Carlsbad Caverns is located in Southern New Mexico, close to its border with Texas.

Admission is $15 for adults, and free for children 12 and under.

There are two ways of getting into the caves: by elevator, or by foot. The elevator ride is mere minutes, and descends about 800 feet. The trail down to the caves is about 1.25 miles and took us less than an hour. It is slightly steep and dim (though there are lights along the way), so it is recommended for those who are completely good with walking. The constant temperature inside the caves is 56 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 13 degrees Celsius, so you should bring a light jacket with you.

After you’re down in the caves, you will arrive at the Big Room. The Big Room is the biggest cavern chamber in the world, at about 8.2 acres. There, you’ll find another hike, lit up with plenty of lights, looping through the Big Room exploring the rock formations, called speleothems, that decorate the chamber. These speleothems are the sculptures of nature and are truly breathtaking. The caverns used to be underwater. Over millions of years, water mixed with calcite minerals, a weak acid, created the cave and the formations we know today. Most of the formations are inactive, but the Crystal Spring Dome is one of the few active ones. It is still growing at its slow pace. Look at the picture below. You can see how the formation is still glistening with water.

Carlsbad Caverns is also the home to many families of bats, specifically Brazilian free-tailed bats. They rest near the entrance of the natural entrance of the cave during the daytime. But the most spectacular sight comes in the night, when they all leave their roosts and flutter out to find food. They look like a dark, swiftly moving cloud. At the national park, there is an amphitheatre near the natural entrance to the caves called the ‘Bat Flight Amphitheatre’ specifically designed to watch the bats flutter out of the caves.

Overall, this is a great national park to visit, especially for those who enjoy hiking and have a lot of time on their hands. There is also a special ranger-guided tour for those with more than 4 hours. It goes to a different section of the cavern that you can only visit on the tour. It’s a very beautiful national park, and showcases the beauty that nature can bring into existence.