St. Michael’s Cave is the largest network of caves on the Rock of Gibraltar in the Gibraltar Nature Reserve, counting over 100 caves. It is located at an altitude of more than 300 meters above sea level, has three entrances, and reaches 62 meters in depth.

For more than 200 million years, various stalactites and stalagmites have formed in the St. Michael’s Cave complex, turning this fantastic place famous. Colossal limestone deposits, looking like burning wax candles, appeal to all visitors and attract more than a million of them annually.

In the later 20th century, a Neolithic bowl was discovered in the cave, suggesting to scientists an idea that prehistoric humans used the cave. Already in 1974, this theory was proved when scientists were lucky to find cave art picturing a mountain goat. The drawings were made 15,000-20,000 years BC. Later, the researchers gained an even more ancient find: two Neanderthal skulls. Thus, it was possible to trace that the cave could have been used by our ancestors as early as 40,000 BC.

During World War II, military hospital equipment was installed in the caves, but the hospital itself was never in use.

The latest discovery was the Lower St. Michael’s Cave, which consists of many chambers extending far below the surface and ending in a delightful underground lake. You can visit this place during a tour.

At the moment, the largest cave in the complex is the Cathedral Cave. It houses an auditorium with a seating capacity of about 400 people. It has incredible acoustics. Annually, the Cathedral Cave hosts light shows, ballets, theatrical performances, the Miss Gibraltar beauty pageant, and concerts of rock bands and various orchestras.

Since ancient times, legends surround St. Michael’s Cave. According to one of them, the cave is an underground tunnel almost 25 kilometers long, running under the Strait of Gibraltar and connecting Europe and Africa. This passage is considered to have once been in use by the Barbary apes, who now inhabit the Rock of Gibraltar.

Another legend says that the Rock of Gibraltar is one of the two Pillars of Hercules with Monte Hacho on the opposite side of the strait. According to Greek mythology, Hercules put these pillars at the very edge of the world to honor his endeavors. Besides, the rock caves are a gate to the realm of the dead, reigned by the god Hades.