Coves del Drach
Cuevas del Drach
Interesting facts
- In 1904 the Romanian biologist Emil Racoviță found an unknown blind cave isopod here, Typhlocirolana moraguesi, a discovery that set him on the path to founding biospeleology.
- Martel came to the caves in 1896 partly at the urging of his friend, the French artist and traveller Gaston Vuillier, who had visited them a few years earlier.
- Lake Martel is not only long but fairly deep, with depths ranging from about 4 to 12 metres beneath its glassy surface.
- The Mallorcan entrepreneur Joan Servera Camps began turning the caves into an attraction in 1922, after buying the land around the entrance.
- The first illuminated orchestra boats glided across the lake in 1934, each followed by two boats carrying spectators.
- Chambers along the route were given fanciful names such as the Fairies' Theatre and Diana's Bath, or named after formations like the Monk and Cactus.
- A lakeside auditorium for the underground concerts holds roughly 1,100 people.
- According to legend, the caves take their name from a dragon said to guard treasure hidden in the darkness by pirates or the Knights Templar.
Why it is worth it
The Caves of Drach, the "Dragon Caves", are a chain of four connected caverns on the east coast of Mallorca, a world of white and amber stalactites that ends at one of the largest underground lakes known. Lake Martel stretches about 115 metres in length and 30 metres in width, its still water doubling every formation hanging above it. The caves run for some 2.4 km in total and descend about 25 metres; the visitor route covers around half of that length.
The four sections are known as the Black Cave, the White Cave, the Cave of Luis Salvador and the Cave of the French. Some researchers place the origins of the system as far back as the Miocene. The caves appear in written sources long before scientific exploration: some historians link a 1338 letter from the island's governor to the mayor of Manacor to them, and the name Drach is recorded in 1632. In 1880 the German Friedrich Will, at the invitation of Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria, mapped the Black and White caves. In September 1896 the French explorer Édouard-Alfred Martel, often called the father of modern speleology, came with Louis Armand, discovered the two further caves and found the lake that now bears his name. Jules Verne mentioned the caves in his novel Clovis Dardentor, published the year before.
Their character as a show cave was shaped in the early 20th century. A new entrance facing Cala Murta was opened in 1929 and became the main way in, and in 1935 the engineer Carles Buïgas, known for illuminated fountains, completed a fifteen-month project to light the interior electrically, including a staged "dawn on the lake". The visit traditionally culminates on the shore of Lake Martel, where musicians play classical pieces from small boats gliding across the water before visitors are rowed across themselves. The caves have been protected as a site of cultural interest since 1966.
Getting there
The caves lie on the edge of Porto Cristo in the municipality of Manacor, on Mallorca's east coast, about 11 km from the centre of Manacor. The nearest airport is Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI), about 51 km to the west.
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From the encyclopaedia
The Caves of Drach are four great caves that are located in the island of Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, extending to a depth of 25 m and reaching approximately 2.4 km in length. They are in the municipality of Manacor, near the locality of Porto Cristo. They were first mentioned in a letter dated 1338. The four caves, called Black Cave, White Cave, Cave of Luis Salvador, and Cave of the French, are connected to each other.
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