Cave of Swallows

Recommend to take comfortable shoes, water, or something to support your back if you have back problems. I loved it, you have to go down a lot of steps, there are stations where you can buy water, or they let you borrow a cane! Depending on the weather, rocks can be slippery, make sure you take slip resistant shoes. Note: don't forget to leave a little something for the volunteers. Couple of pesos! They are out there making sure you stay safe!

◉ The Cave of the Swallows, is an open-air cave in the municipality of Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The elliptical mouth, in a karst slope, is 49 by 62 m (154 by 200 ft) wide and is undercut around its entire perimeter, widening into a room approximately 303 by 135 metres (994 by 442 ft) wide. The cave floor is a free fall of 333 metres (1,092 ft) from the lower side of the opening, with a drop of 370 metres (1,214 ft) from the higher side, making it the largest known cave shaft in the world, the second deepest shaft in Mexico, and perhaps the 11th deepest fall in the world. Lists of deepest caves use different criteria, not pure drop, but accessibility. The floor and walls of the cave are inhabited by millipedes, scorpions, insects, snakes and birds. From the floor at the bottom of the main shaft there is a series of narrow shafts known as "The Crevice", totaling about 140 m (460 ft), which brings the total depth of the cave to 515 m (1,690 ft).

Locals warn you about the 700 steps to go down and climb back. But it’s easy and safe. I saw many seniors going down and up with their families or couples. Make sure to be there a little before 5:30 pm if you go in the afternoon. Bring water and comfortable and good tennis or hike shoes. There’s no comfortable place to sit, but it’s ok, remember you are in a natural spot, not in the movies! Enjoy this unique place and wonder of nature. Locals are doing a great job to make the experience safe, comfortable and organized. Be respectful to them and the basic rules.

Make sure early enough to watch this natural phenomenon. The birds start waking up at dawn and within 30 minutes most of them have flown away. Allow 20 minutes to reach the viewing point from the parking lot (it’s steep and dark, but there are steps).

Birds dive bomb the hole and cut the air it's a remarkable place to visit. Long bumpy road to get here, eat light.

The best experience of my life! You can't miss it. We stayed about 5 mins from the entrance, consider 30 mins to get to the parking area, then you cross the entrance by foot and go down about 500 stairs, make you sure you are there before 7 am, which is the time the swallows started to leave the cave. We saw about 1 millions beautiful swallows, fly in circles! And also if you stay quite you will see small green parrots flying around, they all flew above us. This lasts about 1 hour. Make sure you ask about the scheduling before you go, as swallows leave at different times, depending on the weather. You can also see them in the afternoon, about 4pm. Its a long way down, but totally worth it!

One of the most amazing places I've visited. Of course you need to be there just before sunrise and wait till the birds swirl out, or before sunset. Standing at the border and the birds "falling into the pit" just not touching you is amazing. The surroundings are astonishingly beautiful as well.

If you love to just sit quietly and watch nature do its thing, then this is an ideal place for you. It's definitely off the beaten path (figuratively and literally) so it will take some planning to get there. Once you arrive you will walk some rugged terrain to the location, but both the morning and evening shows are certainly worth it.