15 MOST BEAUTIFUL CAVES

hidden in the nooks and crannies of the earth are the most beautiful cave systems you could imagine today we're venturing deep below the surface of the planet to bring you the top 15 most beautiful cave systems number 15 mammoth cave national park mammoth cave national park is located in central kentucky holds the record as being the place where you'll find the longest known continuous cave system in the entire world so far more than 400 miles of passageways have been charted which is more than twice the distance of the second placed cave network and there's still far more to be explored it was given its name because of the enormous size of the entrance hallway that's called the rotunda and before anyone realized just how fast the full cave system truly is not only is there an extensive subterranean network but it's also a beautiful place to visit and hosts a wealth of unusual creatures carved from the natural limestone over hundreds of thousands of years there's a selection of guided tours that can take you past formations such as grand avenue the incredible frozen niagara that looks like a waterfall that stops mid-flow and also the tight squeeze that's known as fat man's misery throughout the entire complex there are stunning examples of stalactites and stalagmites along with streams seemingly bottomless pits and evidence of ancient cultures who used the cave many thousands of years ago if you're lucky you may also see rare bat species like the eastern small footed bat cave salamanders cave shrimp two species of eyeless cave fish number fourteen the blue grotto the blue grotto was one of the most popular tourist attractions on the italian island of capri and it's such a beautiful location that has been visited by people for at least 2 000 years it's a naturally formed sea cave on the coast of the island that is carved around 160 feet into the cliff face the water is approximately 490 feet deep with a sandy floor its unique shape size and location means that sunlight enters through an underwater opening and lights the entire cavern with an azure blue glow during the time of the romans the grotto was a marine temple and a personal worshiping space of emperor tiberius in 1964 three statues of roman sea gods were found on the grotto floor and there's evidence that suggests that there may be at least another four down there somewhere nowadays though you don't need to be a member of the noble classes to visit the grotto and anyone can visit you're not allowed to swim in the water though you can hire a four-person robe boat with a guide who will use a chain that's attached to the walls to pull the bolt through on a circuit around the cavern as well as the wonderful blue illumination there's another mysterious effect of the grotto that's why it became a place of religious importance any object placed in its waters appears to turn into silver before it's removed this is because of tiny bubbles that accumulate on surfaces and affect the way that the light is reflected number 13 the marble caves at the southern tip of south america the region of patagonia is one of the most beautiful sights in the world there's one place though that's unlike anything you'll see anywhere else it's a cave network that formed on carrera lake the lake itself is a relatively recent feature that was formed within the last few million years by glacial activity the bedrock in the area too is unusual in that it's been formed by layer upon layer of tectonic and volcanic activity so it was quite soft and colorful following the formation of the lake and after the glacier melted it filled up with water that began to crash against the shores and erode further features out of the surrounding rock these include the marble chapel the marvel cathedral the most incredible of them all is the marble cave this small network of caverns is virtually fully illuminated from outside during the day and you can see the varying colors of the marble walls and the multiple layers that were deposited so long ago to form the rock that they were eroded from the most surprising thing about these caves though is how recently they formed it's thought that they're no more than 6 000 years old they've only been big enough to enter by boat in the last 2000 years there's therefore no mention of them by ancient civilizations that used to live in the area even though normally you'd expect somewhere as amazing as this to become a site of significant importance number 12 waitomo glowworm caves new zealand is a place that's known for its stunning landscapes and vistas but in many ways you're missing out on the true beauty of the country if you remain above ground there's a species of glowworm called arachnocampa luminosa that isn't found anywhere else in the world and lives in high humidity environments in particular caves the most popular place to see them is the waitomo cave complex on the country's northern island which encompasses a network of at least 300 limestone caves covered in stalactites stalagmites cave fungus flowers and a variety of different insects these caves don't have to be artificially illuminated because of the sheer number of glow worms that also live there and light the way the first record of the caves was written in the late 19th century and it's now become a popular visitor site as well as a place of spiritual significance for locals you can take a boat tour through the caves through the glowworm grotto for a once in a lifetime experience surprisingly rather than actually being worms glowworms are much more similar to mosquitoes in their adult form at all stages of their lives they create this amazing bioluminescence and this is in order to attract prey towards them so they become stuck in the glowworm's larval silk what you're actually looking at in each nest therefore is a single glowworm that's illuminating the trap that it is set around it and wait for unfortunate insects to get too close number 11 reed flute cave also known as the palace of the natural arts because of the incredible naturally formed structures inside the reed flute cave was given its official name because of the type of reeds that grow outside its entrance that historic were used to make flutes it's located near the city of gulin which is in the guanxi region of china and is full of stalagmites stalactites and various other formations it's around 790 feet long and has three openings that visitors can use to enter artificial lighting has been carefully placed to show off the caves to their full extent but that's not all there is to see in there on the walls you can also look at more than 70 inscriptions that have been made in ink and date back to at least 1300 years ago it's proof that the cave was a popular destination all the way back in ancient times but for some reason it was completely forgotten about it was only in the 1940s that a group of refugees who were fleeing japanese soldiers rediscovered