Caves of Nerja, Malaga

They are located in a municipality of Málaga called Nerja. These caves were discovered in 1959.

There are some paintings that could be the oldest work of art in all history (made about 42 thousand years ago).

In the painting you can see the image of the Mediterranean Monk Seal, currently in danger of extinction.

The Caves of Nerja was discovered by 5 young people in the year 1959.
These young men were playing "bats hunting" in a place called “the mine”.
When they went into the mine they could feel a stream of moist air and discovered that it came from a narrow gap that they couldn’t pass.

The next day they returned to the mine with the necessary tools to open more the hole and remove what was stopping their passage.
Thus, they managed to enter a passage that took them to the cave. Surprised, they saw skeletons of some people and ceramic bowls. They were frightened and decided to tell everything they had seen.

In the second visit to the place they were accompanied by doctors and photographers. The photos were published about 100 days later and the Caves of Nerja were officially announced.
After this, explorations were continued and an easy access to the cave was sought. In 1960, it was open to the public.

The cave measures a total of 35484 square meters and consists of three main areas: New galleries, tall galleries and tourist galleries.
The tourist galleries are the only galleries that can be visited at the moment.
Throughout all these years the Foundation Cueva de Nerja has realized studies and investigations of the cave.

In 1961, the Caves of Nerja was declared an Artistic Historical Monument.
In 2006 it was declared a Cultural Interest.