(520) 586-4100
Kartchner Caverns
2980 AZ-90, Benson, AZ 85602

Tucson is filled with awesome hiking trails and beautiful mountains, but if you’re looking for something really special, take a trip to Kartchner Caverns. Kartchner Caverns is a “live” limestone cave southeast of Tucson that has gained worldwide fame from its incredible mineral and calcite formations. The most famous and largest of these formations is called “Kubla Khan” and is 58 feet tall!

Kartchner Caverns offers two different tours the Rotunda Tour and the Big Room Tour, each around 90 minutes long. The Big Room Tour offers more time underground, but both tours allow visitors to experience the ancient wonders of the cave. These guided tours explain how just a small amount of water created the amazing formations and what kind of organisms live inside the Caverns. Some shocking (and yucky!) sights inside the cave include the deposits of 45,000 year old bat guano!

Kartchner Caverns was discovered in the 1970s by two young explorers. Ever since then, Southern Arizona has been proud to show off this beautiful living ecosystem. The Caverns are also one of the only places to find humidity in our lovely “dry heat” desert!

The cave temperature is usually in the 70s, but with 99% humidity, so dress appropriately! We love visiting the gift shop for some cool Kartchner Caverns merchandise and Native American pieces. You can also have lunch or a snack in between tours at the Bat Cave Café— yum!

Their Winter Hours (October 1 through May 31) are 7am to 6pm. Summer Hours (June 1 through September 30) are from 8am to 5pm.