naviquan

1. Road 211 to Luray

2. Luray Caverns, parking lot

3. The Luray Caverns Maze

4. Restrooms

5. Luray Caverns Car and Carriage Caravan Museum

6. Entrance to The County Store - Stalactite Cafe is on the left

6. Cafe and Country Store Main Entrance

7. Cafe and Country Store Main Entrance

8. Entrance to the Luray Caverns main facility

9. Buying tickets to Luray Caverns

10. General admission rates to Luray Caverns

11. Almost empty now, but at times very crowded main hall with the cavern entrance

12. Luray Caverns Entrance

13. What you cannot do in Luray Caverns

14. Entering Luray Caverns

15. More stairs and finally you understand that you are in a cavern

16. This hall is your starting point in exploring Luray Caverns; it is also the point where you finish your subterranean tour

17. Your eyes accommodate quickly to the subduded artificial lighting and an amazing world emerges everywere.

18. Stalactites and stalagmites are everywhere

19. Paved with bricks path is wide and separated by railings from cave walls

20. Deposit formations have every imaginable and unimaginable forms

21. Visitor path follows the cavern passages

22. The multiplicity of forms of dripstone formations is amazing. This looks like a bunch of icicles

23. Dream Lake - a pool of water reflects stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

Situated in the Shenandoah Valley, Luray, founded in 1812, is the county seat of Page County, Virginia. It's a small town with population of about 5,000 people and two-hour drive from Washington D.C. Several National Historic Landmarks are found in the county, including the original courthouse, the 18th century Mauck Meeting House, Stevens cottage in Shenandoah, a nineteenth century reminder of the county's railroad heritage, and several homes dating from the mid-1700's.  However, Page County, and Luray in particular, are most known among tourists for Luray Caverns discovered in 1878.  Each year, more than 500,000 visitors explore the spectacular underground wonder and the adjacent Car and Carriage Caravan of historic vehicles.

Luray Caverns were discovered by Andrew Campbell, the town tinsmith, while exploring a big sinkhole with his 13-year old nephew Quint. From the very beginning, discoverers and everybody else who visits this natural wonder are stunt by the beauty of an eerie world of stalactites and stalagmites sparkling in the light whether it's a candle, or flashlight or an artificial illumination system installed now in the cavern.

From the geological standpoint, there is nothing unusual about Luray Caverns. The entire cavern is located underground in a layer of about 100 feet thick of coarse-grained dolomitic limestone. Surface water easily drains downward through cracks in the limestone. While draining, water slowly (over thousands or millions of years) enlarges these cracks; dissolving the calcium-carbonate and carrying it away as a solution.

Luray Caverns as many other natural cave systems have been formed through the limestone bedrock. The solution of calcium carbonate while giving up some of its carbon dioxide results in precipitations of lime. They often begin as thin deposit rings but continue to grow creating stalactites and other types of dripstone and flowstone. Formations at Luray Caverns are white in color if the calcium carbonate is in its pure form. Other colors originate from impurities absorbed from the soil or rock layers: reds and yellows from iron and iron-stained clays; black from manganese dioxide; blues and greens from solutions of compounds with copper. Luray Caverns remains an active cave where new formation deposits accumulate at the rate of about one cubic inch every 120 years.

Luray Caverns is a commercial enterprise. As such, it has its pluses and minuses. Big plus is that since from early days it was adapted for visits that do not require any special equipment or attire. It's well illuminated and has nicely paved wide passages that can be walked with regular shoes. At times you may find some areas a bit slippery (water keeps dripping from the ceiling and walls) but really nothing to worry about. All passages at every place are separated from walls with railing. If you feel unsafe, you can use them. Same way, they protect the cavern from us.

Actually, if you think that the price for an adult ticket is rather steep for a cavern ($21 in 2009), the reality is that the commercialization of the cavern results in its extensive management. Surprisingly, this even includes dust collection (brought to the cavern by visitors) as an attempt to maintain the original ecosystem of the cavern.

