Dragon's cave in Kastoriá (Kastoria), Greece

It is a very impressive cave with underground lakes, at the north side of the town, about one kilometer away, just before the monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa. According to the tradition, there used to be a gold mine in the cave, guarded by a sleepless dragon and this possibly is the reason why the cave was named the Dragon’s cave. Its entrance is 15 meters away from the lake road and the first visits were recorded in 1954. The first formal exploration and mapping was realized by the Speleological Society in 1963 and many other expeditions followed.

According to the mapping, there are five routes – tunnels, ten halls of different dimensions as well as seven underground lakes. The deepest point is at 18 meters and the mean temperature of the area is 16-18 C.

The cave water follows the level of the lake of Kastoria. This high level of the water, in older times contributed to the opening of the cave. The water flooded the entire cave while it was being shaped. The stalagmites that are now immersed in the water were shaped when the water level was rather low. It took about six million years for the cave to obtain its current form, and there is a possibility that it is larger than we know.

The eastern part of the great hall is decorated by huge stalactite curtains that hang as if they were stone curtains from the walls and the ceiling. It takes hundreds of years for such stalactites to form.

The Dragon’s cave is one of the most impressive caves. Bear bones have been found in the cave aged 10,000 years.