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Nerja caves
One of the must-see sites in Nerja are the famous Nerja Caves (one of them is not open to the public), also known as the Cathedral of Prehistory. Apart from their magnificence, the Caves have 22 paintings probably dating back to the auriñaciense (high paelaeolithic) period and have been declared Monumento Histórico-Artístico Nacional (Spanish Heritage Monument).
Nerja caves
The Caves were discovered in 1959 and declared Monumento Histórico Artístico (Spanish Heritage Monument) in 1961. The signs of rupestrian art can almost be seen in all their rooms and galleries. Two different groups can be noticed: the paelaeolithic “sanctuary" with representations of animals and outline type paintings, with anthromorphous sketches in red and female representations. The first one has equine, cervid and goat sketches as well as aquatic fauna concentrated in the following rooms: Los Órganos, Las Columnas de Hércules and El Camarín de los Pisciformes.
History of the caves
On 12th January 1959 when Francisco Navas Montesinos, Miguel Muñoz Zorrilla, Manuel Muñoz Zorrilla, José Luis Barbero de Miguel and José Torres Cárdenas, young inhabitants of Maro, decided to go bat hunting to a well known in that time as las Minas del Cementerio de Maro, where large flocks of bats used to go out of the well at dusk.
Nerja caves
These young people decided to go back there on the next day with some tools to enable them to break the stalactites. One of this five young boys went though the narrow chimney where he found an elevation from where he jumped to the ground, from here he told his friends crawling through a different narrow passage and later on standing up they managed to reach a big gallery where the light of their torches faded away.
Once inside the caves they realised they had not been the first ones there as they were very surprised when they saw some skeletons laying down next to some ceramic bowls. They left the caves very frightened and told their families, friends and teachers about their finding.
The existence of the caves were made known to the public after a second visit to the caves by a doctor and a photographer who took different pictures which were published by the local paper “Sur de Málaga” 100 days after: the caves were first called “Cuevas de las Maravillas” and later on as they are known today: “Cuevas de Nerja”.
Location, services and contents
Located 20 minutes from Málaga and its airport, the Caves and the Caves Board, have a group of persons willing to make you spend an unforgettable visit where you can enjoy a comfortable restaurant, beautiful gardens, children playground and leisure area; open all year you will be able to enjoy an artistic monument, discovered in 1959 and get to know some of the discovers who work in the caves. The visit takes you throughout 7,000 sq m and a perimeter of more than 700 m, where you will be able to know and enjoy the geological riches of the Belén, Cascadas, Fantasma and Cataclismo rooms along a tour marked with a new maintenance and diffusion system.
Details of Nerja Caves
But this wonder does not finish here, out of the 4,823 m of tour the area which can be visited is just a part of the magnificence of the caves, of an unique geological, biological and archaeological richness: the rooms las columnas de Hércules, Inmensidad, Niveles, Lanza and Montaña, not opened to the public, offer us the magnificence of this nature wonder, which really fit the first name they had: “Cueva de las Maravillas” (Wonder Caves).
It is also worth mentioning the scientific field of preservation, protection, investigation and diffusion carried out by the Caves Board, an example to be followed not only for the quality but also for the amount of human and material effort. In the Board the word preservation has a meaning with its true value in search of bequeathing to the coming generations a bigger, better preserved and with a more important investigation cultural heritage.
The Nerja Caves were developed in the hillsides of the Almijara Montain Range, a few km away from Nerja, in the province of Málaga. The nearest village is Maro, located between Nerja and Almuñécar, next to the coastline.
Opening Hours and entry fee
- Mornings: 10 hrs. to 14 hrs., Afternoons: 16 hrs. to 18:30 hrs.
- July and August: 10 hrs. to 19:30 hrs.
- The Caves are opened all year round except on 1st January and 15th May.
- Entry fees: adults 7 €, children (6-12 years) 3.50 € and free for children under 6. (Rates updated in May 2007).
- Telephone No: 952 52 95 20.
- Fax No: 952 52 96 46.
Flora
The installation of artificial light, the humidity of the cave together with the accidental transport of spores to the interior of the caves have helped the growing of green algae on the speleothems and cave walls.
Fauna
Depending on the grade of adaptation, this can be classified in three groups:
- Trogloxene: Occasional visitors to the caves, such as some mammals, shrewmice, stone marten or even rodents.
- Troglophile: animals well adapted to the underground habitat which normally live inside caves but could also live outside, the best known are bats and some myriapods
- Troglobite: these are exclusively cave creatures; a kind of beetle and a pseudoscorpion.