El Soplao Cave Guided Tour

Beneath Cantabria’s green hills lies El Soplao, a cave miners stumbled upon while hunting for ore. Choose from three guided tours to admire its extraordinary formations.

Getting started

Begin your visit by driving up to the El Soplao area, where you will board a mining train that takes you through the La Isidra tunnel to the main entrance of the cave. Your guide will outline the route and safety guidelines for the visit you have selected. From here, you set off on foot into the underground galleries.

What to expect

El Soplao Cave

Prepare for a landscape unlike the one above ground. El Soplao’s mineral formations create a maze of unusual shapes and textures, each with a story your guide helps you appreciate. The cave was encountered during mining work around 1908, when workers searching for zinc and lead uncovered something far beyond the ore they came looking for.

Features

• Expert context: Follow your guide through El Soplao’s underground galleries, spotting unusual mineral formations and learning what makes this cave so fascinating.

• Entry to El Soplao Cave: See the cave’s famous eccentric formations, alongside stalactites, stalagmites, columns and flowstones across galleries including La Gorda, Los Fantasmas and La Ópera.

• Mining train ride: Ride a recreated mining train through the La Isidra tunnel to reach the cave, then continue on foot along walkways through its spectacular underground galleries.

• Upgrades: Take the 2.5-hour route through Campamento, El Órgano and El Bosque, or choose the 3.5-hour tour to explore La Florida’s historic mining galleries.