The Nerja caves - incredible underground magic in Andalucía

Nerja is a beautiful and charming coastal village not even an hour drive away from the city of Málaga. The Andalusian region offers such diversity of beautiful places to see and thrilling activities to engage in, that unfortunately your choice will not be made easy as to what to do here, especially if you’re only planning to stay around for a short while. Nerja is a city you should definitely consider if you want to get the most out of your Spanish journey.

Nerja, with its white houses, its wonderful roads, the Mirador, the hotels and its cheap but quality restaurants is addressed in another article I have written specifically about the city itself. As for now, I am being morally induced to complete another whole article on one single wonder that deserves our full and upmost attention and is located right outside Nerja: I am talking about the Nerja caves, one of the most amazing visits you can do when travelling around Andalucia.

If you ever go to Nerja, the Nerja caves are located on the outskirts of the city, on its eastern side. If you found yourself a hotel in Nerja, you could just walk to get to the caves –it should be something like a 45min-to-an-hour walk from the center of town. Otherwise you could take a tourist-bus, or simply drive there if you have rented a car or travelled with one.

The Nerja Caves were formed millions of years ago, when some underground mineral basin was eroded by time and the conditions of the area. Since then, they’ve never ceased in their ambition of becoming more and more beautiful all the time. Century after century, water drops and minerals patiently built this true geological jewel, that it is said to have inspired Gaudí when he was conceiving his model of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, in Barcelona. The mineral formations can be seen in various sizes and shapes, some of them are up to 30m+ tall –true giant formations. Beautiful stalactites and stalagmites can be found all throughout the caves, which is all around well illuminated and secure.

Here are some pictures I took while visiting:  

And another picture

The pictures might be impressive, but being truly there is quite something else, when you realize how huge the caves are, and just how many years it has taken for them to get to their actual form. There is a very unique feeling attached to a place like this, when you think of how Mother Nature can create unrivalled beauty by just sitting and watching things follow their own course.

Oh and one last, very interesting fact: on special occasions, concerts and even ballets and operas are performed inside the cave, which has amazing acoustics. The world-famous flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía, for instance, gave a concert in Nerja Cave . So if you ever plan on visiting them, be sure to check whether a concert will be happening soon – it should be an unforgettable experience.

But with or without a concert, I strongly suggest you give them a shot if you’re visiting the region. They are MARVELOUS.

You may also want to check the next following spots, very close from the Nerja Caves: