. You will understand the dimensions of the cave when you see the photograph. It has a diameter of approximately 35 metres. Take the External Link and then take the link that is in English, it says Welcome. There is a small photo but it gives you a glimpse of being inside the cave looking up through the opening.

Germany, Blautopf is a spring that serves as the source of the river Blau(blau means blue) in southern Germany. It forms the drain for the Blau cave system and feeds the river Blau which flows into the river Danube. The water's blue color is caused by the limestone densely distributed in the water. There is a section titled "Legends" and tells about the folk tales. Be sure to read the Geology section. The restrictions on diving are scary. But look on to the bottom of the page for the External Links and check out the webpage. I'd heard of the Blue Danube all of my life, and now I know.

Gibraltar, St. Michael's Cave is the name given to a network of limestone caves located in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve of Gibraltar. It is the most visited of the more than 150 caves found inside the Rock of Gibraltar, receiving almost 1,000,000 visitors every year. In that first paragraph be sure to click on the highlighted "Rock of Gibraltar" to visit the page given to that big old rock (click on the picture to see it in the large version). That is all so fascinating. Be sure to read all the Creation, Prehistory, Ancient World, Legend and lots of References. Visit the See Also of Gorham's Cave and the the External Links for the Official site that has some more info and a couple of tiny photos that don't get bigger. Gorham's Cave is a natural sea cave in Gibraltar and is considered to e one of the last known habitations of the Neanderthals. I found this page through the St. Michael's Cave page. I do think that these sea caves offer more of the cave paintings. See the External Links to find more info.

Hungary, Anna Cave is a natural limestone cave near the waterfall (?) forgotten for many years. It has many nice limestone structures and also fossils of plants. There is an external link but it says Hungarian and it is. I took a couple of the links which were drawings. No photos at all and very little information. Cave Bath is a thermal bath in a natural cave. The waters are reputed to cure pain known since ancient times. Only in more recent years have the baths been improved. There is only one photo and it is of the exterior of the building. There are External links to the official site and an article to read. Istvan Cave is a dripstone cave in northern Hungary. There is little info but under the External Links is a "Photo Gallery" with some very nice pictures. The text is Hungarian but the photographs say a lot.

Ireland, Aillwee Cave is one of the many thousands of ancient caves in northwest Ireland. There is one photo and an External Link that shows a website but there is nothing there. Unless you want to browse the craft shop. Crag Cave is called the biggest and best cave in Ireland but there is almost no information and no photos on this page. Take the link under External Links to their website which seems designed for young children. The links go around and around but when you can find the Tour, take it to see some photos and drawings of all the caverns. Dunmore Caves are limestone caves and the location of a Viking massacre in 928. There is only one photo on this page but visit the External Links to see more. The website for the Caves has most photos of castes, tower, gardens and such. The Showcave site has more info. Until more recent times, caves were regarded as an entrance to hell and avoided. Marble Arch Caves is a series of natural limestone caves in northern Ireland. There is some interesting description to read about but there are no photos. Pol an Ionain is a cave whose name translates into the "Ivy Cliff Cave." The cave was discovered in 1952, purchased in 1990 and opened to the public as a showcave in 2006. That's about all the info available with no photos at all.

Italy, the Blue Grotto is a noted sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, Italy. There is not a lot of information or history but there are some nice pictures. Look under External Links to find the Virtual Cave, Seacaves where you will fine some awesome photos of seacaves including more of the Blue Grotto. The Ear of Dionysius is an artificial limestone cave. Little info but one photo. The history is most unusual and there are probably few visitors except to hear the acoustics. They use the word gruesome and it does fit. Grotta Gigante is a giant cave with many large formations of exceptional beauty. Take a visit to the official website. It is more fun if you know Italian, which I do not. But look at the top line to see la grotta and it will give you photos. Click on geologia for some more photos. Morfologia has a most interesting drawing of the cave. Wow. Lots of fun.

Malta, Ghar Dalam means Cave of Darkness has extraordinary bone remains of animals stranded inside about 180,000 years ago. There is just a bit of history. Take the link under External Links for the showcaves page. They have more photos and some description. Ghar Lapsi is a small rocky inlet near the Blue Grotto. In the summer, the inlet turns into a natural swimming pool. There is almost no info and no photos.

Norway, Raggejavreraige is a cave located in northern Norway. It is the deepest cave in Scandinavia and the only deep cave north of the Arctic Circle. There is a description of the area and access. The description of the cave is difficult to understand and imagine what they are talking about. There are no other links and no photos at all.

