Stalactite Cave Avshalom

Avshalom Cave is located on the western slopes of the Judean Mountains in Israel. This is a real natural museum with an area of more than 5,000 square meters, in which numerous stalactites and stalagmites are "on display" as exhibits.
The growths reach about 4 m in length and resemble outlandish objects: huge cuts of fabric, coral reefs or grapes.

Special lighting installed in the cave enhances the effect of what you see.

Avshalom cave was discovered by chance in May 1968 during the mining of building rubble. After another explosion, the workers saw the entrance to the cave. The first impression was fantastic: the cave shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, as if it were strewn with mountains of diamonds. Later, as they descended, the discoverers saw that the sun shone with water, which flowed down the stalactites.

Geologists studied the cave and found out that it was formed about 25 million years ago, when the mountain range of the Judean Hills rose above the surface of the water. For thousands of years, water saturated with carbon dioxide seeped through cracks and through a layer of soil, which formed the "decoration" of the karst cave.

Currently, a constant temperature (+22 ° С) and high humidity (92 - 100%) are maintained in the cave all year round, which ensures continuous growth of stalactites and stalagmites.

The cave is named after the Israeli soldier Avshalom Shokham, who died during the war of 1967-1970. After the cave was opened, its existence was kept secret for several years, as the government was afraid that negligent tourists would simply break the beauty that nature has created for millennia.