As Cueva de Bellamar, named after the eminent Cuban speleologist and geographer Antonio Núñez Jiménez, it is commonly called by its plural place names, due to the set of amazing galleries and caverns that form its halls, linked by passageways, for its more than 23 kmof extension.
Located in the western province of Matanzas, it was discovered by man in 1861 and is included in the list of natural enclaves under the label of the National Monument of Cuba. In addition to the splendid beauty of its calcareous rooms, the scientific expeditions initially led by Dr. Núñez Jiménez has allowed paleontological findings and stimulated other studies that have made it possible to see a range of incredible crystalline processes.
The scientific material accumulated on this exceptional spook allowed Núñez to write his graduation thesis at the University of Havana on the subject, published as volume 21 of the Cuba, nature and man collection. The beginning of the plot of its galleries and passageways must have occurred some 300,000 years ago, according to science, and it is even estimated that it spent a good time submerged in what is the Bay of Matanzas.
Tectonic movements raised the caverns and underwater chambers, which were drying up and at the same time receiving drainage from some leaking points, on the roof of the caves, of water with dissolved lime carbonate. This dripping rich in calcareous residues slowly formed the stalactites from the ceiling and the stalagmites on the ground.
True wonders of nature.After the casual discovery of the cave by a slave who worked in the fields, along with his overseer, the owner of the land where surprisingly turned out to be a cave was located, an expert in mining and excavations, decided to turn it into aplace of recreational visits, to attract locals and curious travelers, with payment involved.
It was a kind of nature tourism, as he endowed the cavern with internal masonry stairs to move within it and handrails to hold onto. The clever lord was immediately successful. In the beginning, it was called The Caves of Parga, in honor of the last name of the owner of that wonder and its surroundings.
But local accounts indicate they were soon given the attractive name of Cuevas de Bellamar. Years after its discovery, it attracted tourists and scientists alike. The enclaves called it the tunnel of love, the chapel of the 12 apostles, the Devil’s Throat, the Rain Passage, the Hall of Snow, the Temples to Saint Peter, Gothic, the American bath, and the Mantle of Columbus, just to give it a few names.
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