Doolin Cave

One place to add to your list of things to do if you ever make it to the Cliffs of Moher is a tour of Doolin Cave. The tour starts in the village of Doolin with a 5 minute bus ride to the cave entrance. When you arrive at the cave a tour guide will give you a brief history of the cave before leading you down a flight of stairs made up of 125 steps, just remember you have to climb back up those steps. You will be lead through a tunnel into a totally dark cavern. When you arrive in the cavern the guide will turn on the lights and you will be confronted by what can only be described as a natural chandelier hanging from the ceiling. This formation, made up of calcium carbonate and other minerals is 1.5 million years old, 23 feet in length and weighs 10.5 tons. This amazing natural wonder was discovered in 1952 by two nineteen year olds who crawled on their hands and knees and sometimes on their bellies, for over 4 hours following the path of the stream through the hill side. The passage that they crawled through was no bigger than 24 inches tall and sometimes a lot smaller. As you walk through to the main cavern the guide will show you their original path and it makes me claustrophobic just thinking about it. By the time they reached the main cavern their lights had gone out, so they had no idea what it contained. The following day they brought the whole team back and when they reached the cavern and lit it up they discovered this enormous stalactite. This stalactite is recognised as being the longest in the Northern hemisphere. Click here to see a photograph of how the stalactite is made up of what appears to be sheets and is not a solid block. Click here to see a photograph that shows the size of the cavern that the stalactite is in.