Caves of Nerja


From earlier this year, these are some photographs of the Caves of Nerja.






The origins of the cave.

Water is still cultivating and forming the cave.

About 5 million years ago the cave started to form due to dripping water in the rocks. This made them dissolve slowly over time and creating at the same time the huge cavern. At this moment the depth of the caves is almost 5 km while the height can reach up to 38 meters high.

In the caves of Nerja they’ve found signs and drawings from more then 20.000 years ago. First the caves where used as a temporarly place to live and after many years the local popuation started to use the cave as their home all year round.

Stairs made from stone — Caves of Nerja

Hall of the Cataclysm (Sala del Cataclismo) — Caves of Nerja

Current use of the Caves of Nerja

Apart from being a major touristic destination in Spain, the caves are used as well for Concerts. This is done in a special part of the caves where the nature has created the area just like a natural Amphitheatre.

In 1969 they discovered the last part of the caves, this is called the New Gallery and is not accessible for tourism, only the so called Show Gallery.

Things to know if you plan to visit the caves.

  1. Don’t just go to the caves in the hope you’ll be able to walk in. The access to the cave is restricted and every half an hour there’s a new group which is allowed to get in. So book online in advance.
  2. The booking system is shit and if you’re not used to the spanish booking systems, you’ll curse (a lot). My advice is take some time, with a fresh beverage and try to book. 🙂
  3. Take a jacket with you, it can be fairly cold inside. Especially if outside the temperature reaches more then 40 degrees celsius.
  4. It’s an amazing experience for young and elder people and take your time to feel the earth and the caves as it gives you plenty of energy.

About the photographs.


The photographs have all been taken with an iPhone 6s Plus and the Moment 18 Wide lens. I’ve taken most with a Moment App in the Tiff format and edited within Adobe Lightroom.

The adjustments made in Adobe Lightroom are mainly Clarity and Noise removal, as the camera did have some issues with the darkness within the Caves of Nerja.


To finish this post

Although I actually didn’t want anymore to go after experiencing the online booking process it was a great experience and deeply impressive to see how the nature has developed these impressive caves and functions within. You should really go and for kids it’s amazing. They’ll love this.