COVES DE SANT JOSEP
Coves de Sant Josep is home to one of the longest navigable underground rivers in Europe. A unique natural jewel that allows you to enter the depths of the Sierra de Espadán through a path traced by water for millennia. In addition to a privileged subterranean landscape, Coves de Sant Josep and its surroundings are a very important cultural enclave where the unique prehistoric paintings and engravings located at the entrance of the cave stand out, As well as the Iberian settlement of Sant Josep and its surroundings, Coves de Sant Josep and its surroundings are a very important cultural enclave with unique prehistoric paintings and engravings located at the entrance of the cave, as well as the Iberian settlement of Sant Josep, an archaeological site that can be visited at the top of the hill that houses the Coves de Sant Josep, next to the baroque chapel of the Sagrada Familia.
For centuries, the Paraje de Sant Josep has served as a settlement for the inhabitants who populated the valley, so the specific date of the discovery of the underground river is unknown, but there is evidence that the cave was inhabited more than 15,000 years ago (in the Upper Palaeolithic), as shown by the cave paintings and remains found inside it. The proximity of the Iberian settlement of Sant Josep also indicates that the cave was known and explored at that time, as well as during the long Roman domination. The cavity even was used as a natural refuge during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Visit Coves de Sant Josep by boat
This underground landscape can be visited on a pleasant boat trip accompanied by a boatman/guide. To start the visit, you go to a jetty and then get into a boat, which is manually operated by the boatman using a wooden perch.
The visit includes an 800-metre boat trip and a 250-metre walk through a dry gallery. It lasts approximately 45 minutes, with a constant temperature of 20ºC throughout the year, which makes this natural enclave a tourist attraction that can be visited at any time of the year.
After the tour, and with the sensation of having travelled back in time, you can enjoy a magnificent range of leisure and entertainment for the whole family in the surrounding area.
A trip to the heart of the earth
To learn some of the secrets of this underground river route, check this video of Coves de Sant Josep:
History of Coves de Sant Josep
If you want to know more about the history of the cavity and other curiosities, you can take a look at our blog:
Other activities in Coves de Sant Josep
Kayaking
Bring out your adventurous side and go kayaking inside the cave.
Singin' in the Cave
Discover this incredible series of acoustic concerts.
Rock art and archaeological site
A monthly guided tour in Spanish.
Caving
Explore the unexplored with "Origen"
