Chios Olympi Cave

Location: Olympi

The Olympi Cave of Chios, Greece: The Cave of Olympi is an impressive natural attraction in Sykia area, about 35 km from Chios town and 5 km from Olympi village. This Cave is famous for its extraordinary stalactite formations. The stalactites are generally formed when water, with mixed lime content, runs off the roof and solidifies over a period of time, forming some figures. According to archaeologists, the stalactites at Olympi Cave started forming about 150 million years ago.

However, the excavations there began in 1985, by the Hellenic Speleological Company and by 2002 the cave site was already open to the public. The temperature inside the cave is stable at 18oC and the humidity is 95%. The Olympi Cave is one of the most beautiful natural monuments of Greece. The amazing stalactite decoration inside the cave exemplifies the creativity of Nature. The pattern of the fine stalactite formation gives you the feeling of a classic painting done on nature's wall.

The most curious fact about this cave is that some of the stalactites are formed in a slanting shape, challenging the law of gravity. According to scientists, this peculiar formation may be the result of the continuous downward flow of air through the openings on the roof of the rock. The calcium carbonate and the argillic contents together paint the cave in multiple colors. The gray/white calcium carbonate stone is beautified with the reddish yellow argillic earth at some places. Together they give a mesmerizing appearance to the cave.