Grottoes

A sacred place for ascetic training, set in a honeycomb-walled cliffside cave deep in the woods.

Legend holds that the Ancient Greek goddess of love once bathed in the waters of this grotto.

The cave of a 12th-century hermit is still visited and venerated today.

An eerie cluster of medieval cave-like tombs carved out of a cliff, hidden in a historic mountain pass.

Ornamented with "Bristol Diamonds," this exotic shell grotto is considered to be the finest surviving example from the eighteenth century.

Visiting this grotto is symbolic of a spiritual journey into Nirvana.

Discover diverse aquatic life and befriend resident turtles at this private diving grotto in north Florida.

A limestone grotto where daylight filters in from below and turns the water a beautiful turquoise. Also home to a small underwater nativity scene.

South of Bologna, a limestone grotto with a protruding waterfall and a floor full of cave pearls.

Packed with geological formations, an ancient river, and taxidermied seals, this overlooked coastal cave system is worth a spelunk.

The grotto where Saint Ignatius of Loyola lived as a hermit for nearly a year.

The development of this cliffside waterpark is representative of Mexico's history of co-op tourism developments.

A winding cave grotto walkway built to provide employment for veterans after World War I.

Make a wish at what might be America's only Catholic shrine to a sinner.

This beautiful grotto is one of those places where you can't believe you're just outside Austin.

The abandoned ruins of a failed resort hide on this verdant, picture-perfect island.

This staircase in a lush tropical grotto was built by enslaved laborers and renamed to honor Queen Victoria's role in ending slavery in the British Empire.