Welcome to the Planetcaver blog, featuring stories from caves and
underground explorations around the world, from the point of view of a
beginner caver. The Planetcaver has explored underground places in
44 countries and 608 locations (460 natural in 40 countries and 149 man-made in 24 countries) and has written about 87 other places. You can also click on the map
on the left to see where in the world they took place.
Three-cave trip to Nuuksio I was basically tossing a coin to decide what to do, had been cooked up inside for a long time. I started with the half-a-year-late raking duty on the yard :-) but then decided to not go for a swim or a trespassing at a closed ski resort, but rather hike in Nuuksio, and maybe see some caves. Full story Alternate link
Caving association introduction session The caving association organized an introduction session to caving, how people got started with it, etc. Full story Alternate link
May 2026, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None)
Skiing, Caves, and Swimming on one trip I managed a Mother's Day trip with a visit to see my mom, but also to ski a closed ski hill, hike to see a cave, and swim at a new swimming hall. Full story Alternate link
May 2026, Kokonniemen hiihtokeskus, Porvoo, Finland; Kolisevan Pirunpesä, Iitti, Finland; Kuusankosken uimahalli, Kuusankoski, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Unknown, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Erosion); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal)
Linear Park Tunnels Bath. The Linear Park is a biking and pedestrian path or park in the outskirts of the city, built on an abandoned railway line and tunnels. There are two tunnels, the first one being shorter and the second one longer, together more than two kilometers long. Full story Alternate link
May 2026, Devonshire Tunnel, Bath, United Kingdom Urban-Exploration (Tunnels, Railways); Caving (Basic, Man-Made)
Too cheesy for my taste Cheddar caves I didn't have too much time after the visit to the ski slope (link, alt. link), so a proper a cave exploration was out of the question. I had found an easy(ish) wild cave that I could have visited, but instead I opted for visiting two show caves in Cheddar, at the foot of the Cheddar Gorge: Gough's Cave and Cox's cave. They are interesting caves, the former medium-sized and the latter small, but both have some beautiful cave forms. But ... Gough's was decorated with bright, illuminated-from-the-inside cartoon characters. Full story Alternate link
May 2026, Gough's Cave, Cheddar, United Kingdom; Cox's Cave, Cheddar, United Kingdom Caving (Basic, Rock, Showtour, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst)
Lahti's Pirunluola -- Devil's cave in Kivistönmäki Lahti. And the suburb of Kivistönmäki, just a kilometer and half from the center. There's a hill as the name ("stone hill") says, there's a water tower... and there are indeed stones. And a small cliff. Right on the cliff is a "devil's nest", Pirunpesä. Small but interesting cave. There's a nice route through the cave with some climbing involved to get from main, larger cave part and the bottom entrance to the upper level and upper entrance through a narrow passage. Full story Alternate link
April 2026, Kivistönmäen Pirunluola, Kivistönmäki, Lahti, Finland; Kivistönmäen Pirunluolan parvekeluola, Kivistönmäki, Lahti, Finland; Kivistönmäen Pirunluolan kaariluola, Kivistönmäki, Lahti, Finland Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack, Surveying); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack)
Searching for the Mullikkarotti cave (Mullikkarotin luola) Mullikkarotti ("bull rat"?) is an interesting canyon near Jämsä. I was here to ski, but stopped on the way to look at caves. However, I was unable to find the actual cave. Later reading the book of Finnish caves ("Suomen Luolat") I realize that the cave was a 7m vertical crack on the cliff face. But I didn't actually see such a crack. And moving around was a bit challenging in the still ice-filled water pools at the bottom and falling snow. Maybe next time I'll find it. But I did find several other smaller holes. Full story Alternate link
April 2026, Mullikkarotin luola, Jämsä, Finland; Mullikkarotin kivenalusluola, Jämsä, Finland Caving (None, Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders)
Unikonlinnan pirunpesä (devil's nest at the poppy castle) There are many caves called "Devil's Nest" in Finland. I guess a remnant of pagan beliefs of odd places or just a joke. This particular Devil's Nest is in Janakkala, and called the Poppy Castle. It is a bit unclear if there's human construction in some of the rock arrangements on this steep hill surrounded by cliffs, but the cave itself is definitely natural. Full story Alternate link
April 2026, Unikonlinnan pirunpesä, Janakkala, Finland Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack)
Chamber mountain cave (Kammiovuoren Luola) On the same ski trip to Himos, I also stopped near Kuhmoinen to look at the Kammiovuori caves (Kammiovuori is Chamber Mountain). I was unable to find anything from the Internet about this, but the book about Finnish caves lists it, so I went to see it. It was a bit sketchy road to drive, but I managed to get to a close-by location. And found the cave, worth a visit! Full story Alternate link
