Coves dels Hams

The stalactites bend. Many of them curl at the tip like fishhooks, which is where the caves get their name: hams is the Mallorquí word for fishhooks or harpoons, and the cause of that shape has never been explained.

The visit opens with two short films, then the guide leads you on a lit route of about 500 m through 12 chambers to the Sea of Venice, an underground lake. There the show plays out in music and light, with musicians crossing the water in a rowboat lined with candle-lit railings. The music is on the theatrical side, and the whole visit works well with children.

• Steep steps lead down into the caves: a pushchair is hard work, and the entrance is not wheelchair accessible.
• The visit is a guided tour of about an hour, starting with two short films; commentary runs in English, French, Spanish and German.
• Tickets are sold on the spot, and timed tickets can be booked online, which helps if you are fitting the visit around a bus.
• A café stands before the entrance, and there are toilets about 90 m away.

The caves sit on the road between Manacor and Porto Cristo, about 1 km west of Porto Cristo, with Dinosaurland right beside the entrance. The drive from Palma takes about an hour. A visitors' car park lies about 130 m from the caves, and a second one about 490 m away.

The bus from Palma bus station stops at Dinosaurland - Coves Hams, about 300 m away, and the ride takes around 1 hour 40 minutes. From the entrance, steep steps lead down into the caves; everything after that is on the guided route.

Best: spring, autumn or winter, and any wet day of the year.

Avoid: the summer months, when the caves draw tour groups on top of independent visitors.

Underground the weather makes no difference and the cave keeps one temperature all year, so the season changes only the size of the crowd around you.