Caves of Nerja

Vast Palaeolithic cave system with the world's longest stalactite

Address Carretera de Maro, Nerja, 29787 Málaga

A spectacular system of caverns 4 km east of Nerja, discovered in 1959 by five local boys hunting bats. The chambers are huge — the Sala del Cataclismo contains what is reckoned to be the world's longest stalactite, a single column 32 metres tall. Lighting and walkways have been installed to allow visitors through a generous loop of the show cave.

The site also contains Palaeolithic rock paintings dating back tens of thousands of years (these are not on the public route, for conservation reasons). Above the caves is a small museum on the cave's geology and prehistory. An annual classical music and dance festival is held inside the main hall in late July. Plan an hour for the visit; tickets in advance during summer.

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A story
The caves contain Palaeolithic paintings of seals — and a 2012 study suggested some of the markings might be over 42,000 years old, which would make them the oldest known cave art in the world and the work of Neanderthals rather than modern humans. The dating remains contested, but the caves are a major site for the study of early European art.