La Grotte Merveilleuse, Natural cave in Ziama Mansouriah, Algeria.
La Grotte Merveilleuse is a cave in Ziama Mansouriah that extends roughly 850 meters underground with multiple chambers and limestone formations throughout. The largest space has a ceiling around 40 meters high, while other galleries vary in width and height, creating a complex network of passages that wind through the rock.
The cave was discovered in 1917 during construction of the National Road 43, and later received protected status as a natural site in 1948. This official recognition came after the initial discovery and marked the beginning of its preservation.
The cave's chambers have local names like the Glaciers room and the Great room, reflecting how people have connected the underground landscape to familiar imagery. These names show how visitors and locals have imagined and talked about the space for years.
You can walk through about 650 meters of the cave system with a guide, and sturdy shoes are a good idea since the ground can be slippery and uneven. Bring a light jacket as it stays cool underground, and arriving early in the day gives you better lighting conditions inside.
The cave maintains a nearly constant temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius year-round, creating a natural freezer of sorts. This steady environment is what allows the limestone formations to develop and endure without rapid changes that would damage them.
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