Sa Cova des Coloms

Parks and Nature | Es Migjorn Gran

Sa Cova des Coloms is a natural open grotto on the eastern face of the ravine known as Es Barranc de Binigaus. The cave's ceiling reaches a maximum of 24 metres of height and measures 110 metres long and 15 metres high on average - an enormous natural cathedral. This cathedral-like cave is named after wood pigeons, since Menorcans have been using it to hunt these unusual birds from time immemorial. Large populations of bats, along with the mosses and lichens that blanket the walls, give the grotto its mysterious appearance. A votive object from prehistoric times was discovered on the spot, as was a bull's horn, a totemic symbol that recalls the role cows played in the cult of fertility in antiquity. It is no surprise that Menorca's first settlers chose this natural cavity in prehistoric times as a place to worship tectonic energies, the Earth's underground forces, the maximum exponent of which were caves. The cavern was doubly symbolic, a metaphor for the fecundity of the maternal uterus and the journey to the beyond. Legend has it that one's fate is mysteriously triggered when one enters Sa Cova d'es Coloms. If two people enter at the same time, they will soon be separated from each other, yet, on the contrary, if fortune reunites two people who have never met inside, they will never be separated. Almost anything can be believed about Sa Cova d'es Coloms, e.g., that the sun's rays penetrate straight to the grotto's depths during the spring solstice, that it was Calypso the nymph's mythical cave, where Ulysses yearned for his distant Ithaca, that it was the dwelling of giants... this place's imagination and characteristics admit each and every hypothesis. How to get there: Take the road from Es Migjorn Gran to San Adeodato Beach. At the end of the road stands Es Pou d'es Captiu. Take the path around it to the right ' when facing the sea ' to reach the mouth of D'es Barranc de Binigaus Vell. Enter the ravine and after passing by a well, the valley gradually opens up before our eyes. Keeping to the left, the path ascends to the white silhouette of the dwelling at Binigaus. Just a few more steps lead us to the cave. We recommend consulting a Tourist Information Office about availability.