Coves de l'Espluga de Francolí

About the museum

The Coves de l’Espluga de Francolí comprise two cavities, the Cova de la Vila and the Cova de la Font Major, which originally formed a single gallery beneath the town centre. Since the first caving explorations in 1956, more than 3,500 metres of galleries have been surveyed, which places them among the longest caves in the world formed in conglomerate. An underground watercourse still runs through part of them and emerges outside at the Font Major, where the Francolí river rises. The name of the town itself comes from the cave, as “espluga” means cave.

The Cova de la Font Major opened as a museum on 28 January 1994. Excavations and archaeological finds have documented human presence from the Palaeolithic through the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Iberian and Roman periods. In the 20th century the cave had very different uses: a cava (sparkling wine) cellar, an ammunition store during the Civil War, a mushroom farm, and the setting of a living nativity scene (belén viviente) between 1967 and 1977.

In 2019 a team from the IPHES (Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution) discovered, in a hard-to-reach gallery, a Palaeolithic sanctuary with around 300 engravings dating back some 37,000 years, the oldest known in Catalonia. Because of its fragility it cannot be visited, but it is explained through an audiovisual. The museum route is always guided and reviews the human communities that inhabited the cave and the geology of the site. Visitors seeking more adventure can take the Ruta Aventura, an introduction to caving that involves following the underground river upstream.

Highlights

• Guided tour of the cave and its prehistoric stages, from the Palaeolithic to the Iberian world
• Audiovisual on the 37,000-year-old Palaeolithic sanctuary, not open to visitors
• Ruta Aventura caving along the underground river (wearing a wetsuit)
• Free audioguides in five languages
• Level route suitable for manual wheelchairs and pushchairs

Permanent exhibition

• Museu de les Coves de l'Espluga – Guided tour of the Cova de la Font Major explaining its geological formation and human presence from the Palaeolithic to the Iberian period, with an audiovisual on the engraving sanctuary of around 37,000 years ago.

Founded

1994

Admission & discounts

The price includes the guided visit on the chosen day and time. 10% discount with the Jove, UOC and youth hostel (Alberguista) cards. Free admission for members of the Club Piolet d’Andorra. Ruta Aventura: 10% discount for groups of 8 to 10 people, federated members, intermediaries and people with accredited disabilities, and 20% for groups of 11 to 15 people.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The cave route (about 400–500 m, with no steps) is accessible by manual wheelchair, although on some stretches an accompanying person may be needed. Reception and shop are fully accessible, and there are adapted toilets. There are no specific services for people with hearing or visual impairments. Pets are not admitted, except accredited assistance dogs.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly

Family workshops at the Coves for adults and children (€6 per person, free for under-3s). The Ruta Aventura admits children from age 7 and is adapted for younger participants. The standard visit can be done with a baby pushchair.

Getting there & parking

The entrance to the Coves is on Avinguda de Catalunya, in the town centre of l’Espluga de Francolí; the tourist office is at Plaça del Mil·lenari, 1.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Shop at reception, which also offers tourist information about l’Espluga de Francolí, the Conca de Barberà and the Ruta del Cister. There are changing rooms, showers and lockers for the Ruta Aventura.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit