Carlsbad Caverns National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site); the Bat Caves

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Family travel is great, but can also be stressful. When we went to see the bat caves, our daugter was 10 years old, her brother was nowhere in the picture, that was 2 years ago. One child and I still felt the headache. 5:00 am wake up, shower dress up, coffee for my husband, tea for our daughter and I, that was the plan the night before. Well as you may have already guessed, that plan fell down the drain. I decided to go to the office to get a few things cleared up. Mark went in to work as well and got off earlier than I did. It was 3:00 pm before I was done, got home by 3:30 pm, found them waiting for me. I had to have a cup of tea. We finally hit the road at 4:00 pm, worked our way through the evening traffic in Tucson, finally leaving the city at 5:30. The rest of the journey was smooth.

Mark did an incredible job driving, but by 9:00 pm, we had to call it a day. We made a stop in El Paso, Texas, got a room at the Motel 6. Quite comfortable and surprisingly upper market than most Motel 6s we had used in the past. Warm shower, television to wind up the evening and we were out. Mark was out ten minutes after his shower, he was worn out driving the distance. My daughter of course wanted to watch TV, at 10 years theword tired means little, but I would not allow it seeing as we planned to hit the road at sunrise (5:00 am).

The following morning, we were up as planned, we were on the road before sunrise. We had breakfast on the go from McDonalds; I do like McDonalds coffee, so does Mark. Sunrise found us more than 40 miles away; We drove past the Salt Flats, through Guadalupe Mountains National park with a stop at El Capitan, then on in to Carlsbad. Carlsbad turned out to be a rather less impressive city. Perhaps the Carvens have made the name more popular than the city can live up to, it is worth a stop nontheless.

We approached the El Capitan summit, a peak within the Guadalupe Mountains National park. It is the eighth highest peak in the state of Texas. As we drove from El Paso towards Carlsbad, we were graced with the beauty of the summit high up, as we gained a little elevation to the road side rest established for viewing the summit. From the roadside pull out, one can see the low lands that drop like an African escarpment in the rift valley area. The beauty of the land is breath-taking. Rising about 4,000 feet above the Salt Flats the summit dominates the western skyline in Texas. I imagine it is a great place to go hiking with the mind to get to the peak. Since I'm an avid hiker, I will be considering hiking the trails in this park. For a while there on the road I was tempted to have Mark stop at the information center to pick up some literature on the trails.

Ansel Adams described Carlsbad Caverns as “Something that should not exist in relation to human beings. Something that is as remote as the galaxy, incomprehensible as a nightmare, and beautiful in spite of everything” Making the bat cave adventure a summer activity gives one the opportunity to judge whether or not Ansel Adams was right in describing the caverns so. The artist Adams and many others have original art displayed at the gallery in the park's visitor center.

There are 5 internationally recognized natural bat caves in the world, worth classifying as heritages. The Carlsbad Caverns takes the lead being recognized by UNESCO as one of the Natural World Heritage Sites. The Caverns were formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone I the area to form this mind blowing cave in the wilderness of New Mexico. Other caves include the Mammoth cave systems in Kentucky, the Jewel Cave in South Dakota, the Optymistychna in Ukraine and theGua Nasib Bagus in Malaysia.

Located in the shadows of the rugged Guadalupe mountains and broad plains, the Carlsbad Caverns takes you to another world, away from sunlight altogether. The silence and the darkness tell of an undisturbed world. In the unimaginable realm of the subterranean chambers divided into “Big Room” and “King's Palace”. The two chambers reveal awe inspiring cave formations and extraordinary features resembling the interiors of palaces of old. Nothing prepares you for what you actually see inside the cave, not the many photographs taken before, not the writings of travelers who have been there before, not even the art by great artists like Ansel Adams. The photographs and writings do no justice to the caverns. Your eyes have not seen anything as fantastic as the inside features of these magnificent caves. Big Room, a natural limestone chamber, is about 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 350 feet high at it's peak.

How to get there: From Tucson, head east on I-10 towards El Paso, take the 62/180 exit towards New Mexico until you get to Whites city. Make a left turn after the Whites City sign to Carlsbad Caverns. A total journey of 6.5 hours if you do not break the journey with an overnight.

Ticket Prices and where to purchase: Tickets can be purchased right at the visitor center. $6.00 for general admission to the Big room and Natural entrance route. $8.00 for a guided tour into the King's Palace. The scenic rooms are Ranger-guided tour only. Well worth paying $8.00 for.

Tours: You can choose from 3 main tours: No matter which one you choose, you will want to be in good physical shape. 2 of the tours are self-guided and the third is ranger guided. Note: there are not bats in the Big Room or the Kings Palace.

Tour I: Big Room Route; The underworld of the night seers. The silence and the darkness tell of an undisturbed world. In the unimaginable realm of the subterranean chambers divided into “Big Room” and “King's Palace”. The two chambers reveal awe inspiring cave formations and extraordinary features resembling the interiors of palaces of old. Nothing prepares you for what you actually see inside the cave, not the many photographs taken before, not the writings of travelers who have been there before, not even the art by great artists like Ansel Adams. The Big Room is an all natural limestone chamber, about 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 350 feet high at it's peak.

Tour II: Natural Entrance Route (Highly recommended, but must be in good physical shape). The Natural Entrance Route to the cave is one of two self-guided tours visitors can take. This is not recommended for people who are not in good physical shape. It is a one mile tour with an elevation drop so steep it hurts at the knees and ankles if you are out of shape like I was. It takes you through the traditional explorers route. This natural and large historic entrance to the cavern is also the entrance through which the swam of bats leave and enter daily. The nasty smell of bat droppings greets you as you begin to enter the cave, it drops 750 feet into the depth of the earth. Without the artificial lighting it is quite impossible to even see ones hands right in front of their face

Tour III: Kings Palace Guided Tour (Highly recommended)
For an additional $2.00 you will go on a guided tour of the most decorated part of the cavern. The tour lasts an hour and a half with a professional ranger guide taking you through four highly decorated scenic and breath-taking chambers. Mark, Desire and I pre-booked a spot for the tour the day before. Having arrived a little late in the afternoon, I was eager to go on the general tour of the big room. Mark however had heard about the guided tour earlier and proceeded to ask the assistant at the ticket counter about it. He found out the we could join a tour the next day at about 10:00 am for $8.

All the above tours are about an hour and a half long, the natural entrance tour can be done in 45 minutes if you are not taking photos.

What to wear: It is cold down below at 7500 feet. The temperature down below is 56 degrees and below. Bring a sweater/ jacket. Wear low-healed, non skid shoes for the walk is long. You can carry a flash light, one is not required. Eat before going to the caves, no food is allowed, but drinks can be carried. There is a gift shop down below and up at the visitor center reception area where one can purchase the caver hat for children.

"Travel is an exciting and adventurous passion, it is quite expensive but the reward outweighs the expense. If you can afford it, do it!" Africancrab.

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Comments

[Silver Back Cuda]

I just discovered you --- love your blog and your itineraries! We want to do more in the American West!

[Africancrab]

Thanks Joanna & Wes