We first visited this atttraction several years ago and would recommend it for familiies and indeed anyone looking for a short, inexpensive attraction in the Xaghra area. As other reviewers have pointed out, this is basically a cave under a private house, discovered in 1923 and turned into a small tourist atttraction. It has stalagtites and stalagmites and fascinating rocks and as others have said, a tour is enhanced by the humour and quality of the guide. It is very reasonably priced and the owners have done well to turn their discovery into a small business that is educational.
We were recommended to go here by a friend but we weren't sure what to expect.It's quite odd to be shown through someone's house and down a spiral staircase to get to the attraction but, once you're there, WOW!The rock formations are incredibly beautiful and in the most fascinating of shapes. We found ourselves squinting at them and finding animals, faces, famous landmarks etc. Quite a fun game actually. :-)
We were shown around by a very informative lady who took care to make sure we had an enjoyable experience and gave us a fascinating insight into the discovery of this grotto. Well worth a visit.
You don't even think your at the right place it's just a house down a street you go in and press a buzzer then an elderly lady appears and gives you a tour. You go down a very steep spiral staircase to the cavern. It is amazing and a little strange to think its beneath someone's home. Worth a visit if your in the area
very good guide and many big statlicates and statlagmites to see on this small and beautiful island.
This place is on a parallel road to the road that Ninu's Cave is on, which we visited earlier that same day and it was charming. The Grotto is a similar entry, a little sign pointing to a doorway, nothing official looking. We pressed a doorbell in a hallway and the door was opened into a courtyard by an old lady letting us in. She requested €2.50 each and took us down a well hole that become a spiral stone staircase winding 7 meters down. It's a very tight space and this can be a little disorienting so watch your step as you go round and round. The lady doing her tour guide bit had obviously done this hundreds, if not thousands of times and appeared very board having to tell us about it all again, you know like we were really disturbing her day. It was a really dry run through of the cave pointing with a laser to shapes with names like the elephants ears. It's an impressive cave, to think nature grew these formations at a rate of one inch every 10,000 years. I did learn something and saw a really amazing treasure that was discovered totally by accident, however I was left feeling that I'd gate crashed. There was just no passion in the delivery, no pride in its discovery, or that they are custodians of something that is after all a national treasure in their home. I just hope they wake up to that fact and provide a more personal approach, after all it was discovered by a family member.
Xerri's grotto was discovered in 1923 by Antonio Xerri and it is his granddaughter that is your proud tour guide. She tells the story very well and it is gripping!She loves to compare the rocks and stalagmites and stalagtites to animals, parts of animals, or bacon. It's very funny but you can definitely see what she's on about! The spiral stairs are fantastic (photo attached).It's only €2,50 so you should definitely take the tour :) You won't be disappointed.
The lady owning the property gave a great tour of the grotto found while trying to get water from the water table. She had animal descriptions for each rock which was kind of cute.Best 2.5Euro ever :)
The grotto itself is quite small, but has a cute and interesting history. What really sets the tour apart and makes it above average is the tour guide, descendant to the man who discovered the caves the woman shows great pride in her grotto. She spent most of the time comparing stalactites and stalagmites to animals and bacon, but it was endearing and at times hilarious. Well worth a visit simply to meet the tour guide and see some cool rocks.
Yes there are bigger and better. But this is a cute little cave with a personal history. Its only about 10 minutes worth of tour, guided by a very proud Gozitan descendant and at 2.5 Euro you really cannot complain. If you are in the area, you'd be silly to let it pass by.