The cave is, at least in part, artificial, and it seems that it was used as quarry for the building of the Denia Castle. The biggest of its entrances is an enormous arch that looks northeast, toward a Mediterranean sea, almost always of an intense blue. Is the presence of the sea what gives its special character to the cave, as water enters into the cave by different entrances forming lakes and creating nice light and shadow effects. In front of the entrance, a little island creates a port for small boats, and many people reach the cave by sea.
We didn't use any boat to go to the cave: poor people has to walk. But here, as in many aspects of life, the pathway is as important as the destiny.
There are two walking possibilities for going to Cueva Tallada. From the high of Planas of St Antonio Point, about 180 m high, a pathway descends by a ravine arriving almost directly to the cave. The other possibility starts at the end of the road to Les Rotes, from Denia. This is the one we have used.
We can leave the car at the end of this route, and from there we go to Via Lactea Street, the last street on the right of the road. When arriving to the first curve to the right, we must go left, entering the pathway. The street continues up to the Tower of the Gerro, al old Watch Tower against pirates, also a nice place with impressive views.
Taking the dirt road on the left of the curve, we follow for about 200 m, and then a pathway starts on the left descending a rustic stairs.
After a few meters of 'aerial' passage, with a safety rope installed, more for psychological purposes than by real safety. we find a hard descent to the riverbed of a ravine.
From here, pathway follows more or less horizontally, about twenty meters over the sea level, crossing a couple of little ravines, to reach the cave.
Really, the cave is invisible from the pathway, and it can be easy to pass over, as we arrive from the mountain and the entrance of the cave is visible from the sea. In any case some indications can help us and confirm that we have arrived. From the pathway we can see the little island in front of the cave.
In the last ravine before the cave, a sign post (easy to miss) indicates the access to one of the entrances of the cave. This is also the ravine where the pathway from the Planas of St Antonio Point arrives.
I have always descended to the cave by a different access. After the ravine and sign post, we follow about 50 m the pathway, and in fact we arrive to the roof of the cave. Looking in the border of the cliff (be careful), we find a descending way, almost vertical (a rope may help) but really easy, reaching directly the main and biggest entrance of the cave.
The other access, from the previous ravine, start in the sign post, has some ropes installed to help in the descent to lateral entrance, and from this we arrive to he main entrance. As this access is very close to the sea level, depending on the weather conditions may be more difficult than the other one. In any case this is another (less attractive) option.
Once in the cave, we advance close to the wall up to the area were sea water, entering the cave, creates some lakes and very nice and impressive views. All these entrances are arches created by the quarry activities, and the resulting light and shadows effects are one of the unfrequent attractive characteristics of this cave.
After the end of the lakes area, tha cave continues inside the mountain, always as result of the stone extraction works. It forms a great gallery of about one hundred meters long, about twenty meters wide and in some points more than 10 m high. Lot of sand covers the gallery, forming like dunes.
One of the remarkable aspect of the cave is the presence of small cisterns collecting water for the cave roof. Four of these cisterns are present in different points of the cave. Probably fishermen obtain water supply form these cisterns, and in one lateral gallery near the lake, some iron rings fixed on the walls serve to tie the boats.
Other interesting element of the cave, that usually is inadvertent by visitors, is a text engraved in the wall where we can read (or guess) "PHILIPUS III HISP REX CAVERNAM HANC PENETRAVIT AN MDXCIX", that is, the King Philip the IIIrd visited the cave in 1599.
The port formed by the little island in front of the cave is also interesting. Quarry works have formed the island, probably with the purpose of making easy the load and transport of stone blocks to Denia for the Castle construction. Transparent waters makes this place ideal for snorkeling.
In summary, a nice excursion for the beginning or the end of the summer, when not many people goes to the cave, for enjoying a bath in the transparent water and not suffer too much with the hot days of central summer.
And to finish, how not!, a good rice meal in some of the restaurants of the area. Just where we leave the cars is Mena Restaurant, where we had an excellent seafood paella. How hard is the life of mountain walkers!!
Here is the plan of the cave, to avoid beeing lost inside.
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