Castello Tesino · IT

Bus de la Lora - Grotte di Castello Tesino

High on the karst plateau above Castello Tesino, in Italy's Autonomous Province of Trento, the Bus de la Lora is the only show cave in Trentino fitted out for visitors. Reached by a forest trail and explored by guided torchlight, it threads for roughly 400–450 metres through pale dolomitic rock that water has carved into stalactites, stalagmites, columns and draperies of bewildering shape. Beyond the scenery, the cave keeps a singular treasure: hollowed marks on the walls attributed to the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) of the Ice Age—the only such traces preserved in any Trentino cavern. A guided tour here is less a quick walk-through than a half-day underground expedition: an approach hike, an hour and a half below ground with a guide, and a return climb to the car park.