I don't really like caves. Rather, I like to look at them from the side, in photographs, admire their depth, width and how nature made them, but inside the caves, in the depths, I don't really like to walk.
Whether I choose a cave trip or a boat trip, I will always choose a boat or climb the mountain. But I'm not a fan of walking in caves.

However, there are exceptions to my preferences.
I still went through the catacombs in Paris, because to visit Paris and not go down to the catacombs, it was somehow wrong.
And so, in Guilin, we also decided to visit the Silver Cave.
We had a choice, again, mud baths or this cave.
But there were no closest excursions to the mud baths in a group, there was something more expensive, the group had to recruit, and it was far away, if individually, then something did not suit us either, and the cave was part of the day excursion that we chose so it turned out to be a visit to the cave.
In my stories about the trip to Guilin, I’m all confused, I’m talking out of order, starting from the rice terraces, in Longji, so now I’m going back to Yangshuo, where we first arrived, and where we lived a few days before move to rice terraces.

So what is this cave, and why is it silver.
The Silver Cave (银子岩), about 18 km from Yangshuo City and 85 km from Guilin City, is the largest karst cave in Guilin.
It has an area of ​​1 sq. km, and its length is 2 km.
The cave is multi-level, inside the cave there are many stairs, along which you go up and down, and there are many crossings in the form of bridges, along which you go from one part of the cave to another.

Stalactites are the main attraction of the cave. There are no words to tell about how bizarre they are there: in the form of columns, towers, curtains, waterfalls, all this is highlighted with colorful lighting, different colors, and the feeling of something fabulous, some kind of wonderful underground world is created.

The stalactites in the cave can be divided into four types, depending on their age: old (light straw-colored), middle-aged and young (shine cream) and infant (silvery, like jade).
It is clear that with the artificial lighting in which we see all this on the excursion, it is not possible to see where the old and where the young stalactites are, so we will take the word of those who know more about this cave.

The Silver Cave is divided into three sections: the upper cave, the grand hall, and the lower cave.
It seems to me that we have visited all parts.
All rocks in the Silver Cave contain mineral glass. When the rocks are illuminated, they reflect a silvery sheen. Therefore, the cave turns into a magnificent underground palace with stalactites strewn with stars, hence the name of the cave - silver.

A few more photos with bizarre stalactites.

It is difficult to photograph there, of course, because backlit spotlights interfere.

To be continued...

You can read the beginning of our trip to Guilin Mountains and rice terraces here.
A trip to Guilin. Part 1. Introduction.
A trip to Guilin. Part 2. Rice terraces of Longji.
Guilin. Part 3. Old grandmothers.
Guilin. Part 4. Construction on the mountain.
Guilin. Part 5. Hotel on the mountain.
Guilin. Part 6. Mountain road to rice terraces.

All photos are from the collection of the author.