#cavesandcaverns

[kentcoastghosts]

Meet Shelly 👻 Shelly is our own tribute to one of Kent's, (and the world's!), greatest mysteries; the Shell Grotto 🐚 This stunning and mysterious grotto is located in Margate, Kent. After being discovered in the 1800s, these intricate passages filled with shells have been the subject of much debate as to their origins over the years, from Pagan rituals to an elaborate hoax! And of course, no spooky grotto is complete without a resident ghost, The Blue Lady. You can read more about the Shell Grotto on our website, or better yet, head over there and see for yourself! (Find them on IG @shellgrotto 🐚🤗) Shelly comes complete with her own unique shell mosaic, and glows blue, like the mysterious ghost that resides there; The Blue Lady..... 🖤👻🐚 👻🖤👻🖤👻🖤👻🖤👻 #KentCoastGhosts #shellgrotto #margateart #seasideliving #Madeinkent #MHHSBD #SBS #handmadewithlove #hauntedplaces #mysteriousplaces #ghostsofkent #paranormalactivity #spookyvibes #cavesandcaverns #visitkent #visitmargate (at Kent, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpaFfZQMF3n/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[laraehrlich-blog]

Original content owned & copyrighted by Green Global Travel.

Underground caves are mysterious and mesmerizing places to explore.

From marble caves,  glow worms caves and those formed from glacial lagoons, to a cave of crystals, prehistoric rock art and ancient Mayan burial sites, natural caverns come in an incredible range of attractions.

From the Rio Secreto cave in Mexico to 10 BEST UNDERGROUND CAVES

Cave or Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave (Belize)

Glowworm (New Zealand)

Ice Cave (Iceland)

Marble (Chile)

Mountain River Cave, or Son Doong (Vietnam)

Cave (Scotland)

Mine or Cave of the Crystals (Mexico)

Cave (France)

(Australia)

Cave in Belize, photo by Peter Andersen via Creative Commons

Cave

is full of skeletons, pottery and other ceremonial objects left by the Maya. The cave’s most famous skeleton, “The Crystal Maiden,” features bones cemented into the floor by natural processes, leaving them with a sparkling appearance.

Through Get Your Guide 

READ MORE: The 16 Best Mayan Ruins To Explore

New Zealand’s Glowworm , photo photo by Kristina D.C. Hoeppner via Creative Commons

glowworm caves, wherein thousands of magical glowworms illuminate a series of caves with their unmistakable light.

The glow worm, Arachnocampa luminosa, is a unique species only found in New Zealand, and makes these famous caves some of the world’s most unique.

Visitors can take a guided tour which explores three different levels of the caves including the catacombs, or opt to take a boat ride under the glowworms and witness a myriad of tiny bright lights dotting the cave ceilings – the lights of a thousand glowworms. Get more info about guided tours and read reviews at Get Your Guide.

READ MORE: Top 5 Ecotourism Attractions in New Zealand

Mogao , photo by intothegreen via Creative Commons

Mogao are known as the of the Thousand Buddhas– 492 cave temples near the city of Dunhuang, China, of which 30 are open to the public. These are the most famous Buddhist grottoes in China, carved into the sandstone cliffs of the Singing Sand (Mingsha) Mountains.

Originally dug out in 366 CE as places of Buddhist meditation and worship, the underground caves now contain religious artwork, murals, Buddhist sculptures and stone carvings which span across 10 dynasties, from the 4th to the 14th century.

There are over 2,000 color statues and 45,000 paintings throughout the caves, making this the greatest shrine of Buddhist art treasures in the world. Get more info on tours and read reviews at Get Your Guide.

READ MORE: Top 7 Things to Do in China for Nature Lovers

Ice Cave, photo by Orvar Thorgeirsson via Creative Commons

, Iceland, Ice Cave is one of the most unique natural wonders in the world. Travelers fortunate enough to step inside the ice cave are transported into a mesmerizing realm of blue glacial ice.

Blue ice is formed from the compression of pure snow, which develops into glacial ice over centuries of extreme pressure. This process eliminates the air originally caught in the ice when the snow fell, leaving very little reflective surface for the light from the sun. 

bears more resemblance to an ice tunnel than a cave, and indirect daylight into the cave gives the ice its luminescent blue glow. To get more info on a Ice Cave tour and read reviews, check out Get Your Guide

READ MORE: 10 Incredible Iceland Waterfalls 

Marble by Katrin Schulz from Pixabay

Lake General Carrera. These caves are only accessible via boat.

The caves are known for their propensity for constantly changing their appearance. The swirling patterns of the cavern walls are a reflection of the lake’s blue waters, which change in shade and intensity depending on the water levels, which are affected by weather and season.

