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Date: July 29, 2003 Place: Tuckaleechee Caverns Townsend, Tennessee Cost: $11.00 for Adults and $5.50 for children Ovearll Rating: 4.0 Pictures: View the Photo Album

Address: 826 Cavern Road, Townsend, TN What it's like The Tuckaleechee Caverns are named after the surrounding area. These caves were discovered by Indians living near the land over a hundred of years ago. Bill Vananda played in the area as a child and wanted to start showing people what nature created. He found a partner but the pair couldn't afford to purchase the caves and went to work in Alaska for a few years during the depression to come up with the money. They started giving tours in the early 1950s. You can not go into the caves without a tour guide. Guided tours run every 15 to 20 minutes. On your tour you will walk up and down about 400 steps and walk about a mile underground on concrete paths. You can expect to see many stalagmites and stalactites, standard in caves, which the guides will point out to you. One of the most unique formations is The Curtains which are many stalagmites that have grown together to form a figure that looks like a curtain. One of the features that make this cave unique is an underground stream that runs along the width of the cave. The caves were formed by water erosion of rock and earth over thousands of years, and some of this water still remains. It is moving water in several places and also it pools into small lakes. On your tour you stop at several different points on your walk down to the big room which is about 400 feet long and 150 feet tall. At this point in the tour the guide will turn on lights near special features such as the totem and other stalactites. Expect to spend a moment in complete darkness so you get the feel of what the original explorers of the cave experienced when their gas lanterns would go out. Retrace your steps back to where the tour started and walk to the other side of the cave. At the end of the tour you will see the impressive Silver Falls, an underground waterfall that comes from way up inside the earth. The kids described the caves as "cool", and it is definitely a "cool" alternative to a hot summer Tennesse afternoon since the caves are about 58 degrees year round. Wear good walking shoes since parts of the caves are wet from water dripping from above. The price of admission is $11.00 for Adults and $5.50 for children. Open Monday thru Friday 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. See the Slideshow!

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