Only some parts of the cavern are opened to the public - if you pay attention, you may find dark holes in several places blocked by gates with locks (if you are interested in the layout of the whole place, you may buy in the Luray Caverns store a book describing the cavern and its history in details). One nice thing about the cavern is that you can explore all public areas at your own pace, and at the pace of your kids if they are with you. In fact, I would strongly suggest to take kids with you - this place can really captivate their imagination. I lost count of how many times I had heard kids of all ages something like "Wow!!!! This is so-o-o-o-o cool... "

Indeed, this place is unbelievable. Without seeing it, it's hard to believe how creative and at the same time elaborate the nature can be. Many formations in the cavern have names. Perhaps, the most amazing is what is called the Saracen's Tent - one of the most perfect naturally formed drapery structure in the world. It looks like hand-folded translucent drapes arranged for our magnificent entrance into this kingdom of beauty.

Another one, also my favorite, is the Dream Lake - a rather large (but shallow, not more than 20" deep) body of water. This pool of seemingly motionless water (only once in a while quickly dying circles of waves from drops of water) looks like one of a kind huge mirror. In fact, when you first see this wonder, it's even difficult to recognize that this is just water so perfectly stalactites and their reflections show up in the lake.

One of the main attractions of the cavern is the Great Stalacpipe Organ. I do not know how they measure this musical instrument, but the cavern brochure claims that it's the world's largest. Well, whether it's the biggest or not, it's certainly one of few of the so-called lithophones and the only one that uses stalactites as the source of sounds. It is operated by a custom console that produces the tapping of ancient stalactites of varying sizes with solenoid-actuated rubber mallets in order to produce tones. The instrument's name was derived from the resemblance of the selected thirty-seven naturally formed stalactites to the pipework of a traditional pipe organ along with its custom organ-style keyboard console. It was designed and implemented in 1956 over three years by Leland W. Sprinkle inside the cavern.

The Organ's console is still operational; however, it's used only during some special events (what would be that?). When inside the cavern, you will be able to hear actual sounds produced by the the Great Stalacpipe Organ; however, the organ's mallets will be operated by an electromechanical recording device. To make sure that this is an actual organ (and not a tape recording), you can spot and watch the movements of solenoid-actuated rubber mallets located next to stalactites selected.

Yet another well-know attraction in the cavern is the Wishing Well - a large six-foot deep pool of water where visitors toss coins (and as you will probably see even paper money). Once a year, all coins removed and donated to various charitable organizations. The total amount of money collected so far (since 1954) is quite impressive and more than three-quarters of a million dollars.

Traditional guided tours are still practiced in Luray Caverns. However, before entering the cavern, you may be given headphones connected to your personal gadget with keys (like a phone). While exploring the cavern, you will see signs with numbers - punching these numbers on your device will start a recording relevant to that particular area where you currently are standing.

Part II - Car and Carriage Caravan Museum

24. Many formation in Luray Caverns have names. But that does not make those without less beautiful.

25. There are plenty of deep openings in Luray Caverns. Some of them, like Pluto's Chasm are really big.

26. Luray Caverns management does a good job in illuminating all most interesting formations and chasms.

27. Some stalactites are simply magnificent

28. Detail of the dripstone formation

29. When you look at this, you understand why Luray Cavern are designated a Registered Natural Landmark by The National Park Service

30. A close-ups on stalactite formations - reddish ones have iron, whites are formed from limestone

31. Saracen's Tent is one of the most perfectly formed drapery structures in the world.

32. This translucent structure is like a hand-folded drapery.

33. This one is like an alien creation from the movie with the same name.

34. I do not remember the name of this formation but seems like something in between a waterfall and giant jellyfish.

35. The console of The Great Stalacpipe Organ - the world largest musical instrument.

36. One of the mallets of The Great Stalacpipe Organ

37. Ceiling of the Cathedral - a large carven hall where The Great Stalacpipe Organ is located

38. Another massive decoration on a cavern wall

39. Wishing Well in Luray Caverns - a large subterranean poll of water over six feet deep

40. List of annual donations from the Wishing Well - so far more than $750,000

41. A parting look at magnificent nature creation before completing the tour at Luray Caverns

42. This device replaces guided tours

43. Inside Luray Caverns store

44. A wide variety of souvenirs are available in the Luray Cavern store