READ MORE: The 20 Best Things to Do in (South America)

Mountain River Cave, photo by John Spies via Creative Commons

Son Doong Cave (or Mountain River Cave in English) is the largest cave in the world, formed around 2.5 million years ago. Over the years the river water eroded the limestone underneath the mountain, causing the ceiling of the cave to collapse and form what are now huge skylights.

The READ MORE: 20 Longest Rivers in the World (for Your World Travel Bucket List)

Fingals Cave, photo by Graeme Pow via Creative Commons

Cave is a sea cave constructed completely of hexagonal basalt columns and pillars (much like the Giant’s Causeway in Get Your Guide.

READ MORE: Top 10 Things To Do on the Isle of Skye (& How To Avoid Crowds)

Mine (Cave of the Crystals), photo by Paul Williams via Creative Commons

Mine is known as the Cave of Crystals because the main chamber is home to the world’s largest crystals on earth. The big crystal measures 39 feet (12m) in length, 13 feet (4m) in diameter and weighs about 55 tons.

The READ MORE: Top 20 Things to Do in Cancun (for Nature & History Lovers)

Etologic Horse Study in Cave, photo by Thomas T via Creative Commons

Cave is considered one of the world’s most significant sites of READ MORE: 5 Weird Foods the French Consider Delicacies

Cave, photo by Mike Jerrard

are home to the largest dolomite cave in Australia open to tourists, with chambers which started forming tens of millions of years ago.

One of the few caves in Australia formed from dolomite rather than limestone, the underground caves are beautifully illuminated throughout, and also home to a number of strange and fascinating animals.

Over 40 species have been discovered within the caves, many of which remain undescribed and are so used to living underground that they are unable to survive on the surface. To read more about Hasting Tours, check out Get Your Guide. –Meg Jerrard

READ MORE: 10 Awesome Australian Road Trips (for Your World Travel Bucket List)

  Megan Jerrard

Megan Jerrard is an Australian journalist, and the founder and Senior Editor of Mapping Megan, an award-winning blog bringing you the latest in adventure travel from all over the globe.  With the main aim of inspiring others to embark on their own worldwide adventure, Megan and her photographer husband Mike believe travel has the potential to inspire change in people, and in turn inspire change in the world. They embraced travel as a lifestyle in 2007, and are dedicated to documenting their journey through entertaining, candid articles and brilliant photography. Follow their journey on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

  If you enjoyed our Amazing for Your World Travel Bucket List, you might also like:

10 Ancient Archaeological Sites For Your World Travel Bucket List 

10 Great Lakes For Your World Travel Bucket List 

10 Wonderful Waterfalls For Your World Travel Bucket List 

10 Exotic Islands For Your World Travel Bucket List 

The Best Coffee in the World: A Gourmet’s Guide

The post 10 Famous Underground for Your World Travel Bucket List appeared first on Green Global Travel.

[jffc-in-blog]

China’s Last Cave Dwellers Fight to Keep Their Underground Homes

http://bit.ly/2wEfqn6 #CavesAndCaverns, #China, #GuizhouChina, #VisPhoto, #ZhongCave

[laraehrlich-blog]

Original content owned & copyrighted by Green Global Travel.

Underground caves are mysterious and mesmerizing places to explore.

From marble caves,  glow worms caves and those formed from glacial lagoons, to a cave of crystals, prehistoric rock art and ancient Mayan burial sites, natural caverns come in an incredible range of attractions.

From the Rio Secreto cave in Mexico to 10 BEST UNDERGROUND CAVES

Cave or Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave (Belize)

Glowworm (New Zealand)

Ice Cave (Iceland)

Marble (Chile)

Mountain River Cave, or Son Doong (Vietnam)

Cave (Scotland)

Mine or Cave of the Crystals (Mexico)

Cave (France)

(Australia)

Cave in Belize, photo by Peter Andersen via Creative Commons

Cave

is full of skeletons, pottery and other ceremonial objects left by the Maya. The cave’s most famous skeleton, “The Crystal Maiden,” features bones cemented into the floor by natural processes, leaving them with a sparkling appearance.

Through Get Your Guide 

READ MORE: The 16 Best Mayan Ruins To Explore

New Zealand’s Glowworm , photo photo by Kristina D.C. Hoeppner via Creative Commons

glowworm caves, wherein thousands of magical glowworms illuminate a series of caves with their unmistakable light.

The glow worm, Arachnocampa luminosa, is a unique species only found in New Zealand, and makes these famous caves some of the world’s most unique.

Visitors can take a guided tour which explores three different levels of the caves including the catacombs, or opt to take a boat ride under the glowworms and witness a myriad of tiny bright lights dotting the cave ceilings – the lights of a thousand glowworms. Get more info about guided tours and read reviews at Get Your Guide.

