Sightseeing Valencia
The cave contains the longest navigable underground river in Europe
Apr 24, 2014 - 5:15 AM
Cueva de San José, Castellón
The cave contains the longest navigable underground river in Europe
Apr 24, 2014 - 5:15 AM
There are more than 10,000 known caves which have been explored by man in Spain, and a good number of them are open to the public. Some are noted for their prehistoric paintings, others for their rock formations which have been created by the effects of water. There are also the lava tube caves of the Canary Islands.
The Sierra de Espadán Natural Park in the Valle d’Uxó, Castellón, is home to the Grutas de San José, the ‘Coves de Sant Josep’ in Valencian, a cave system which contains the longest navigable underground river in Europe and is visited by around 14,000 people every year. The river is known to run for at least 2.75 kilometres, 800 metres of which is accessible to visitors. The visit is mainly by boat, apart from a stretch of some 250 metres.
It’s a wonderful experience, as you sail slowly over the calm waters in the silence beneath the earth’s surface and observe the formations which have been formed by the water over thousands of years.
Humans have used this cave system for more than 17,000 years. Wall paintings dating back to this period have been found at the entrance to the cave. The remains of an Iberian settlement are nearby, and evidence has also been found that the caves were known to the Romans.
The naturalist Josep Cavanilles speaks of the Coves de Sant Josep in his 18th Century ‘Observations on the Natural History, Geography, Agriculture, Population and Fruits of the Kingdom of Valencia’, and there are references from the 19th Century of a flower festival which was held nearby when the bravest of the locals would enter the caves. One young man almost lost his life in 1902 while trying to force his way through the ‘Boca del Forn’, at the limit of the accessible section at that time, when two groups of people were competing to see who could explore the caves further. There was a partial exploration in 1915 by the historian Carlos Sarthou Carreres and in 1926 another group of explorers managed to pass through the Boca del Forn as far as the 5-metre deep Lake of Diana, but found the Galería de los Sifones to be an insurmountable obstacle. A local man died three years later while attempting to get through the Gallery.
Work began at this time to make the caves more accessible to visitors and electric lighting was installed in 1936. By 1950, boats were being used to sail past the Boca del Forn, which had been opened up by blasting. Speleologists made the first map of the system in 1958 and conquered the Galería de los Sifones in 1960. It was blasted through the following year and the remainder of the galleries which make up the current route were then discovered.
Further exploration discovered yet more galleries over the years to come, until the known limit of the system was finally reached. It’s not known how far it truly extends or where the source of the river can be found.
Photo - Flickr.com
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The Sierra de Espadán Natural Park in the Valle d’Uxó, Castellón, is home to the Grutas de San José, the ‘Coves de Sant Josep’ in Valencian, a cave system which contains the longest navigable underground river in Europe and is visited by around 14,000 people every year. The river is known to run for at least 2.75 kilometres, 800 metres of which is accessible to visitors. The visit is mainly by boat, apart from a stretch of some 250 metres.
It’s a wonderful experience, as you sail slowly over the calm waters in the silence beneath the earth’s surface and observe the formations which have been formed by the water over thousands of years.
Humans have used this cave system for more than 17,000 years. Wall paintings dating back to this period have been found at the entrance to the cave. The remains of an Iberian settlement are nearby, and evidence has also been found that the caves were known to the Romans.
The naturalist Josep Cavanilles speaks of the Coves de Sant Josep in his 18th Century ‘Observations on the Natural History, Geography, Agriculture, Population and Fruits of the Kingdom of Valencia’, and there are references from the 19th Century of a flower festival which was held nearby when the bravest of the locals would enter the caves. One young man almost lost his life in 1902 while trying to force his way through the ‘Boca del Forn’, at the limit of the accessible section at that time, when two groups of people were competing to see who could explore the caves further. There was a partial exploration in 1915 by the historian Carlos Sarthou Carreres and in 1926 another group of explorers managed to pass through the Boca del Forn as far as the 5-metre deep Lake of Diana, but found the Galería de los Sifones to be an insurmountable obstacle. A local man died three years later while attempting to get through the Gallery.
Work began at this time to make the caves more accessible to visitors and electric lighting was installed in 1936. By 1950, boats were being used to sail past the Boca del Forn, which had been opened up by blasting. Speleologists made the first map of the system in 1958 and conquered the Galería de los Sifones in 1960. It was blasted through the following year and the remainder of the galleries which make up the current route were then discovered.
Further exploration discovered yet more galleries over the years to come, until the known limit of the system was finally reached. It’s not known how far it truly extends or where the source of the river can be found.
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