El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
If you plan a journey through Cantabria, in your agenda you should not miss the The Soplao Cave,
It is one of the essential visits in Cantabria, and one of the places in this community that receives more tourists every year, with 300,000 visitors a year.
Surely you already know that Visitable caves They are one of the great tourist attractions of Cantabria, being its great icon that of Altamira, where you can currently do the visit of the museum and the neo-cave.
Castings in El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
But there are others also very interesting that I have been able to visit in my various trips to Cantabria, which also contain paleolithic art, like that ofCastle, in Viesgo Bridge, wave of Covalanas. in Victory Branches, at Asón Valley.
However, until recently I had not had the chance to know the cave El Soplao, which is in the region Saja-Nansa, 60 kilometers from Torrelavega and 80 kilometers from Santander.
How is El Solplao Cave
Looking forward to your visit, it will be interesting to know the history of the discovery of these caves, as well as some curiosities of them.
How the Soplao Cave was formed
It is thought that the The Soplao Cave formed about 110 million years ago, during theCretaceous, as a result of the rise of thermal water through various tectonic faults.
El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
The original limestone of the mountain was transformed into a type of stone that includes magnesium.
What are the dimensions of the El Soplao Cave
Thedimensions known from the The Soplao Cave they are almost 20 kilometers long distributed in several levels, of which they are visited until a kilometer and a half.
On the other hand, the mining galleries that are in the same mountain and that are united with the natural cave extend for 25.6 kilometers.
To access the natural cave there are two natural entrances, plus open access for the tourist visit, and another 14 entrances to the old zinc mine.
Stalactites in Cueva El Soplao in Cantabria
When the Soplao Cave was discovered
It was discovered in 1908, when an intersection was opened in a mining gallery where work was being carried out for the extraction of zinc that allowed the natural gallery to be brought to light, whose existence until then was unknown.
For this reason the cave is called El Soplao, an expressive deformation of mining slangblown, which is used when an air current occurs when different mining cavities are connected.
But it was not until 1975 when a team of Cantabrian cavers began to visit the different galleries of the natural cavity, concluding that it was one of the most spectacular caves known until then in Cantabria.
Characteristics of El Soplao Cave
This Cantabrian cave is so special because it is not usual to find underground networks thatcombine mines and natural caves, more of such dimensions, because in the case of the Cantabrian cave, the network exceeds 45 kilometers.
Stalactites in Cueva El Soplao in Cantabria
It is also special because of the great ornamentation in ceilings, walls and floors, whose enjoyment justifiably justifies your visit.
In this regard, the great abundance ofspeleothems eccentric, which are very spectacular and not very abundant.
Finally, in the The Soplao important scientific discoveries have been made, such asamber speleothems, unique in the world, andamber blue of the Cretaceous era.
What are eccentric speleothems of El Soplao
The rock formations that eventually form in caves such as Soplao are called speleothems, which have different forms, such as stalactites or stalacmites.
But surely the greatpeculiarity of the cave El Soplao are the eccentric speleothems that you can see during a tour in large areas to cover floors and ceilings.
Eccentric stalactites in Cueva El Soplao in Cantabria
Eccentrics are formations that grow in any direction capriciously due to a capillary water fluid.
The abundance of magnesium and that the cave has been almost always closed and in stable environmental conditions, is the reason why in The Soplao there is so much surface with eccentric formations.
How to visit El Soplao Cave
For your visit to this cave, if instead of going on your own you prefer to sign up for a guided group, you have the Excursion to El Soplao Cave from Santander, with a duration of four hours.
For visit the cave El Soplao You have three different visit options, from the Standard guided tour, going through the visit Adventure Turism, to the new Mining Visit.
Entrance to the El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
How is the standard guided tour of El Soplao Cave
The guided visitstandard It begins with a brief tour in an emulation of a mining train that introduces you to the cave.
I must remind you that this cave was discovered in 1910, during the exploitation of zinc mines.
With a duration of one hour, in this guided visit in groups that are organized every little time, you walk only the main gallery of the cave,
During the visit you walk about 800 meters along walkways with adequate lighting, and where the first thing you will see is a multimedia presentation that tells you the history of the Soplao.
Then, for a perfectly qualified route for all types of public, even for people with reduced mobility and wheelchairs, you can see some of the most prominent corners of the cave, where there are not lacking the asymmetric stalactite clusters that have given such fame to The Soplao
Visit Adventure Tourism in El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
You should go warm, because the temperature inside the cave is 12-13 degrees Celsius.
Visit Tourism Adventure of the cave El Soplao
For its part, the visit Adventure Turism It allows you to know in a very different way this famous Cantabrian cave.
First of all, you will dress in a jumpsuit, boots and a helmet with light, which will allow you to go properly equipped to make this visit so special.
You will enter the cave on foot, next to the track of the mining train that is used in the tourist visit.
Visit Adventure Tourism in El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
After touring part of the main gallery of The Soplao, you will leave the illuminated area behind, and only with the help of the lights of the hulls and flashlights, reach a gate that gives access to the section you have to visit.
In this visit that lasts about two and a half hours, you will travel about two kilometers from the cave, in fact, a very small part of its total extension, which is about 20 kilometers.
It runs, in general, by sections without any difficulty, and there are others that are enabled with help elements, such as railings, or even stairs.
This favors that this visit does not have a special physical requirement and can be carried out by people of a certain age without any problem, although children under 12 years old cannot do it.
El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
There are only two small sections that will require you to go through small holes, but do not be scared about it, they are easy to overcome.
During the tour you will see closely the great wealth that has inside the cave, with a great diversity of formations. stalactites, stalagmites, the famous eccentrics ...
Highlights special training, such as amber stalactites, the so-called black capes, the groups of calcite crystals, or the spectacular laundry that extend across the walls, the large columns, waves stalactites flags.
In summary, you will have a vision of a cave very different from what you have been able to have so far, where you can discover the detail the great wealth of speleothems of The Soplao.
Stalactites in Cueva El Soplao in Cantabria
Mining visit of the cave El Soplao
On the other hand, since June of this year 2019 the Mining Visits, which is a via ferrata which is done inside the Minas Florida.
It has two kilometers in length and different phases with different levels of difficulty.
Here you have all the information about Mining Visits of El Soplao Cave.
El Soplao Cave in Cantabria
Opening hours visit El Soplao Cave
The visiting hours of El Soplao Cave they vary according to the time of the year, but in the summer months it is from 10 to 19 hours, in July, and from 10 to 21 hours, in August. opening every day.
So you can check the schedules during the yearboth of the tourist visit standard as of the Visit Adventure Tourism, as well as the dates on which the cave is closed for visits.
Ticket prices El Soplao Cave
The Ticket prices for El Soplao Cave (2019) are different depending on the type of visit you are going to make.
So, the price of the standard guided tour It is 12.50 euros for adults and 10 euros for children aged 4 to 16, pensioners, pensioners, students and people with disabilities.
He Ticket price for the Adventure Tourism visit it's 32 euros, and for the visit Mining, 48.50 euros.
