Las Cuevas del Drach Mallorca excursion
Last week I had a day off from my duties at the hotel and was looking for an adventure further afield from Port de Sóller. Luckily, three other guests at Citric Hotel invited me to what they referred to as “the caves”. I’ve never had much interest in spelunking, but I was feeling spontaneous and decided to join them. We hopped into their rental car and drove to the east coast of the island, passing through Arta and several other quaint towns on the way. The landscape along the way was more of what I am becoming accustomed to: beautiful planes and pastures dotted with towns all set against the backdrop of mountains. We got a little lost along the way, but the view was so nice I didn’t really mind taking the “scenic route”.
After stopping briefly at two beaches which didn’t have much going on this time of year and enjoying a long lunch, we finally made it to Porto Christo, home to the Cuevas del Drach (cavern of the dragon). We bought our ticket (11,50€) and enjoyed the gardin on the grounds while waiting for our tour to begin. Guidebooks claim that there are peacocks that wander around the gardin, but I guess they were on vacation the week I visited.
Eventually, a guide took our ticket and we descended into the bowls of the cave. There we were greeted by spectacular scenes of subterranean architecture. Over millions of years, water has sculpted the limestone into breathtaking stalagtites, stalagmites, and columns. These structures are illuminated and accentuated by the expertly-done lighting. I would include some pictures, but photos are not permitted. As you procede through the cavern, a multilingual tourguide explains the history and geology of the cave while also naming some of the more familiar-looking formations (“the monk”, “snowy mountain”, and an iron-oxide-tinged formation that looks like the Spanish flag).
After about half an hour of walking through the cave, you finally reach the world’s largest underground lake. Once the tour group has found seats on the wooden benches all the lights are turned off and you are treated to a 15-minute classical music concert. The catch: the performers are playing on lighted wooden gondolas that drift over the lake. The excellent acoustics of the cavern combined with the eeriness of the music makes the entire performance one to remember. You are then invited to cross the lake via gondola yourself before exiting the cave and reemerging into the daylight. Despite the name, there is no dragon (or peacocks) to be found. But it is still an experience you are unlikely to forget.
