Discovering the Castellana Caves

In Puglia, you can find a heterogeneous territory rich in natural beauties capable of leaving you speechless. The Castellana Caves are located at the gates of the Itria Valley and are a real underground world with marvelous features. If you decide to take a holiday in Puglia, you certainly cannot miss a visit to the Castellana Caves.

The karst complex of the Caves is about 3 kilometers in total and can be traveled through various itineraries that descend to the heart of the earth. This natural spectacle is safe and the itineraries are accompanied by guides who allow you to discover all the environments. Let's see specifically what you will find at the Castellana Caves, an enchanted place ideal for all those who love nature in all its facets.

What to see at the Castellana Caves

This limestone plateau was formed in the Upper Cretaceous period, a good hundred million years ago. Today, the site can be visited by following either a short route of about one and a half kilometers or a complete route of all 3 kilometers and a duration of 2 hours.

In the Caves of Castellana, you go down for a total of 122 meters into the earth and the routes can also be undertaken with the family and with the help of a guide. There are also nocturnal visits that give these caves an even more suggestive charm.

At the entrance to the Castellana Caves, there is a large abyss that opens into the ground and is 60 meters deep: it is called La Grave and it is an environment where the rocks have been smoothed by the water year after year for centuries until they took on varied and particular shapes. It was the speleologist Franco Anelli in the distant 1938 who decided to go beyond La Grave and explore the remaining tunnels, discovering the caves. 

To start both routes, you can bring clothes that can protect you from cold and humidity because, in the depths of the caves, the temperature drops to around 14 °. In the Grave, only a large opening in the upper part will connect you to the outside world, and from this a single ray of light will descend, creating truly magnificent games.

In the rest of the tour, you will find very particular rocks that have taken on unusual shapes and that you can have fun recognizing: the explorers have assigned names to these rocks to emphasize their shape.