Visit Cuevas del Drach
The Cuevas del Drach are a large cave system near to the town of Porto Cristo on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. The Dragon Caves as they are known in English are one of the biggest tourist attractions on Mallorca.
Explore the Cuevas del Drach
The Cuevas del Drach are four large limestone caves about 25 meters deep and with about 1200 meters of paths to explore. The four caves are the Black Cave, the White Cave, the Cave of Louis Salvador and the Cave of the French and they are filled with magnificent displays of stalactites and stalagmites.
There is also a large underground lake called the Martel lake after Edouard Alfred Martel who discovered it. Martel was a French explorer and one of the founding fathers of Speleology and was invited there in 1896. The caves were formed 5.3 to 11 million years ago and were certainly known about in the Middle Ages. Lake Martel is the largest underground lake in Europe.
A German explorer called M.F.Will had mapped the Black and White cave in 1880 and Martel found the lake and the Louis Salvador cave and the French cave.
Between 1922 and 1935 the caves were opened up and stairs, paths and lighting installed and have been increasing in popularity ever since.
A tour of the caves reveals the wonderful formations and colours of the rock and takes about an hour. The tour ends with a boat trip on Lake Martel and a floodlit violin concert. Magnificent!
Cuevas del Drach visitor information
The caves are open all year with the exception of December 25 and January 1st. With 4 time slots between 10.45 and 15.30 in winter and seven slots (every hour except 13.00) from 10.00 to 17.00 in the summer (mid March to the end of October.
Prices are 15 euros for adults and 8 euros for children (3-12s).
The caves stay at about 21°C all year.
There is free parking, a picnic area and a cafe and souvenir shop at the site.
The address is: Cuevas del Drach, Ctra. de les Coves, s/n, 07680 Porto Cristo, Illes Balears, Spain
Places to visit nearby
Porto Cristo itself is a lovely little fishing village with a nice sandy beach and a nice blend of old stone houses and more modern villas. Lunch at one of the restaurants on the harbour is very pleasant.
Pollenca and the Port of Pollenca is one of the most popular towns of Mallorca and has a lovely unspoit atmosphere. The beautiful resort of Soller is one of our favourites on the island of Mallorca, as is the hill village of Deia. Be sure not to miss them.
You can find more local travel ideas in the Balearic Islands guide.
Photos of Cuevas del Drach
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Map of Cuevas del Drach and places to visit
Cuevas del Drach places to visit
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