Cango Caves
- zugnicearth
- Apr 30, 2019
- 3 min read
Situated near to the reputable Swatberg Mountains near the town of Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, the Cango Caves are decidedly huge dripstone caverns, with vast halls and towering formations, known as the biggest in Africa. The entrances to these caves were shown by artifacts to serve as homes during the Middle and Later Stone Ages. Discovered in 1780 by a farmer named Jacobus Van Zyl, the caves are now a popular tourist attraction despite only 1/4 of their vast area (4km, 2.5mi) being open to the puplic.
History:
Artifacts and cave paintings indicate that the caves were already in use throughout prehistory during a long period in the Middle and Later Stone Ages. The caves have been rediscovered by a local farmer named Jacobus Van Zyl, as already mentioned earlier, in 1780. A chamber (Van Zyl Hall) as big as a football field was found and named after him in honor of this exceptional discovery. Further exploration was done and soon enough the second chamber was discovered twelve years later in 1792. With this revelation the caves shortly became a popular place to visit by people from all over the world.
There are guided tours (in English, Afrikaans, German and French) and an "Adventure Tour" where one is taken through some of the more difficult-to-navigate caverns and passages.
The town's oldest tourist attraction. By all means we agreed to participate in the Adventure Tour at the Cango Caves. Little did we know that we'd be squeezing through the most unimaginable tiniest of passageways crawling through tunnels with names such as Devil's Chimney and Lumbago Alley. The term Lumbago means pain in the muscles and joints of the lower back. Take this definition into consideration because you will be on your hands and knees a good amount of time. For people suffering from claustrophobia, the Adventure Tour is not a good choice to make, hence the passages are extremely small.
One of the fringe benefits of the adventure tour is that one gets to walk through all the caves that the standard tour gets to walk as well.
Stop number one is the giant Van Zyl Hall. At 90 metres long, 50 metres wide and 18 metres high, it is an impressive first sight. Back in the earlier days, they used to have underground cave concerts. As I looked at the old stage at the front of the chamber it seemed as though I could hear music echoing in my ears and under the massive stalactites. Sadly people did not follow the rules and started to carve their names into the lime stone or walked deeper into the cave without permission. They then decided that it is best to no longer have concerts in order to protect the caves.
The next room impressively smaller but earnestly more beautiful in comparison to all the other chambers, is extraordinary. Crystal waterfalls, pipe organ formations and giant stalactites and stalagmites with remarkable names for instance The Leaning Tower of Pisa, can be recognised. A picture can't do justice of this natural beauty. I must mention that I have been to several other caves around the world like the Mammoth Caves in Tennessee, Cueva de los Verdes in Lanzarote and the caves in Switzerland, the scenery at the cango caves is the most spectacular and breathtaking one. It fees like a room of tiny, perfect little laid out ornaments made by an architect with great imagination.
After walking through a passageway with well-maintained stairs and soft lightning the standard tour is about to end. The second half of the tour is where the real adventure starts and where adventure seekers can get their adrenalin kick.
Reaching a step ladder which takes you to King Solomons's Mines the trip begins. As I moved deeper into the cave system, I could feel that the air becoming thicker and the temperature rose unlikely to other caves I have been to in the past.
Crawling through the tunnel of Love, Climbing up the tunnel of coffin and eventually sliding through the devils post box I enjoyed every bit of it and must admit I felt pretty darn proud of myself as well. The feeling of knowing that one is many meters underground is plainly exciting. With every inch you move forward a new obstacle must be overcome and you feel as though you were a miner back in the old days.
There is nothing to worry about and hey I squeezed myself through a 27cm small hole!
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