Caving in the Burren (2024)

FAQs

Why is the Burren so famous? ›

The Burren is internationally famous for its rocky landscape, unusual combination of flora, thousands of archaeological sites and unique farming traditions. Because of these unusual features, most of the Burren is designated by the European Union as a Special Area of Conservation.

There are 200 caves in the Burren, including the longest cave in Ireland – Poulnagollum at 15 km long; and the longest stalactite in Ireland – at 6.5 m in length, we will pick one to suit your requirements.

Aillwee Cave is a wonder to all, with geology and history stretching over 330 million years. Our expert tour guides will walk you through an ancient underground landscape where our famous Brown Bear remains can be appreciated.

Take a fully guided tour of one of Europe's most compelling cave attractions, and go over 200 feet under the limestone of the Burren landscape. Travel back in time over 350 million years and see how the Burren was formed.

The Burren is definitely an iconic area of Ireland that you need to visit, if nothing else for it's unique rocky landscape. As for how long you spend, you can honestly see the highlights in a few hours, or you can spend a day if you really want to hike and explore.

The last Ice age ended around 15,000 years ago. Since then the rain has been quietly dissolving the limestone and widening the fissures and also forming many of the caves we see all through the Burren. The rain continues to slowly dissolve the limestone today.

Fantastic FACTS about geology in the Burren

The pale grey to greyish-blue limestone layers or tiers that dominate the Burren were laid down some 340 million years ago and in some locations attain a depth of 780m.

In the Burren are there are two major rock types; the lighter coloured limestones to the north and east and the darker siltstones, shales and sandstones to the south west.

Caves can be dangerous places; hypothermia, falling, flooding, falling rocks and physical exhaustion are the main risks. Rescuing people from underground is difficult and time-consuming, and requires special skills, training, and equipment.

What age is caving for? ›

Basic Caving Safety

Commercial caves have guided trips suitable for all ages. However, trips to non-commercial, wild caves should probably be limited to 7th grade and up. In addition, beginners should limit themselves to horizontal caves—avoiding vertical caves where climbing becomes necessary.

Veryovkina, Georgia

The title for the deepest known cave in the world goes to Veryovkina in Abkhazia, Georgia, and this depth is part of what makes the cave so dangerous. Hazards such as falls, low temperatures, and flooding make Veryovkina a true contender on this list. The cave is also prone to deadly floods.

Veryovkina Cave (also spelled Verëvkina Cave, Georgian: ვერიოვკინის მღვიმე, romanized: veriovk'inis mghvime, Abkhaz: Вериовкин иҳаԥы) is a cave in Abkhazia, internationally recognized as part of Georgia. At 2,223 meters (7,257 ft) deep, it is the deepest-known cave on Earth.

Dara Tah lives for extreme experiences. He's also claustrophobic. Dara and his pals faced their fears and snaked their way through the Ogof Y Daren Cilau, an insanely tight cave in Wales.

The Pollnagollum–Poulelva cave system is a large, complex and fascinating stream system which, at 16 km in length, is by far the longest cave in Ireland.

As the ice sheets moved across the Burren, they eroded the overlying soil, weathered rock, and weak bedrock, exposing fresh surfaces of limestone.

The Burren, Heart of Stone seeks to unveil the secrets of the wild and breath-taking landmass in the west of Ireland known as The Burren. As both a nature and natural history program, the film has stunning visuals and fascinating information about the history, wildlife, geology, and the people who inhabit the region.

Lots of people have heard the famous quote from one of Cromwell's soldiers in 1651 stating that the Burren is 'a country where there is not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one nor earth enough to bury one … yet their cattle are very fat'.

Most of the Burren is rural. In the central Burren, there are scattered farm holdings, with small farming communities such as Carran, Boston and Tubber. Most towns and villages are along the coastal regions and the southern edges. The total population of the Burren uplands is now just over 2,500.