Page 85 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Mallorca, Menorca & Ibiza

M ALL ORC A  83

Mallorca’s Caves

A handful of the nearly 200 limestone caves found in Mallorca are open to the public as
part of guided tours. Many were known by the locals for hundreds of years and they once
provided shelter for the early settlers, or served as hiding places from marauding pirates,
dens for smugglers or religious sanctuaries. In the 19th century Archduke Ludwig Salvator
began to take an interest in them and recruited a French geologist, Edouard Martel, to
study them. In 1896 Martel rediscovered the Coves d’Artà. He was amazed by their size
(some are the size of a cathedral) and the large number of stalactites and stalagmites.

Underground lakes that can be found in many caves are an
additional attraction to visitors. Caves with lakes have excellent
acoustics and visitors are usually entertained
with short concerts performed by musicians Los Encinares Dripstones can assume
seated in boats. Pollença the most fantastic forms.
Alcúdia To emphasize their
Cova beauty, they are often
de Sant Martí illuminated by
Sóller Cova de coloured lights.
Sant Antoni Coves de
Campanet
Artà
S’Avenc
de Son Pou Coves d’Artà
Coves de Coves
Andratx Génova Manacor d'es Hams
Palma
Coves Coves
des Pirata del Drac
Cova de la
Mare de Deú
Cova
del Pilar
Santanyí
0 km 10
0 miles 10

Entrances to the
caves are hidden
in the rock faces.
Some of them are
overgrown by
dense macchia;
others are situated
up high, like the
Excursion routes in the caves Coves d’Artà,
are arranged so that everybody where steps have
can see the chambers easily. been built to
There are steps and walkways provide easy
provided in some places. access for tourists.

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