Cango Caves, South Africa Plan a trip
The Cango Caves is the largest underground cave network in South Africa, and it’s absolutely astonishing; you can’t quite fathom the size of them until you’re there. The largest three caverns are easy to access, so you don’t need to worry about crawling through tight gaps.
Expert guides will take you around the caves and explain how they were formed and why they’re important in both a historical and geological sense. You’ll see limestone stalagmites sprout from the ground and stalactites drip from the ceiling. There’s nothing quite like it. One of the most famous of the Cango Caves is Lot’s Chamber. These natural rock formations look a lot like the biblical Lot and his wife who were turned into stone.
During your visit, you must choose a heritage or adventure tour. If you pick heritage, you’ll learn a bit more about the history and have a relatively easy journey through the Cango Caves. As the name suggests, the ‘adventure’ tour means you’ll have to do a little more work to find your way around. You’ll have to crawl, duck and squeeze your way through the gaps in the rock, but it’s well worth it.
You’ll uncover lots of hidden treasures in the Cango Caves by taking this tour. Look out for tall crystals, cave pools and grottos throughout your journey. To round off the adventure tour, you’ll have to wriggle out from the 27-centimetre-high Leopard Crawl and trust us, you’ll be glad to get back to the real world after that!
The Cango Caves aren’t too far from the Swartberg Pass. It cuts through rocks to give you fantastic views of the countryside and takes you to the little town of Prince Albert. It’s worth a visit, even if it does seem to be stuck in the Victorian era. From there, you can go to Oudtshoorn and try some of the delicious local wines that are made in the Little Karoo.
Plan your trip to the Cango Caves today.