Las Grutas de San Jose - The CAVES of SAN Jose

Description:

This is an interesting article that appeared in the 15th August edition of BRITCHAT.  It is well worth a day out there.

Hi all,

Hope your summer is going well and not too hot! Next month, we’ll be diving into Valencia City to have a look around at alternative things to do in and around the city, but as it’s so flaming hot, I thought we’d go off elsewhere this month to try and keep out of the sun for a wee bit.

So, if you fancy a cheap day out where you can be out of the sun and nice and cool for a while, how about trying the Caves of San Jose? Situated around 40km north of Valencia, just outside the town of Vall D’Uixó, it’s pretty accessible (Exit 49 off the A7 Valencia to Barcelona motorway) and once inside the caves, a nice, cool steady 20 degrees for your excursion.

The caves have a nice mix of boat trip and walking, nice in the fact that the boat trip is some 2km while the walking section is only 255m – result!

The town of Vall D’Uixó can be found in the Sierra Espadán, part of the region’s National Park Area. With a population of around 29,000, it’s actually quite a large town for the area. The main local produce, other than the tourism of the caves, is citrus farming.

The Caves themselves have the largest navigable underground river in Europe and have been used in some form or another for over an incredible 17,000 years. At the entrance to the cave, wall paintings were discovered that have been dated back to 15,000 years ago. The Romans of their time and who settled in the region were also recorded to have used the caves widely.

The caves have been extensively explored and made accessible throughout the 20th century, really kicking off in 1902 when explorers (maybe treasure hunters?) competed to see who could get further into the cave system. In 1936, electricity was supplied to the caves for the first time (wouldn’t have fancied being there before the leccy got piped in!), mainly to help map and explore the full system more. In 1950, the first boats were used to pass through the caves and by 1958 the system was officially mapped for the first time. Right through the 60’s and 70’s more and more  new galleries were discovered and made accessible through the use of dynamite, much of which you can now see today (that’s the caves, not the dynamite!).

I visited the caves a couple of years ago, and found them to be pretty much some of the best I have been to over the years – and those include caves in the UK, Europe and Mexico. The tour is well set out, not too strenuous, and pretty safe. No hard hats when we were there though, and through the water section, it’s pretty advisable at some points to pay particular attention to your surroundings and the tour guide! The river section is great but the walk is also very good, and really relaxing to boot. Lots of stalagmites and stalactites (ok, pop pickers, can you remember which are which?) and they also take a pic of your boat on the way, and you can, of course for a moderate fee, buy copies at journeys end.

The system is divided into zones, and although not all zones are open to the public, I think you get a pretty good sense of the caves size, and pretty good value for money.

The tour lasts around 40 minutes, and as said earlier, encompasses around 2km by boat then a nice 255m stroll to the end of the tour. It’s open all year round and tours run from 11am to 1.15 pm and then 3.30 pm to around 6ish, depending on the time of year (check the website for more info on closing times). Prices for the tour are €9 per adult, €4 for kids, with group discounts.

You can buy your tickets when you arrive.

There are tourist shops to buy up your ‘Caves of San Jose’ bits and bobs and cafes for a quick bocadillo before or after the tour. One thing to note when we visited, if there are a few people in your group, make sure you’re all ready for your actual trip that you have bought tickets for, as we were straggling a bit with people in various shops and missed our trip! It wasn’t a major biggie, as they just stuck us on the next tour, but we had to wait around, and some of the kids got a bit impatient during the wait. No tannoy to announce the tour was leaving or anything. But, maybe they’ve sorted this out by now.

The town of Vall D’Uixó itself is a pleasant town to see, and I think if you’re making the trip to the caves, it’s worth stopping off in town after your tour just to see it and maybe have a light snack of lunch, just in case you never pass this way again. Plenty of small bars and cafes around, why not try their local menu of the day?

Have fun!

Article written for BRITCHAT by Lang Hunter - LB Web Solutions

Cave Tour:
Las Grutas de San José
Oficial Website: www.riosubterraneo.com
Email:info@riosubterranoe.com
Telephone – 964 690 576

Vall D’Uixó Tourist Info
Email: aruiz@ayto-lavall.org
Telephone – 964 690 184

Editor's Note

A family on holiday saw the article in BRITCHAT and went to the caves for a day out.  They told us that they were really glad that they saw the article, as they had a great time there.

Chris's family (Editor of Britchat) is visiting Valencia and we all went off yesterday for a brilliant day out.  This trip is highly recommended!

There is a also a Train that goes round the town,but we didn't allow enough time for this trip.

You don't necessarily have to go on teh Toll Motorway and can just as easily find Vall D’Uixó on the ordinary non-paying motorway.

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