These Marble Caves In Chile Look Unreal

You may have read about going to Patagonia in guide books. From hiking to seeing unique wildlife, such as the red Culpeo fox, it’s definitely a place on my travel bucket list.

Now, we found an added reason to go there: to check out the Marble Caves in Chile. In case you missed it, Patagonia is at the southern tip of South America covering parts of Chile and Argentina, where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet — which means there are plenty of islands and inlets to entice us.

Enter Cuevas de Marmol, also known as the Marble Cathedral, in Lake General Carrera, at the Chile-Argentina border. As travel site Atlas of Wonders points out, there’s everything from columns and pillars to flying buttresses at the Marble Cathedral — all naturally occurring, of course. And the caves and tunnels there are made from marble. Insane, right?! And insanely beautiful!

The patterns on the marble caves are a reflection of the lake’s water.

So, as a result, the caves keep changing their appearance.

Stunning!

Just look at how much the water and caves change depending on the light.

In the spring, the water is more turquoise, but in the summer, the water is a deeper blue.

The water levels, too, influence the colors of the caves. As the nearby glaciers melt (or freeze), the lake’s water levels change — and so, too, do the caves.

Like we said, we definitely want to go there, STAT. But it’ll take some maneuvering — and patience — to get to the 6,000-year-old “cathedral.” One or two flights, a road trip and a ferry are required for the journey to the Marble Caves from the U.S.

You have to first get yourself to Santiago, Chile’s capital. Then you can fly or drive 800 miles to Coyhaique. Then, it’s 200 more miles on dirt roads to the lake. After that, hop on a ferry or boat, and prepare to be amazed.

Looks like the best boat ride ever, right?

It certainly looks worth the trip! Who else is ready to go?