Detourmap
Caves worth the detour
1,679 caves on Detourmap, in 115 countries — caves, caverns, grottoes and the karst underground. The most famous is Ajanta Caves in India. The 96 best known are below.
- On the map
- 1,679
- Countries
- 115
- With a page
- 42
- Little known
- 1,296 of 1,679
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1.Ajanta Caves
Nature · 2nd century BC · Iconic
2nd century BCE to 1st century CE Buddhist cave monuments located in Maharashtra, India
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2.Son Doong Cave
Nature · Iconic
Largest cave passage in the world, located near the Laos-Vietnam border
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4.Ellora Caves
Nature · Iconic
Ancient cave temples of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism in Maharashtra, India
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9.Bhimbetka rock shelters
Nature · Renowned
30,000+ years old archaeological World Heritage site in Madhya Pradesh, India
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10.Elephanta Caves
Nature · Renowned
Shiva cave temples and UNESCO world heritage site on a Mumbai harbor island
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14.Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Nature · 20th century · Renowned
United States National Park in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico
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20.Batu Caves
Nature · Renowned
Limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia
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26.Gorham's Cave
Nature · Renowned
Natural sea cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; one of the last known habitations of the Neanderthals in Europe
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27.Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
Nature · Notable
Buffalo jump located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Canada
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34.Azykh Cave
Nature · Notable
Six-cave complex known as a living site of stone-age man in Azerbaijan
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39.Jeita Grotto
Nature · Notable
System of two separate, but interconnected, karstic limestone caves 18 km north of Beirut
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44.Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain
Nature · 20th century · Notable
Cave with prehistoric art and World Heritage Site in Spain
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52.Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley
Nature · Notable
UNESCO World Heritage Site of prehistoric decorated caves in the Vézère Valley, France
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74.Cueva de los Verdes
Nature · Notable
Lava tube and tourist attraction in Haria, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
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83.Rosh HaNikra grottoes
Nature · Notable
Geologic formation in northern Israel; white chalk cliff face which opens up into spectacular grottos
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86.Coreca Caves
Nature · Notable
Group of two karstic caves in the commune of Amantea in southern Italy
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89.Tabun cave
Nature · Notable
Cave; part of Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el-Mughara archaeological site in the Carmel mountain range in northern Israel
Caves by country
Every country with at least one. Those with 8 or more have their own page.
- France158
- Spain149
- United Kingdom124
- United States123
- Germany82
- Italy78
- India63
- Greece46
- Slovakia37
- Russia34
- China32
- Croatia32
- Austria29
- Israel29
- Japan27
- Ukraine26
- Australia25
- Mexico25
- Turkey25
- Iran24
- Bosnia and Herzegovina21
- Czech Republic21
- Hungary21
- Bulgaria20
- Poland20
- Slovenia20
- Serbia19
- Switzerland18
- Portugal17
- South Africa16
- Belgium15
- Brazil15
- New Zealand15
- Georgia14
- Malta11
- Vietnam10
- Ireland9
- Canada8
- Indonesia8
- Philippines8
- Romania8
- South Korea8
- Azerbaijan7
- Malaysia7
- Algeria6
- Egypt6
- North Macedonia6
- Taiwan6
- Albania5
- Iceland5
- Laos5
- Namibia5
- Nepal5
- Peru5
- Thailand5
- Belize4
- Finland4
- Guatemala4
- Kosovo4
- Morocco4
- Myanmar4
- Palestine4
- Argentina3
- Armenia3
- Chile3
- Cuba3
- Dominican Republic3
- Latvia3
- Lebanon3
- Norway3
- Barbados2
- Iraq2
- Jordan2
- Kyrgyzstan2
- Libya2
- Moldova2
- Mongolia2
- Montenegro2
- Oman2
- Pakistan2
- Saudi Arabia2
- Sri Lanka2
- Sweden2
- Tanzania2
- Venezuela2
- Aruba1
- Bangladesh1
- Benin1
- Cambodia1
- Curaçao1
- Denmark1
- Djibouti1
- Ecuador1
- El Salvador1
- Ethiopia1
- Gibraltar1
- Honduras1
- Jamaica1
- Kazakhstan1
- Lithuania1
- Luxembourg1
- Netherlands1
- Nigeria1
- Niue1
- North Korea1
- Qatar1
- Somaliland1
- The Bahamas1
- Timor-Leste1
- United Arab Emirates1
- Uruguay1
- Uzbekistan1
- Vatican City1
- Yemen1
- Zimbabwe1
Caves by continent
Questions about this page
What counts as caves here?
Caves, caverns, grottoes and the karst underground. They are a subset of nature & landscapes on this atlas, split out because it is how people look for them.
Which country has the most caves?
France (158), Spain (149) and United Kingdom (124). That ranks how much Wikidata records rather than what exists on the ground.
What is the most famous?
Ajanta Caves in India. 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE Buddhist cave monuments located in Maharashtra, India.
Where does this information come from?
Every place is drawn from Wikidata (CC0), with photographs from Wikimedia Commons and a link to its English Wikipedia article. Selection is deterministic: a place is here because Wikidata files it under one of the classes this atlas carries and it has coordinates, a photo and an article. Nothing is written or chosen by an AI, and the ranking is simply how many Wikipedia language editions cover a place.