Cuevas de Nerja
Beneath the hills of Maro, the Cuevas de Nerja are one of Andalusia's great natural wonders: a vast complex of galleries, discovered in 1959, bristling with stalactites, stalagmites and stone draperies. Its signature is a central column roughly 32 metres tall — a Guinness world record — formed over hundreds of thousands of years as a descending stalactite and a rising stalagmite met and fused into a single pillar of calcite. The visitor route threads through the illuminated chambers in around 45 minutes, past colossal formations and shadowed halls. Each summer one of the caverns becomes a stage for the Festival Cueva de Nerja, a long-running programme of classical music and dance held underground. Tickets: general admission (age 14+) is €16 in low season and €18 in summer when booked online — cheaper than the €18 / €20 charged at the ticket office. The cave opens every day of the year except 1 January, 6 January, 15 May and 25 December, from 9:15 to 16:30 most of the year and 9:15 to 17:30 in summer.