Carlsbad Caverns Underground Beauty and Enchantment - USA Must See

I had a unique experience when my family and I visited one of New Mexico’s major tourist attractions - the Carlsbad Cavern in Carlsbad National Park during the Memorial day weekend.

Carlsbad cavern is located in the Southeastern section of NM and is approximately 23 miles from the town of Carlsbad. Although the caverns are an unbelievable sight and worth the trip. Getting there from Albuquerque is a very boring and unsightly 4 hour drive. The communities are very far apart and in between them is nothing but large expanse of bare land covered in shrubs and dotted with the occasional tree. The most interesting sight was a few cows grazing in pastures along the way.

The caves were originally called the “Bat Caves” because of the numerous bats residing there. It is reported that miners visited the caves to extract bat guano which was shipped to California for use as fertilizer in orchards. The early explorers never ventured deep into the cave and were only interested in the excretion from the bats. A young local by the name of James Lackin White was intrigued by the cave and he ventured beyond the bats to explore the caves. His interest and exploration resulted in the caves becoming a national monument  in 1923 and a national park 7 years later.

I entered the caves the easy way via an elevator instead of the grueling track down hill. The decent was quick as we travelled about 750 ft below ground. On exiting the elevator you enter a large chamber called the visitors center containing souvenir shops and a small restaurant.
I was struck by the cold temperature within the caves. It was amazing to leave the hot temperature of 90 F above and experience the 56 F within the caves. I was dressed for summer in my shorts and a light t-shirt. There are several tours available to explore the caves. They were sold out  so I had no choice doing a self guided tour. Being in the caves some 750 ft below ground felt like another world. It was strange to listen to the quietness apart from the human chatter. There were no sounds of birds or crickets only the occasional sound of footsteps interrupting the silence. 
 
Our self guided tour covered a mile walking for about an hour and a half at a moderate pace in the big room. I would recommend the purchase of a light and the electronic audio recorder to learn of the caves history. It was a circular walk during which we came across several beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. The most notable ones were the twin domes , the totem poles and the giant domes. The big room is approximately 8.2 acres and contain a bottom less pit which I did not mind exploring to see how deep it was. The big room is so vast that it is estimated that 13 football fields would fit comfortable in it. I must commend the park authorities for the work done in the caves and making it accessible to persons with wheel chairs. It is advisable that a person on wheel chair should be accompanied by a companion to assist them along the trail.

There are other tours including the Kings Palace guided tours that takes about 11/2 hours. The tour is conducted by forest rangers and goes into the deepest portions of the caves. I should also mention the other self guided tour which goes through the natural entrance. It should be noted that this tour is for persons in good physical condition as you are required to travel through steep and narrow trails with a decent to 750 ft below ground.

After 2 hours below ground in very mild temperatures, I was ready to see the sunlight above ground. After waiting approximately one hour, I was finally able to get the elevator to higher ground. Please contact Jadd Fong Travel, an Albuquerque travel agency if you wish to make reservations to the Carlsbad Caverns. Return for new blogs on  "US Must See Places."