Poland, Jaskinia Wielka Sniezna "great snowy cave" is a limestone cave that is the largest and deepest cave of Poland. There are 5 entrances connected by a complicated system of shafts and passages. Several of them contain underground trickles, waterfalls, pools or siphons. Some had believed that it was connected to Sniezna Studnia, the second largest cave in Poland. The External Link is in Polish but there is a drawing of the cave and a photo but it is difficult to tell what you are looking at. Jaskinia Raj is considered a small but beautiful cave. Findings from the cave include prehistoric tools and animal bones. All the External Links have nice photos but the text is in Polish. Smocza Jama is a limestone cave and the best known cave in Poland. There is some history and description. The External Link offers a website. The language is Polish but the photos and drawing are very nice.

Portugal, Gruta de Moinhos Velhos is one of the most important cave systems known in Portugal. The description and history are short but there is a fine photo, Click on the picture to see a large version. Those are people in the distance.

Romania, Pestera Ursilor or Bear's Cave was discovered in 1965. The cave was so named as numerous bears were found in the cave. It was suggested that a rock slide closed the entrance while they were still inside, deprived of food, the bears resorted to killing each other. Pestera Vantului (Wind Cave) is the largest cave in Romania. This is a closed cave and only accessible to cavers. Under the External Links, the first two listings are Tripod pages and loaded with pop-ups that a firewall cannot slow down. They have little info so skip them and go to the third "The Cave of the Wind with Pictures" and there are some fine photos. The last two give you language choices but English is not one of them. There appears to be a photo of a pretty river but where, I do not know. Pestera cu Oase (The Cave of Bones) is a system of 12 galleries and chambers in southwest Romania. This is a page full of findings and research. It tells of what bones were found and when. No photos of anything. Scarisoara Cave is one of the biggest ice cave in Romania. There is little info or history. There are two photos that you can click to see the larger version. They boast many formations but do now show them.

Serbia, Marble Cave is made up of marble cliffs, a very rare phenomenon. Many pillars reach up to 5 meters in height and are covered with spikes which are a special oddity of the cave. Ornaments are in different colors, ranging from aragonite white crystal to red and all shades in between. Almost no other info and no photos. No external links to visit. Rajko's Cave is in the east of Serbia, at the spring of Mali Pek. It is a river cave through whose entire length flows the Rajko's River. Find only a brief description with no history. There is one photo but the currently under construction website is not finished. I could not get it to open. Find the link and visit the website. It is not in English but on the far left side of the page, there is a tab for Photo Album. Click on each image and see another gallery. Many photos. Stopica Cave is in the west part of Serbia. During high waters, the entire bottom of the Main Passage is flooded. There are few ornament formations and is an active river came. There is a tourism website but it is not in English and there are no photos that I could see. Zlotske Caves are in eastern Serbia. Zlotske Caves (Lazareva and Vernijkica) are close to the town of Zlot. Read the brief description . No photos.

Slovenia, Postojna Cave is a Karst cave system, the longest cave system in the country as well as one of its tope tourism sites. The caves were created by the Pivka River. Under External Links, visit the website. Lots of photos. Vilenica is the oldest tourist cave in Slovenia. There is little more info on t his page, but visit the References for the website. More photos. Park Skocjanske jame, Slovenia. There is one photo of a very large entrance. It says gallery but there are no other photos. There is a mention that UNESCO allows no photos of the interior. Okay.

Slovakia, Jaskyna Driny is a cave with 410 meters available for the public. Some very nice photos but the long description is not in English. Gombasecka jaskyna is a cave in Slovakia. Hard to tell how long the open section is and the long description is not in English. There are several nice photos but one seems to be two pictures, one over the other. It is a National Monument.

Spain, Cave of Altamira is famous for its Upper Paleolithic cave paintings featuring drawings and polychrome rock paintings of wild mammals and human hands. The cave with paintings has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. There is much description, discovery, excavation and skepticism. See why there is a 3 year wait to actually see the cave but you can go and see a replica that way you won't damage the original paintings. The External Links can give you the story of Altamira and a visit with the National Museum. There is a list at the bottom of the page with the World Heritage Sites in Spain. Much to read. The Caves of King "Cintolo" are large caves with restricted access. The External Links are not in English. I know some Spanish but this says Galician and there were no images or items to recognize, nothing familiar. Cuevas de El Castillo is a brief description of a site within the complex of the Caverns of Monte Castillo. Under See Also, visit Cueva de La Pasiega where you can learn much about cave drawings. The External Link is not in English but does have some very nice photos that will scroll across the page from right to left. Caves of Nerja are a series of caverns and one of Spain's major tourist attractions. There are some nice photos. I tried to see the sites listed in the References but the website would not let me out. I had to close the page and start over. Don't go there. Cueva de los Verdes is a lava tube in the Canary Islands. There is a brief description of how the cave came to be but it seems to be used mainly as a concert hall. Cueva Victoria, Spain this page has lots of fine photos but almost no description or text.