What until recently could be visited was the cave-hermitage of San Bernabé, but for a few years, it has opened for visits La Cueva Palomera, an exceptional cave complex that is definitely worth knowing.Guided tour and interpreted to the “Cuevas de Ojo Guareña”
(Information obtained from the brochure provided in La Casa del Parque)
* Tour of didactic-recreational and cultural content, with a certain component of adventure.
* Small groups (maximum 20 people).
* Individual lighting.
* Difficulty: medium.
* Duration: 2.5 hours.
* Difficulty: medium.
* Duration: 4 hours.
* Dress warm clothes (the temperature in the cave oscillates between 7 and 11ºC)
* Photography / recording is not allowed
* Daily capacity limited to 60 people.
The karst complex of Ojo Guareña is one of the longest in Spain, with 110 km of topographed galleries that are developed in six superimposed floors. At present, 2.5 km of the fourth level can be visited, which can be accessed through the Palomera Cave itinerary, and another 400 meters on the second level, which correspond to the itinerary of the cave-hermitage of San Bernabé .
The Palomera Cave itinerary is a cultural and educational visit, in which topics of great interest are covered, ranging from the formation of the cave, its geomorphology and hydrogeology, to the biological and environmental investigations that are carried out, the discoveries realized archaeological, stories and legends, curiosities … at the same time that you enjoy its most sensory and mysterious part. It is a very complete visit, which allows us to understand the formation of this impressive karst building as well as discover its main features of interest, based on which it has been declared a Natural Monument by the Junta de Castilla y León.
It is a different experience: in its 2.5 km of route the interventions have been scarce, reason why we are with a totally natural cave that, in spite of that its formation dates of about 300,000 years ago, it is still alive, because the Rio modifies parts of its layout each winter.
It is not a complicated visit, because you do not need ropes or harnesses. The only difficulty is represented by two sections of 6-7 n in length in which it is necessary to advance from squatting.
The necessary equipment is warm clothing and shoes suitable for walking on firm, wet, stone and mud. The visit has an adventure component, since the only existing lighting is that of our fronts (which are facilitated by the guides), which will be informing every step some of the best kept secrets of this part of the karst complex.
The complete route, 2.5km / 4 hours, begins at the Palomera dolina and ramp, crosses the Edelweiss Room, the Main Gallery, the Communications Room, the Sima Anencias, the Telephone Gallery, the Cacique Room, the Wax Museum and La Gran Diagonal. There is the possibility of a short visit, 1.5 km / 2.5 hours (we recommend mainly for school groups over 12 years), which reaches the Sima Dolencias and returns by the same path.