Marmurova Pechera, Show cave at Chatyr-Dag plateau, Ukraine

Marmurova Pechera is a show cave on the Chatyr-Dag plateau in Ukraine with over 2000 meters (6500 feet) of underground passages. The limestone rooms divide into three sections, including the Main Gallery and the Tiger Path, and are made accessible through electric lighting.

Simferopol speleologists discovered the cave in 1987 near the Binbash-Koba and Suuk-Koba caves, naming it Marble and initially also Afghan. The Onyx-Tour speleotourism centre, founded in 1988, equipped concrete paths, handrails and lighting, and the cave opened to visitors in 1989. In 1992 it joined the International Association of Show Caves, and in 1999 it became part of the Mountain Karst of Crimea reserve.

The limestone shapes found along the passages remind visitors of fairy tale characters, and guides assign matching names to help people recognize the forms. As you walk through the lit rooms, you might spot an elephant or a mammoth sculpted by water over time, turning the visit into a playful experience.

The temperature inside stays around 9 degrees Celsius (48 Fahrenheit) all year, so warm clothing and sturdy footwear are recommended. Guided tours last about one hour and follow lit pathways through the passages.

The cave's explored passages run 2,050 metres and reach a depth of 63 metres, of which more than a kilometre is fitted with concrete paths, handrails and lighting. Paleontologists call it "Noah's Ark": over 700 species have been found here, from mammoth remains to fly larvae. In the Tiger Path gallery, bones of a large predator were found and first taken for a sabre-toothed tiger; the gallery kept the name after the bones were identified as those of a cave lion.