Gran Caverna de Santo Tomas

Santo Tomás runs for more than forty kilometres of surveyed passage on several levels through a limestone ridge west of Viñales, which makes it the largest known cave system in Cuba. Visitors do a guided section, around a kilometre in, with helmets and lamps: chambers, a natural window looking out over the valley, formations, and passages that need stooping. It is a caving trip rather than a show cave, with no lighting, no walkways and no handrails, which is exactly what makes it worth doing.

The landscape

• The galleries - chambers on several levels within the ridge, part of over forty kilometres surveyed.
• The natural window - an opening in the cliff looking out over the Quemado valley.
• The formations - stalactites, columns and flowstone in the visited section.
• The approach - a climb up the hillside to the entrance, with a view over the valley.

When to go

Year-round; the cave temperature is constant and the trip runs in any weather. Tours leave from the caving school at the entrance at set times. Wet weather makes the approach path slippery.

Good to know

There is no lighting or infrastructure inside: helmet lamps only, uneven floors, stooping sections and some scrambling. It is not suitable for anyone with mobility problems or a fear of enclosed spaces. Sturdy shoes matter, and you will get muddy.

Nearby

Vinales and its valley are twenty minutes east.