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Outstanding Caves around the World (Not Man Caves)

Seeing the underside of the earth from the interior of a cave either on land or beneath the sea gives you an entirely different perspective on the ground beneath your feet. Cruise and stay packages in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean often include locations where you can go exploring in some of the most outstanding caves in the world. There are also quite a few in the continental United States that are of special interest to world travellers.

Cruises to these places usually cost an absolute fortune too. So, if you don’t fancy that but you do want to treat your man to a gift for his man cave, then check out some of these gifts for men. Alternatively, treat him to a luxurious holiday to one of the following destinations…

Click on the book if you want to get him something a bit more constructive...

If you’re looking for something really big to explore, check out the Gua Nasib Bagus Cave in Malaysia. The Sarawak chamber inside this cave is 700 metres long by 396 metres wide with a height of 70 metres, not a place you’re likely to feel claustrophobic in. If you can’t travel to Malaysia, go to Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico where you can visit a cave chamber that is 1,219 metres long by 190.5 metres wide by 107 metres high.

If you’re looking for length you can also find that in the United States. The longest cave system in the world is the Mammoth Cave System in Kentucky, measuring 587 kilometres. It’s more than twice as long as the cave that came in second. Jewel Cave in South Dakota is a paltry 225 kilometres long. Of the top ten longest caves in the world five of them are in the United States. This makes these destinations popular with travellers from Europe and cave explorers from around the world because the use of a passport and dealing with customs is only necessary once for multiple attractions.

If you’re looking for underwater caves to explore the best can be found in Mexico along the Mayan Riviera and in the Caribbean. The Balankanché Caves near Chichen Itza in Mexico, along with the nearby Calcehtok and the Loltun Caves were considered sacred by the Mayan people and are available for diving and exploration today. The rest of the Yucatan is filled with similar sites both on land and beneath the water that the dedicated cave explorer will not have any difficulty finding.

Caves have been special to a number of cultures throughout the centuries and many are considered sacred. Foremost among these is Actun Tunichil Muknal (Cave of the Stone Sepulchre) in Belize. This sacred cavern was a sacrificial temple to the Mayans and contains the resting place of the “crystal maiden”, a completely calcified female human skeleton. You can reach her by hiking, climbing, and occasionally swimming through the cave that brings you nearly a mile below the surface.