the caves while searching for somewhere to hide since then it's increased in popularity once more number 10 batu caves carved from limestone that's thought to be around 400 million years old the batu caves are a network of cavities within the hill and the gombak district in selangor malaysia in the mid-19th century it became a place that chinese settlers would collect guano to use for fertilizing their crops but by the end of the century it began being used as a place of worship with a temple inside one of the main caves by 1920 a huge staircase was built that leads to the entrance of the caves and they're now one of the most important hindu shrines outside of india there are three main caves and several smaller ones each of which is adorned with shrines statues monuments and paintings dedicated to lord murugan there's a 140 foot tall statue at the base of the staircase entrance which is the largest depiction of the lord anywhere in the world the caves themselves are full of natural structures like stalactites and stalagmites and are home to a range of different animals including 21 species of bats long-tailed macaques and a number of different insects and amphibians that aren't found anywhere else it's not just the caves themselves that are significant though as the area surrounding them becomes the main focal point of the yearly festival of typhusam in malaysia and sees thousands of people congregate at the site during the national holiday number nine carlsbad caverns national park in southeastern new mexico you'll find the carlsbad caverns national park which is an almost 47 000 acre region around one of the most beautiful cave systems in north america the main feature of the formation is the main show cave called carlsbad cavern which visitors can either hike to or access via an elevator from the visitor center inside there's a gigantic limestone chamber which is called the big room and is the largest known cave chamber in the u.s at 4 000 feet long 625 feet wide and 255 feet high you could fit two empire state buildings in there along the ground end to end and still have enough room to fit the eiffel tower in with them most of the names of the rooms and structures in the cave such as the king's palace green lake room witch's finger and temple of the sun were given by the teenager who first discovered and explored the cave in 1898 it used to be quite an exhausting hike to enter the cave to see it in its full glory so to encourage guests to the newly popular attraction and provide a way for everyone to see it the visitor center was opened in 1932 and now receives almost half a million people each year we are constantly adding more people to the top fives production team to bring you all the best content be sure to subscribe with notifications on and hit the like button number eight ice reeseville ice cave you'd normally think of a cave as being something that's been carved from soft bedrock over thousands of years but there are other places where they can form too ice sheets often develop openings and cavities within them and the caves that form inside them are some of the most beautiful on earth the ice reisenveld ice cave is actually made from both limestone and ice and is the largest known natural ice cave in the world it's inside the hulk cougar mountain in the alps and stretches at least 26 miles long locals long believed that the cave was the entrance to hell so despite being known about the first person to begin exploring it entered in 1879 further investigations took place over the following decades and by 1920 an explorer cabin had been built and by 1955 a cable car was constructed to the entrance to cater for all the tourists who wanted to see the cave for themselves some of the features include a large entrance called posseld hall after the first person to explore it which has a huge stalagmite in the center called pusselt tower there's also the great ice embankment where the largest ice formation is highmir's castle and a structure called the ice organ which is made up of a series of parallel stalactites tours through the cave end in a room called the ice palace which is around two-thirds of a mile in more than thirteen hundred feet underground and is said to be one of the most spectacular permanent ice formations in the world [Music] number 7. krubera cave krubera cave which is in the gagara district in the country of georgia is the second deepest known cave on earth it's what's known as a kaist which means that was formed when water caused soluble rock to dissolve and stretches 7 200 feet beneath the surface it's a terrifying descent and only one that can be attempted by experts but some of the structures they passed on their way to the lowest point known as game over are simply stunning there are countless twists and turns through pits cascades and pitches with some that are 300 feet deep and can only be accessed by squeezing through extremely narrow passages there are sections that are completely flooded and can only be passed by using specialist diving equipment others that require ropes and harnesses to traverse and on an attempt to explore the system in 2005 the team of 56 people took more than five tons of supplies with them it's so deep and vast that it can't be explored in one go instead there are five established campsites where cables and the rest can sleep before continuing but even so no one has ever managed to reach the bottom it's thought that it could extend far further but the conditions become so inhospitable that it's virtually impossible to keep exploring so for now it remains one of the greatest mysteries and challenges of the caving community number six temlard cave located in the mae hong song province of thailand the tamlod cave is almost one mile long cavity that's been carved out by the lang river in fact it passes through a mountain from one side to the other and visitors are able to hire guides to take them through the cave on a bamboo raft with only an oil lantern to light the way the stalagmites and stalactites have been forming there for millions of years and some of them are more than 65 feet tall there are occasional mooring spots where you can disembark and look closer at the cave walls and geological structures and it's these moments you realize how long people have been visiting this cave the local law people believe that the cave was an entrance to the underworld so they used it to bury their dead within it a number of coffins have been found that date back to more than 10 000 years and while these aren't on display you'll see images and symbols that were carved into the rock at the same time if you ever visit the cave the best time is undoubtedly as the sun is setting this is when the light channels through the opening and also triggers hundreds of thousands of bats to fly out from their roosting spots to search for food in the surrounding jungle number five cave of crystals other than by