A visit to L'Avenc de Son Pou Cave, nr Orient

It turns out they were looking for a spectacular cave that would impress a group a school children with abundant stalactites and stalagmites that could be measured near a stream and a waterfall that they could study for geography. Yes, I know one such cave.

So on a Wednesday morning in June me, 3 teachers and 35 excited school children headed to the Orient valley in search of the L´Avenc de Son Pou caves. (It is worth noting that the caves are not usually open during the week. The access tunnel is normally only unlocked at the weekend.) The first adventure was trying to get a bus through the Orient village to the start of the walk, not for the faint hearted and definitely not to be repeated. Anyway, once we had been dropped off ready to begin our hike we were greeted by a whole herd of sheep on our tiny walled in path. Once the sheep, the stiles and the stream were negotiated we could begin the navigation part. We were blessed with a warm over cast day and everybody was able to keep up with the relatively fast pace needed to get to these remote caves and back again.

I gave a brief warning about the dangers of leaving the track as the area is riddled with caves. The pupils mostly stuck to this rule but thought I was over exaggerating even though the cave we were heading for was originally found when a farmers dog fell into it. The hike down the Orient valley gave a perfect setting to discuss limestone scenery including V shaped gorges and waterfalls. Red kites were also spotted in the skies above us.

After a 2 hour hike the entrance to the cave was reached. This is a small tunnel cut into the hill side. It was drilled about 100 years ago so the local farmers could access the cave to collect bat poo. Bat poo is one of the best fertilizers and it is also used in making explosives. (It was hard to ascertain from our Spanish guide which was the main reason for the collection).

Once through the dark tunnel we entered the cave. There were gasps of wonderment from many and the magical quote, "It was worth the walk" was heard on several occasions. This is high praise indeed from a group of 13 year olds.

The cave is as large as Palma cathedral with a small opening in the 80m high roof which lets in just enough light to appreciate the sheer size of the chamber. There are ceiling to floor stalagmite and stalactite formations. The students spent about 45 minutes exploring the upper and the lower chambers and measuring the limestone formations for their science lessons.

Unfortunately the cave is so remote that our time there was brief and we soon had to head back to Orient. There was a new awareness of our underground world now that everybody knew that I was not exaggerating after all.

There were some tired legs but the sight of the bus way below in the valley kept everybody spirits up. Every student took a map home so that they can find this cave at the weekend with friends and family.

The tunnel is open every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm. €1 per person is requested to help pay for the care of the cave. Good luck with your navigation and make sure you always get out before 4pm, I am pretty sure the man on the gate never counts people in and out…

For more caves & sights to visit click here.

Written by Sam Shelley Sam Shelley is a UK MIA qualified climbing instructor with Rock and Ride – Mallorca

For more information: Rock and Ride – Mallorca are fully qualified climbing guides living and working on the island. They are able to offer advice on everything you need to know for a successful climbing and walking holiday in Mallorca. Visit http://www.rockandride-mallorca.com for more information on climbing courses, guided multi-pitch adventures, advanced coaching, traditional climbing, deep water soling and much more.