April 2026, Kammiovuoren luola, Kuhmoinen, Finland; Kammiovuoren pikkuhalkeama, Kuhmoinen, Finland; Kammiovuoren pikkukolo, Kuhmoinen, Finland Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Boulders, Surveying); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders)
Hole in a mountain Dongchong community and the Dapeng Peninsula are in the outskirts of Shenzhen, China. A beach resort, said to be Shenzhen's version of the Maldives. Clear, beautiful colored waters, tranquil beach, a village... and a hole through a mountain. The Chuanbi Rock, Piercing Nose Rock, or Elephant Trunk Gate cuts across the very end of the peninsula mountain. A see-through hole 18 meters high, 9 meters wide and 46 meters long. Full story Alternate link
March 2026, Piercing Nose Rock, Dongchong, Shenzhen, China Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Erosion)
Hong Kong caves at the Cape d'Aguilar Are there caves in Hong Kong? With the mountainous region this small place has, one would assume there are some. I found a handful on my search through the interwebs, but most of them were not easily accessible, beach caves on islands that would require a boat trip, caves that can only be accessed from the sea, etc. However, the Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve hosts two wonderful caves that can be reached relatively easily. Both of these are beach caves. Full story Alternate link
March 2026, Cape d'Aguilar Sea Crack Cave, Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve, Shek O, Hong Kong; Cape d'Aguilar Sea Arch Cave, Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve, Shek O, Hong Kong; West Kowloon Station, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Erosion, Rock-Unknown); Hiking; Travel
Catalonia caves II It was a hard days night, a long day of skiing but I was NOT satisfied. I also wanted to visit a cave. Grottocenter gave me multiple hits within a half an hour's dive from the hotel and fairly close to the road, but ... it was a challenge. I couldn't be sure I had found the first one, or maybe I did but then it didn't match the description. And the second one I did find but it was an easy but unnerving and unsecured climb away, 4-5 meters up on a cliff face. Full story Alternate link
March 2026, Balma de la Paret, El Compte, Spain; Cova del Mirador de l'Infern, Solduga-Esplugues, Spain; Forat del Serpent, Solduga-Esplugues, Spain Caving (None, Rock); Caving (Basic, Rock)
Catalonia caves I After working several weeks straight with not even weekends free, I thought I would be completely free today and can just leisurely drive around the Pyrenees and look for interesting stuff. Well, it turned out that I still had to listen to some conference calls while driving. But it was an interesting drive in the canyons leading towards the northern border. And I was hunting some caves. Turned out I didn't really properly find the caves that I was looking for but did find some other interesting ones :-) Full story Alternate link
March 2026, Cova de l'Arena, La Maçana, Spain; Cova de l'Arena mini cave, La Maçana, Spain; Cova de l'Arena tunnel, La Maçana, Spain; Central hidroelèctrica d'Alòs de Balaguer, Riu Segre, Spain; Cova de la Figuera, La Maçana, Spain; Forat de l'Or, Camarasa, Spain Caving (Basic, Rock, None); Caving (Basic, Rock, Surveying); Caving (Basic, Rock); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Urban-Exploration (Industrial)
Dragon Claw Cave, Hong Kong The Dragon Claw Cave, or 龍爪洞 as it is known in Chinese is a sea cave at the end of a small bay in the peninsula that extends between the South Bay Beach and Ching Hom Kok Beach, in Hong Kong. There's a nice but challenging path from the South Bay Beach to near cave, but as you near the cave the path turns into more difficult, at some point other hikers warned of a wild boar, then the path required an assisting rope, and then further down ... I didn't dare climb all the way down for the last 20 meters, for a fear of falling to the sea. But it is a beautiful cave even from this distance! Full story Alternate link
March 2026, Dragon Claw Cave, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong; South Bay Beach, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong; HKIA, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Caving (None, Rock, Morphology-Erosion); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach, Outdoor); Flying
Day trip to Latvia, part two caves and more caves Skiing is done, done, done. Now some caves? Full story Alternate link
February 2026, Kalēja Ala, Raiskums, Latvia; Kalēja Sānu Ala, Raiskums, Latvia; Gūtmaņa Ala, Sigulda, Latvia; Gūtmaņa Sānu Ala, Sigulda, Latvia Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Sandstone); Caving (Basic, Surveying, Rock, Rock-Sandstone)
Naage Koopad, a beautiful Estonian cave with a surprise at the end Naage Koopad - Naage caves near Tallinn. Very nice cave, with ice forms for added beauty. And what a surprise at the end! Full story Alternate link
January 2026, Naage Koopad, Naage, Estonia Caving (Basic, Rock, Surveying)
underground explorations around the world, from the point of view of a
beginner caver. The Planetcaver has explored underground places in
44 countries and 608 locations (460 natural in 40 countries and 149 man-made in 24 countries) and has written about 87 other places. You can also click on the map
on the left to see where in the world they took place.
