reduce our chances of falling, since it is a slipping
hazard. Powering the lights in the whole cave is an
electric cable which we were urged not to touch or
rely on for support. Lower St Michaels Cave, ins-
tead, has a plethora of ropes that makes navigating
a safe and smooth experience for when you need
them.
Since the cave is still growing, we were urged
not to interfere with the water droplets on the
stalactites. People in the past have broken off
pieces of Stalactites to keep them as souvenirs
‘for mantle pieces’, Steve said, and nowadays
this would not be allowed since it is part of the
upper rock nature reserve. The cave features
almost all types of cave formation which Steve
goes into such interesting detail with.
Towards the end of the guided tour, a 37-me-
tre-long lake estimated to contain 200,000 litres
of water can be seen. This particular section of
the cave wasn’t lit up, but this gave Steve the
excellent opportunity to illuminate up the walls,
ceiling and stalagmites/stalactites by shining his
handy torch into the water, providing us with a
beautiful effect unlike any I’ve ever seen before.
At this point it is encouraged to leave any
valuable equipment behind just in case falls
into the water, though I did a rather ballsy thing
which was to bring my camera along, causing me
to be extra careful when walking the really thin
edges. We were urged to put priority on using
our hands to navigate through this tricky bit,
which can seem daunting, but patience really
does pay off.
I have lived in Gibraltar since 2015, I had lear-
ned about the existence of Lower St Michael’s
Cave in 2017, but I wish I had experienced it soo-
ner, as I would regard it as a real work out and
one of the Rock’s most fun things to do: I strongly
recommend it to anyone who wants to try out
something new.
If you would like to learn more about this guided
tour that goes on in Gibraltar on a regular basis,
contact _____. The price per person is £25 for
non-residents and £15 for Gibraltarian residents.
All Participants need to be 10 years or older to join
in the fun and any person younger than 16 needs to
be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
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