Castañar cave

This cave is a genuine treasure of nature and is set in one of the most outstanding landscapes in Extremadura.

It was discovered by chance by a farmer in 1969. It is formed by ancient rocks approximately 500 million years old, and has spectacular interior ornamentation. The abundance and variety of the speleothems (mineral formations) which cover the ceilings, walls and floors of the chambers and galleries, is unique. Its chambers have names like “Snow-covered”, “White”, “Red”, “Chamber of the Flags”, “the Garden”, “the Library”, “the Corals” and “the Lakes” and offer an impressive spectacle of shapes and colours, in one of the most evocative underground landscapes in natural Extremadura. The formations include aragonite flowers, needles, arborescent crystallisations, stalactites, stalagmites and columns. It was declared a Natural Monument in 1997. The cave is currently closed to the public. However, it has a visitor centre where people can learn more about the natural characteristics of the area and can also (with the help of multimedia systems) go deep down into the world of underground caves, and visit a reproduction of the Castañar cave itself.