The island’s subsoil holds an incomparable geological wealth. It is a world formed drop by drop over millennia, where stalactites and stalagmites take on whimsical shapes. Of the more than two hundred catalogued caves in Mallorca, only five are open to the public, constituting one of the Mediterranean’s greatest attractions and treasures.
It was in the 15th century when Saint Vincent Ferrer warned Mallorcans that the island was “hollow inside”. Today, we know there are hundreds of catalogued natural cavities. The most recent discovery is the Cova de la Gleda in Manacor which, at nearly 11,000 m long, is the largest submerged cave currently known on the European continent.
The most renowned are the Coves del Drach in Porto Cristo, which house one of the world’s largest underground lakes. The earliest reference to the Drach caves dates back to 1338 in a message from the island’s governor. In 1878, they leaped onto the international stage when two travellers were lost inside for thirty hours.
Years later, in 1896, the Great Martel Lake was discovered. The caves were masterfully illuminated by Carles Buigas, known as ‘the wizard of light’. The tour is approximately 1,200 m long and is an explosion of stalactites and stalagmites with formations resembling the Venus de Milo or an Indian Pagoda. A classical music concert is held at Lake Martel, which visitors attend before enjoying a fascinating boat trip.
For their part, the Coves de Gènova, located very close to the city centre, have a unique feature that sets them apart. These caves stand out for formations called coraloires, which consist of magnesium clusters produced around four million years ago. They were discovered in 1906 during the construction of a large cistern on the property and, years later, belonged to Rudolph Valentino’s widow, Natacha Rambova, who was the first to renovate them for visitors.
Also located in Porto Cristo are the Coves dels Hams, named after arborescent formations resembling fishhooks (hams). The Hams caves were discovered by the speleologist Pedro Caldentey in 1905. Their chambers have fantastical names such as the ‘Fairies’ Cemetery’ or literary ones like ‘Milton’s Paradise Lost’. The deepest point, at 30 m, is the ‘Sea of Venice’, where a classical music concert is also performed on an illuminated boat.
The Caves of Artà are among the highest cavities in Europe, with stalactites in prodigious shapes hanging from a vaulted ceiling. The most spectacular is the ‘Queen of Columns’, which reaches 22 m in height. The tour includes ‘Hell’, featuring a light and sound show, ‘Purgatory’, and the ‘Hall of Flags’, where the guide strikes three columns that produce different tones. You can also find carbon-based stones that look like real diamonds.
Admirable for their exuberant ornamentation of stalactites and stalagmites, these are distinguished by their thinness and whiteness. They are of great scientific interest as they house unique endemic cave fauna and palaeontological remains of the Myotragus balearicus—an animal that became extinct about 5,000 years ago, which recent genetic analysis links to sheep.