exploring natural formations with roots to the surface it's virtually impossible for us to know for sure what the subterranean world is truly like if the nike mine in mexico is anything to go by however then there's a vast and mysterious environment that we're only beginning to understand workers at the largest silver mine in the world were searching for new deposits in 2000 when they made a startling discovery they had drained a cavity of water and inside they found a series of selenite crystals that were up to 39 feet long and estimated to weigh as much as 55 tons they're the largest naturally formed crystals to have ever been seen and are thought to have developed over a half a million years while the cave was full of water that had been heated by a magmaflow from below conditions in the cave weren't exactly safe for humans however one worker who tried to steal a crystal died in the process the decision was made to allow the cave to refill with water so the crystals could continue to form so they're no longer accessible but it is likely that caverns like this are present all over the globe number four scotchgen cave the scotchgen caves in slovenia are regarded as so important and stunning that they were designated as a unesco cultural world heritage site in 1986. located in slovenia they contain one of the largest known underground canyons on earth and a unique ecosystem with species that aren't found anywhere else in total more than twenty thousand three hundred feet of caves have been so far explored charted in the region and are full of beautiful formations such as a series of rhinestone pools martel's chamber which at 78 million cubic feet is the largest in europe and countless waterfalls channels stalactites and stalactites it's a place that's been inhabited since ancient times with evidence of a greek temple that was built just after the bronze age was also an important pilgrimage site far earlier than that and was where people believed the entrance to the underworld was and left offerings and hoped that they would be able to communicate with their loved ones they remain a popular destination to this day after a visitor center was opened in 1933 and see at least 100 000 tourists every year a large section of the cave network has been open up to explore with several outstanding features being easily accessible from the entrance number three mendenhall glacier cave the 12-mile long mendenhall glacier runs through a valley in southeast alaska from the surface you'd think that ice runs thick to cover the valley floor but if you're able to kayak to its edge and climb over an icy outcrop you'll find the entrance to one of the most beautiful ice caves to have ever been discovered the cave is formed because the glacier is in retreat and continuously melting this has revealed a large cavity within the ice formations with a deep blue color are incredible to see but this is one of the most dangerous caves you could ever visit too the ice above is moving at a slow rate occasionally pieces break off and crash to the floor below freezing water falls from the cave ceiling and access to the best features require squeezing through tight tunnels that have the potential to be blocked by falling ice at any moment unfortunately if you've not had the opportunity to visit this cave yourself already then it's probably too late with increased global temperatures glaciers like these have melted at a far faster rate in recent years than ever before and expeditions in early 2020 were unable to find an entrance to the cave it's quite possible that they'll open them up once again but with estimates that the glacier itself will be completely gone in a matter of decades this is a cave that will more than likely completely disappear within our lifetimes number two puerto princesa subterranean river the puerto princesa subterranean river park in the philippines is a protected area of outstanding natural beauty and as the name would suggest the river that flows through it has carved a substantial underground network of caves there's a 5.1 mile long stretch that's navigable by boat and it was for a long time believed to be the world's longest underground river until that record was broken in 2007 by a new discovery in mexico still there's no denying that the system is a stunning place to behold with stalactites and stalagmites surrounding the river's path along with a number of huge chambers one of which known as the italians chamber is eleven hundred and eighty feet long and is one of the largest known cave rooms on earth in the cave there's a variety of wildlife such as nine species of bat two species of bird and one species of spider that's only ever been found there there's also the chance that you'll see a sea cow or a turtle that swum up the river to feed from the nearby coast number one sondhum cave amazingly despite being at least two million years old the sundoon cave national park in vietnam was only discovered in 1991 and would be almost a further 20 years before an exploration team entered and realized quite how significant a structure this actually is it's the entrance passage of the cave that's so astonishing it's the largest known cave by cross section in the world it's 3.1 miles long 660 feet high and 490 feet wide and the full cave itself runs for at least a further two and a half miles in sections the roof is collapsed which allows sunlight in so rather there being a dark cave that needs to be illuminated artificially this one is lit well enough for a full ecosystem to have developed the cave also contains some of the largest known stalagmites in the world with some that are more than 230 feet tall and explorers have even found cave pearls in there that are larger than baseballs the main cave is so huge that an entire new york city block including its skyscrapers could be placed inside and a boeing 747 could actually fly through it without any danger of its wings touching the edges due to its remote location however the cave isn't easy to visit but the local tourist authority has plans to make it accessible a cable car is going to be built through the cave to offer one of the most unique caving experiences on earth and it's hoped that the revenue they raise from this will be enough to help further preserve the cave and its surroundings and help to explore the deeper reaches more recently for example it's been found that the river that passes through it actually connects to another nearby cave and there's now belief that the sundown cave could just be the beginning and that the entire system could be the largest subterranean network to have ever been found watch our nature playlist for more top 15 videos about beautiful nature sit back relax and binge watch all of our best nature videos you

Channel: Top Fives

Views: 1,181,587

Keywords: MOST Beautiful Caves

Id: gMUvVCCeLIM

Length: 19min 56sec (1196 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 28 2020