Top Ten U.S. Caves

Touring the chamber (Luray Caverns)

Inside Luray Cavern's Cathedral chamber is a unique organ. Engineer and organist Leland Sprinkle carefully tuned 37 stalactites, then installed rubber-tipped mallets alongside them. When he plays the organ, the mallets tap the rocks, producing beautiful, bell-like tones. Three and a half acres in size, the Stalacpipe Organ was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest natural musical instrument.

Four hundred million years in the making, this active cave grows one inch every 120 years—Luray Caverns celebrated its one-inch anniversary in 1998. Giant's Hall, the largest and lowest chamber in the caverns, is marked by the Double Column—a joining of stalactite (remember "C" for on the ceiling) and stalagmite ("G" for on the ground). Nearly 50 feet high, the column would stand taller than ten cars stacked bumper to bumper.

Just the Facts

Open: All year

Cave temperature: 54° Fahrenheit year-round

Location: Northern Virginia, ten minutes off Skyline Drive

For more information: Call Luray Caverns at (540) 743-6551 or visit www.luraycaverns.com