Cave of Swallows

The Cave of Swallows, also called the Cave of the Swallows (Spanish: Sótano de las Golondrinas), is an open-air pit cave in the municipality of Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The elliptical mouth, on a slope of karst, is 49 by 62 m wide and is undercut around all of its perimeter, widening to a room approximately 303 by 135 meters (994 by 442 ft) wide. The floor of the cave is a 333-meter (1,092 ft) freefall drop from the lowest side of the opening, with a 370-meter (1,214 ft) drop from the highest side, making it the largest known cave shaft in the world, the second deepest pit in Mexico and perhaps the 11th deepest sheer drop in the world.

Sótano de las Golondrinas
A flock of conures in the Cave of Swallows
LocationAquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
LengthVR = 515 m
Entrance pit:
  • L = 135 m
  • W = 305 m
  • H = 333–376 m
  • Ar = 33,110 m²
Discovery27 December 1966
HazardsFree fall
AccessNo restrictions to view entrance; permit required to descend
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