READ MORE: Top 5 Ecotourism Attractions in New Zealand

Mogao , photo by intothegreen via Creative Commons

Mogao are known as the of the Thousand Buddhas– 492 cave temples near the city of Dunhuang, China, of which 30 are open to the public. These are the most famous Buddhist grottoes in China, carved into the sandstone cliffs of the Singing Sand (Mingsha) Mountains.

Originally dug out in 366 CE as places of Buddhist meditation and worship, the underground caves now contain religious artwork, murals, Buddhist sculptures and stone carvings which span across 10 dynasties, from the 4th to the 14th century.

There are over 2,000 color statues and 45,000 paintings throughout the caves, making this the greatest shrine of Buddhist art treasures in the world. Get more info on tours and read reviews at Get Your Guide.

READ MORE: Top 7 Things to Do in China for Nature Lovers

Ice Cave, photo by Orvar Thorgeirsson via Creative Commons

, Iceland, Ice Cave is one of the most unique natural wonders in the world. Travelers fortunate enough to step inside the ice cave are transported into a mesmerizing realm of blue glacial ice.

Blue ice is formed from the compression of pure snow, which develops into glacial ice over centuries of extreme pressure. This process eliminates the air originally caught in the ice when the snow fell, leaving very little reflective surface for the light from the sun. 

bears more resemblance to an ice tunnel than a cave, and indirect daylight into the cave gives the ice its luminescent blue glow. To get more info on a Ice Cave tour and read reviews, check out Get Your Guide

READ MORE: 10 Incredible Iceland Waterfalls 

Marble by Katrin Schulz from Pixabay

Lake General Carrera. These caves are only accessible via boat.

The caves are known for their propensity for constantly changing their appearance. The swirling patterns of the cavern walls are a reflection of the lake’s blue waters, which change in shade and intensity depending on the water levels, which are affected by weather and season.

READ MORE: The 20 Best Things to Do in (South America)

Mountain River Cave, photo by John Spies via Creative Commons

Son Doong Cave (or Mountain River Cave in English) is the largest cave in the world, formed around 2.5 million years ago. Over the years the river water eroded the limestone underneath the mountain, causing the ceiling of the cave to collapse and form what are now huge skylights.

The READ MORE: 20 Longest Rivers in the World (for Your World Travel Bucket List)

Fingals Cave, photo by Graeme Pow via Creative Commons

Cave is a sea cave constructed completely of hexagonal basalt columns and pillars (much like the Giant’s Causeway in Get Your Guide.

READ MORE: Top 10 Things To Do on the Isle of Skye (& How To Avoid Crowds)

Mine (Cave of the Crystals), photo by Paul Williams via Creative Commons

Mine is known as the Cave of Crystals because the main chamber is home to the world’s largest crystals on earth. The big crystal measures 39 feet (12m) in length, 13 feet (4m) in diameter and weighs about 55 tons.

The READ MORE: Top 20 Things to Do in Cancun (for Nature & History Lovers)

Etologic Horse Study in Cave, photo by Thomas T via Creative Commons

Cave is considered one of the world’s most significant sites of READ MORE: 5 Weird Foods the French Consider Delicacies

Cave, photo by Mike Jerrard

are home to the largest dolomite cave in Australia open to tourists, with chambers which started forming tens of millions of years ago.

One of the few caves in Australia formed from dolomite rather than limestone, the underground caves are beautifully illuminated throughout, and also home to a number of strange and fascinating animals.

Over 40 species have been discovered within the caves, many of which remain undescribed and are so used to living underground that they are unable to survive on the surface. To read more about Hasting Tours, check out Get Your Guide. –Meg Jerrard

READ MORE: 10 Awesome Australian Road Trips (for Your World Travel Bucket List)

  Megan Jerrard

Megan Jerrard is an Australian journalist, and the founder and Senior Editor of Mapping Megan, an award-winning blog bringing you the latest in adventure travel from all over the globe.  With the main aim of inspiring others to embark on their own worldwide adventure, Megan and her photographer husband Mike believe travel has the potential to inspire change in people, and in turn inspire change in the world. They embraced travel as a lifestyle in 2007, and are dedicated to documenting their journey through entertaining, candid articles and brilliant photography. Follow their journey on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

  If you enjoyed our Amazing for Your World Travel Bucket List, you might also like:

10 Ancient Archaeological Sites For Your World Travel Bucket List 

10 Great Lakes For Your World Travel Bucket List 

10 Wonderful Waterfalls For Your World Travel Bucket List 

10 Exotic Islands For Your World Travel Bucket List 

The Best Coffee in the World: A Gourmet’s Guide

The post 10 Famous Underground for Your World Travel Bucket List appeared first on Green Global Travel.