Visit the 'Gates to Hades', an unforgettable experience
By Nick Nutter | Updated 8 Sep 2022 | Gibraltar | Places To Go |
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St Michael's cave Gibraltar
The ancient Greeks called St. Michael’s Cave on Gibraltar, the ‘Gates to Hades’, believing the caves, situated in one of the legendary Pillars of Hercules, to be bottomless.
The Gates to Hades, Gibraltar
Today over one million visitors a year visit St. Michael’s Cave and successfully return from the underworld.
Calcite formations, St. Michael's cave, Gibraltar
The limestone in which the caves formed was laid down on the seabed over a long period of time, from 200 million years ago until about 60 million years ago. Trillions and trillions of tiny sea creatures contributed their shells and skeletons to make a limestone layer some 460 metres thick. It is known today as Jurassic limestone from the period in which it first started to form.
Calcite formations, St. Michael's cave, Gibraltar
Between 60 and 20 million years ago, the tectonic pressures resulting from the African tectonic plate pushing into the European tectonic plate caused the limestone to rise out of the sea. This uplift is still occurring, and from Europa Point at the southern tip of Gibraltar, you can actually see raised beaches and sea caves high up on the side of The Rock. As soon as the limestone was exposed to the atmosphere, rainwater started to seep through the limestone, dissolving it as it went. Eventually, after many thousands of years, the caverns and passages that we see today were formed.
Columns in St. Michael's cave, Gibraltar
As soon as the first small cavity was created, the water now dripping from the roof, started to leave behind tiny amounts of calcite that over the millennia, formed the stalagmites, stalactites, straws, columns and calcite curtains that give us the magnificent formations seen within the cave. The various colours you see in the calcite are caused by tiny traces of minerals within the calcite.
Beneath the section that can be visited by the general public are the Lower Caves that can be visited by arrangement. Beneath those are another level that is currently only visited by scientists studying the ancient formations to deduce climate change over the millennia. The study started in 2004 and is ongoing.
The oldest legend is related to the Greek belief that St. Michael’s caves were an entrance to Hades. Cathedral Cave was believed to be bottomless until well into the 19th century and it was surmised that there was a tunnel beneath the Gibraltar Straits that connected Gibraltar with Morocco. It was even suggested that the Barbary macaques found their way to Gibraltar through this tunnel. In reality, the macaques probably arrived with the Muslims after 711 AD.
During the 19th century, it was fashionable for young officers stationed on Gibraltar to explore the passages and caverns. Sometime after 1840 a story began circulating that a Colonel Mitchell and one other officer named Brett, had embarked on such an exploratory adventure and had never been seen since. The story gained traction and led to extensive explorations in 1840, 1857, 1865 and as late as 1936 and 1938. No trace was ever found of Colonel Mitchell or his companion. There is also no trace of Mitchell or Brett in the military records of the time. Who needs Facebook to start a good rumour?
Every year, St. Michael's Cave is the venue for musical concerts. The 600 seat auditorium has wonderful, natural acoustics and, with imaginative lighting, provides a dramatic setting.
For information about St Michaels caves opening times and concerts, click here
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