Visiting the Soplao Caves in Cantabria Spain
The soplao cave is a must on your next visit to Cantabria, being one of the most visited attractions in Cantabria every year, approximately 300 thousand visitors. This cave is a must together with the Altamira cave where cave paintings can be found.
To visit the soplao caves do not hesitate to stay at the hostel La casa de Gándara, we are located in the village of Llanos, in Cantabria. The hostel can accommodate large groups which is what it specializes in, ask for hostel availability and rates, book your stay now and don’t run out of places.
What is El Soplao Cave like and how was it formed?
Before visiting the soplao cave it is good to know about it, how it was discovered, how it was formed and other curiosities that can be interesting. The cave is known to be quite old and was formed approximately 110 million years ago, the result of thermal waters and tectonic faulting during the Cretaceous rifting.
During these times the original limestone of the cave was transformed into a stone that has magnesium.the cave is quite large with 20 kilometers of which only about 1.5 kilometers are traveled.to enter the cave there are 2 entrances that are natural and there is another access that is the tourist, being also possible to access other 14 entrances of the old zinc mine.
How to visit the Soplao Caves
As we mentioned before, you will be able to enjoy about 1.5 kilometers (1,500 meters) of the cave, but the length is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) of galleries. To make it much easier to access the cave, a mining train has been installed which runs 400 meters to allow you to enter the cave, or rather, it leaves you at the entrance of the cave where the tour begins.
Once the tour begins, you will advance 60 meters in an old zinc mining excavation until you reach the part where you can enjoy the ancient formations that have been created naturally in the cave. The visit to the cave can be done on your own, although many prefer to take guided tours, there is an Excursion to the Soplao Cave and the duration of the visit to the Soplao Cave is approximately 4 hours.
Where to sleep near the Cueva del Soplao
In the surroundings you can find rural houses near the caves of El soplao, although if you are visiting with a large group of people the hostels in Cabárceno or hostels in Cantabria in general are one of the best options.
La casa de Gándara hostel is one of the options with 3 floors, 14 rooms with bunk beds, single beds and bathroom for each room.
The lodge has 6000 m2 of green area, parking for up to 30 cars, buses, among others.
You can also use the lodge for events or birthdays if that is the reason for your visit to Cueva El Soplao.
As for the food, we know how important it is, so we offer first quality dishes with food from our garden.