If you’re like this reporter, you love caves: the cool, moist magnificence of Mother Nature’s architecture arrayed about you in shimmering stalactites and stalagmites. Leave the other world far above and descend into incomparable quiet. It’s quite a rush.
This is the type of caving I crave, not the species where you don helmets and gloves and slither around on your belly in impossibly tight places. We’re talking tourist caves here folks. Here are a few of Virginia’s best:
Luray Caverns are the biggest in the eastern part of the country, a vast subterranean wonderland. The centerpiece is Giant’s hall, an expansive set of chambers dominated largely by ten-story-high golden columns. More subtly, see Tania’s Veil, a formation created by pure crystalline drips. It’s breathtaking.
Shenandoah Caverns is particularly accessible, the only caverns in the state replete with elevator service to its 17 underground rooms. The highlight of a trip into Shenandoah’s chambers is Rainbow Lake, resplendent with its drip formations. Beyond the Veil is particularly pretty. It’s a formation composed of orangish, straw-line drips.
This reporter’s favorite Virginia underground retreat is Natural Bridge Caverns, the East Coast’s deepest. Descend a full 34 stories under the surface and emerge in a world of magical pools, stalactites and stalagmites. Mirror Lake is the magnet. The tour takes three-quarter of an hour, and you’re going to need a sweater – even in the heat of summer. The great thing about Natural Bridge is its proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: karendotcom127)
