The Philippine archipelago is home to beautiful islands, amazing diving spots, stunning waterfalls, and friendliest people in the world. That is why millions of tourists from around the globe are flocking to the country every year. However, the Philippines doesn’t only offer spectacular tourist destinations that can be reached on the ground, on top of the mountain or underwater. Our country also hides more incredible wonders of nature in the hollow places underground, the caves.

Caves are formed by nature over hundreds or even millions of years. Hidden in the darkness of caves are stunning rock formations called speleothems, which can also be classified into stalactites, helictites, stalagmites, flowstones, cave crystals and other types.

There are thousands of caves across the Philippines. Samar, alone, has already hundreds of caves that were indexed and there are even thousand more to be explored yet. The island of Samar is the third largest island in the Philippines, next to Luzon and Mindanao. It is where the current largest cave system in the Philippines (the Langun-Gobingob Caves in Calbiga) is located.

The island is not only hiding the largest cave in the country but also the most beautiful ones. Here are 20 amazing photos that will show you why Samar is the caving capital of the Philippines. [Read more…]