The Amazing Venado Caves

Less than one hour north east of Arenal Town  and the Lake are the Venado Caves, one of the wonders of Costa Rica.

The caves first formed during the Miocene Period, about 15 to 20 million years ago.  At this time, the Guatuzos aborigines became the first people to stumble upon their discovery.

A Venado Cave Tour, will take you through the river and waterfalls at the upper portion of the cave. Then  you will make your way into the dark caves and seek to discover interesting marine fossils, bats, spider, crickets, and other insects. Tours are led by a bilingual guide (English-Spanish,) and it runs for about 1.5 hours. Our Friends at Desafio Adventure Company will be happy to book your exciting tour of the cave Venado Caves Tours.
The Venado Caves are the direct result of water currents penetrating and passing through the surrounding limestone rocks. Over time, the continual flow of water opened crevasses and forced sediments to flow throughout the caves, leaving in it's wake an endless network of deep tunnels. So complex and deep, absolutely no light penetrates these caves, except for a few isolated areas. As a result, it is mandatory that you carry a flashlight with you during your trip.

The structure of the tunnels vary tremendously with some displaying ceilings of nearly 20 feet in height, while others requiring that you slide through like a serpent. While one can enter on your own, it is highly recommended that you utilize the services of a guide. The guides experience and in depth knowledge of the numerous paths can dramatically improve your experience in the caves. Depending on your physical fitness and sense of adventure hours can be spend crawling from one section of the caves to another, challenging the most fit and adventurous. A hard hat is also mandatory as the walls and ceilings are comprised of hard, porous limestone.
Within the caves one can find five thousand year old rock formations, such as the "papaya" which is a vertical formation formed by the union of two different rock types; the name is derived from it's shape, looks just like a papaya.  Covering approximately 2 1/2 km (1.5 miles) with areas limited for tourism of only 600 meters (1,800 ft). Throughout the caves water in continually flows along the floors, at times a few feet high. In fact, during the height of the rainy season visitors are prohibited from entering the caves. The ever present water creates a moist, humid climate within the caves, making them remain quite cool.  Expect to get wet and dirty, particularly if you plan on discovering the more far reaching places within the caves.
The caves contain four different species of bats and numerous types of spiders, many of which are endemic to the area. Some of the spiders have extremely long feelers, designed to assist them in total darkness. The bats fly endlessly above, sometime clustering in groups of a hundred. It is more common to find them attached to the ceiling above than along the walls.

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