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Caves are, by their very nature, some of the most mysterious and beautiful places beneath the surface of the planet Earth.  One such cave system, one uniquely interesting, is the MarbleCaves of Chile Chico. These caves carve their way through a giant chunk of marble located on the edge of a lake and create a sight that is a wonder to behold.  Though you can’t explore these caves on foot (they are, after all, filled with water), they are still worth a trip if cave exploration is your thing.

The MarbleCaves are located on the edge of GeneralCarreraLake, which is bordered by both Chile and Argentina and is a wonder in its own right.  This lake is fed by glaciers and thus takes on a bright blue color.  It also happens to be the second largest freshwater lake in all of South America and is set within a landscape that is filled with natural beauty.

But the caverns are the main thing that people come to see.  This cave system is carved from a cliff of solid marble, a deposit that has been estimated to weigh in at somewhere around five billion tons. Though only recently exposed to the surface of the planet (at least geologically speaking), marble happens to be relatively water soluble and so the cave system was carved out in the short span (again, geologically speaking) of thousands of years.  The water continues to work its magic, filling the caves and leaving behind a wondrous underground landscape of whites, blues and pinks.

There are three main formations at this site.  The Cathedral is a separate formation on the lake and the Chapel is another island, further north of the caves, and both locations are equally impressive.  The Caves are where one can go into the tunnels, being that they are wide enough to accommodate a small boat.

Tours are available to take you to and through the various sites.  In fact, the only way to see them without taking a crazy swim is by using a boat.  If you’re going to visit, however, make sure that the weather is nice.  For some reason they don’t give tours if it’s too rainy.  If you like what you see, check out more great pictures at this site.

Cathedral photo courtesy of Dan Lundberg via Wikicommons