Heatwave in Mallorca hit us hard, but we found another activity to escape the burning sun and went to the underground to cool down.
When I came with the idea to visit the caves I wasn't even convinced that I really wanted to do that as caves give me thrills. Not that good adrenaline kind of thrills but the ones that make you feel like there is no air to breathe and you are about to suffocate. I like to step out of my comfort zone from time to time, and this was a great opportunity for me to face my fears.
We followed the recommendation of locals and decided to visit the Hams' Caves in Porto Cristo. We didn't spend much time on the Eastern coast of Mallorca, so it sounded like a great idea to explore it a bit. Our plan was to visit the caves in the early afternoon and go swimming in the early evening.
I purchased the tickets online and we were ready to go. It took us about 1 hour to get to the caves which was not too bad. As we had our tickets already, we went straight down to the caves from where we were sent back up as we had to exchange our electronic tickets for actual printed tickets. Lesson learned - don't buy tickets online as you will have to wait in the same line with people who want to purchase the tickets at the location.
We were finally ready to go back down to the caves! I must admit I was a bit cranky as it was too hot and the situation with the tickets put me off but the location was so beautiful that I quickly forgot what happened and started to enjoy the moment.
Hams' caves are one of the main attractions in Mallorca, so we naturally expected many people. However, there is an entrance system which works perfectly so it doesn't feel overcrowded. The tour of the caves takes a bit more than an hour and you get a ticket with the starting time of your tour, so one group goes in and only then there will be people coming for the next time slot.
There are three caves in the complex: The Round Cave, The Blue Cave and The Classic Cave.
The Round Cave is basically hosting the seating area where you will be waiting to enter two other caves. It's largely open, and it has a special micro-climate with lush jungle vegetation. The temperature is lower and everything is so green that you wouldn't think it's middle of summer and around 40 degrees outside.
The entrance to The Blue Cave is every 30 minutes. Once you enter the cave you will be standing in a large open space where everything is blue!
The tour starts with a short movie presented on a rock wall. You will learn about the history of Mallorca and the caves themselves.
The Hams' Caves are 10 millions years old but they were only discovered by Don Pedro Caldentey Santandreu in 1905 when he was mining black onyx stones and found the caves. He was fascinated with what he found and made sure that people learn about these beautiful caves.
These were the first caves on the island open to the public. In 1910, the caves were illuminated and it was even before there was electricity in Porto Cristo! Using a water mill, a dynamo and a water tank, 16 hours of electric current a day were generated to enable visits to the caves.
Let's walk up the stairs now...
After walking up the stairs and a short walk we came to the auditorium where we sat down again to watch another short movie.
The name of the movie is GENESIS - history of life, and it shows a time lapse from the Bing Bang that created this world and how dinosaurs once ruled this planet. The movie takes you through the history until the present day. It's in Spanish but you can get an audio guide in various languages, so you can easily follow it.
There is actually a Dinosaur world next to the caves - just a tip when you come with your kids.
The movie was presented on this large rock wall.
On the way back down the stairs we enjoyed some more illumination..
Once you exit The Blue Cave you walk to the other side of The Round Cave to enter The Classic Cave. I sounds like a GPS 🙂
The Hams' Caves are recognized worldwide for their Hams which means fishing hooks in Mallorquin. It's a name for the stalactites that grown down and at the end start to point upwards again, forming kind of a fishing hook.
A stalactite is an icicle-shaped formation that hangs from the ceiling of a cave and it is produced by precipitation of minerals from water dripping through the cave ceiling over thousands of years. Most stalactites have pointed tips, but Hams are fishing hook shaped and there is no concrete explanation about how this is possible.
The Classic Cave is accessible through hundreds of meters of stairs, tunnels and cracks. It's illuminated as well and it's a treat for the eye. I thought I would feel panicky but the light, temperature and humidity made me feel safe. But I'm not sure how I would react if they turned off the lights even for one second!
You can walk through the tunnels at your own pace...
I couldn't stop gazing at those unique formations which are millions years old. It made me feel so small and insignificant in the universe.
There are 12 galleries accessible to visitors...
This gallery was my favorite as here we could see the mysterious hams..
The highlight of The Classic Cave is a lake known as The Sea of Venice. All visitors gather at the platform and enjoy the Magical Mozart concert. It's once in a lifetime experience!
After the concert it was time for us to walk back...
We took more time than others and eventually there was a guy coming to pick us up as there was other group coming 🙂 But we still had a bit time to take pictures before we had to go out...
We had a lot of fun in the caves and I would recommend everyone to visit them once in Mallorca.
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Martina