Mallorca - the cave Son Pou 04

The cave Son Pou (la Cueva de S'avenc de Son Pou) is a spectacular natural cave. It is best reached from Santa Maria del Camí when you follow the Camino de Coanegra to the north until it ends, about 4km from the town. From here you can follow the same road for 3.3km. The turnoff to the cave is at the signpost to Orient y Santa María. This cave is actually a pit or daylight shaft, an opening in the ground which is the collapsed roof of a huge chamber. The enormous cavern is lit by the the sunlight shining in through the natural entry 55m above, with a diameter of 9m. The fact that this is the only entrance is the reason why this cave was called Avenc (pothole). The artificial entry to the cave is a tunnel which was dug at the level of the cave floor and leads horizontally into the cave. It was built in 1894 in order to mine the bird guano inside the cave. The tunnel is in very good condition but it is often closed with an iron bar gate.