Gruta de las Maravillas

What it is

A limestone cave with lakes and rooms of formations that opens right in the built-up area of Aracena, on calle Pozo de la Nieve. It is visited only with a guide, in groups that leave every hour or every half hour depending on demand.

Hours and tickets

It opens every day from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 15:30 to 18:00, except 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 and 6 January. Buy your ticket beforehand on the Aracena Tourism website: at the ticket office they do not guarantee a place, there are no phone bookings, nor changes or cancellations. Arrive at least 10 minutes before your time; if you are late, you lose the visit. The Tarjeta Aracena Turística adds the Ham Museum, the castle and the Geological Museum.

Getting there

The entrance is at the visitor reception centre on calle Pozo de la Nieve, where the tourist office is too. Park in the village and arrive on foot.

What it is like inside

According to the Town Council, the route is 1,200 metres and circular, with galleries stacked on three levels, and the visit lasts about 45 minutes. It is a phreatic cavity opened by water in the marbles of the cerro del Castillo, with lakes and formations of every kind: stalactites, stalagmites, columns, gours, flowstones, eccentrics and curtains. The first records given by the Town Council date from 1850, from mining work. For conservation, entry is limited to 1,000 people a day. On long weekends and public holidays the ticket office opens at 10:00 until that quota is used up. There is also a special visit to the new galleries, La Palmatoria and Los Banquetes, which you should check by phoning beforehand: 663 93 78 76 or 664 49 33 06. Afterwards, climb to the castle or call in at the Ham Museum, about 150 metres away.

Before you go

The Town Council presents it as one of the most visited tourist caves in Spain and one of the pioneers of this kind of tourism in Europe, so at weekends and long weekends there are many people: buy your ticket days ahead and choose a slot. You reach Aracena by the N-433 from Seville or Portugal and by the N-435 from Extremadura or Huelva. With small children it works well: the visit is guided, short and striking for the lakes. On 5 January it has special hours, from 9:15 to 15:00.