Is Zuddas Cave

The Is Zuddas Cave is part of a complex network of karst cavities located in Monte Meana, in the municipality of Santadi. The embedding rocks date back to around 530 million years ago. The initial part of the Is Zuddas Cave was reached by unknown people already in the early 1960s, through a narrow natural tunnel about 20 meters deep. In 1968 some quarrymen opened an artificial entrance, an alternative to the narrower natural entrance. A few years later, in 1971, various speleological groups resumed their explorations and managed to discover new tunnels, interspersed with a series of hitherto unknown rooms, for an overall length of about 1500 m. In 1985, after the arrangement of a tourist route, the cave was definitively open to the public. One of the main attractions of Is Zuddas is undoubtedly represented by the remarkable variety of speleothems or concretions. Alongside the most common types such as stalactites, stalagmites, and spectacular flows it is possible to observe many others, among which we recall the very thin tubular stalactites, known as straws, the very delicate aragonite needles that cover entire walls, the eccentrics of aragonite, consisting of an indescribable intertwining of filaments that have grown without following the force of gravity, in total disorder, to form pure white skeins of stone.

The tourist route extends for about 500 m, most of which are flat. The maximum difference in height is 15 m and there are steps only in the initial part. The constant temperature inside the cave is 16 °C – 60.8 °F throughout the year and the humidity is close to 100%. The visit is carried out in Italian, English, and German, while there are brochures available to tourists in French and Russian. The visiting hours are as follows: from April 1st to June 30th, every day at 11 a.m., 12:15 a.m., 3 p.m., 4:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m.*; from July 1st to September 30th, every day from 10 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.**; from October 1st to October 31st and from March 1st to March 31st, every day at 12 a.m. and 4 p.m.*; from December 20th to January 6th, every day at 12 a.m. and 4 p.m.

CLOSED from November 1st to December 19th and from January 7th to February 28th, except Holidays. Reservations are accepted for groups of at least 15 people.

* Times may vary;
** Visits take place within these time slots