Everything you need to know about the Margaret River caves to pick the best one (or two) to suit you. We found it hard to find a comprehensive review of all the Margaret river caves. A lot of articles will talk about a few of the caves, but no one seems to cover them all. We adore caves and any type of caving adventure, so we figure we are in a pretty suitable position to help you pick the best Margaret River Caves to visit.

Whether you like a small show-stopping cave or the biggest cave in the region, we have you covered. There are even caves for the more adventurous amongst us where you get to wear a hard hat and head torch! We tried to rank them for you, but after hours of debate; we failed miserably! So here they are, all the show caves open to the public in the Margaret River Region in no particular order.

Be sure to check out our Instagram to see all of our favourite caves!

Table of contents

Tour Guided Caves

Jewel Cave

Located down the end of Caves road near Augusta is Jewel Cave. The largest show cave in Australia and home to the longest straw stalactite in Australia! Definitely one for your Margaret River bucket list.

This is a fully guided tour cave that runs for about an hour. We managed to stay at the back of the tour to give ourselves more time for photos of this stunning cave. As amazing as the actual cave is, we found it all to be a little too touristy. But isn’t that the point of the show cave? Well, yes, and no.

When we go looking at caves, we want it to be, well, just a cave. Although the light shows on the calcite formations look cool and ‘insta worthy’, it also looks very man-made and takes a bit away from the natural beauty of the cave. We come here to marvel at the wonder of nature, not humanity.

Don’t get us wrong, the tour is still stunning and worthwhile. Just go in there with your eyes open to see all the man-made aspects that are now in the cave as well. And hey if you like the more show-stopping light effects, then this is the best Margaret River cave for you!

Lake Cave

In the middle of caves road just outside of Boranup is the aptly named Lake Cave. Another fully guided cave tour, except this time it is in the smallest cave in the Margaret River Region. Not to worry though, because what Lake cave lacks in size, it well and truly makes up for in beauty. Oh, and did we mention it is the only cave in the region with a permanent lake?

The stunning formations hanging over the cave lake make this one well worth visiting. You start the cave tour above ground in the visitors’ centre before descending into the sinkhole entrance to the cave. This is a lush green oasis in the bush where giant Karri trees grow from the floor of this sunken garden. There are plenty of gaps in between staircases on the way down to make for a slow and tranquil descent into this gem of a cave.

Once inside, they guide you to the edge of the lake where you get to sit and enjoy the underground atmosphere whilst the stalactites hanging over the lake are lit up with changing lights to highlight these unique formations. Oddly, we didn’t mind the light show in this cave. It was done with more thought to showing off the cave than the lights themselves. Perhaps it was the fact that it felt very intimate sitting down in a smaller cave, but the lights added to the magic of this place more so than in Jewel’s cave.

Ngilgi Cave

Ngilgi Cave is located at the tip of caves road near Yallingup, making it an easy cave to get to from Busselton and Dunsborough. This one is perfect for kids and the young at heart and was Western Australia’s first tourist attraction! It’s still going strong, so you know this cave comes with years of recommendation from W.A. tourists the world over.

You start the tour above ground learning about the history of the cave and its importance to the local Wadandi People of the area. You are then guided down to the cave and allowed to explore at your own pace. The guide stays in the first chamber, so if you have any questions, they are ready and waiting to answer them.

We LOVED being able to take our time and get some space from the others on our tour. We also had a blast in the crawl tunnel! It is a little man-made tunnel filled with stalactites that have fallen or broken off in the past. They definitely made the tunnel for kids, but we still managed to squeeze through and have fun with it!

Self Guided Caves

Best caves in Margaret River Region

Mammoth Cave

Located just outside of Boranup, Mammoth Cave is practically next to Lake cave, making them the perfect combo for a day in the caves. Mammoth is the first of the fully self-guided caves! These are our favourites; one, because you can go at your own pace, taking as long as you like, and two, because they are generally less well known and therefore much quieter. Mammoth cave would have to be the more well-known of the three self-guided caves in the area, but it’s still less busy than the tour caves.

Another reason this cave is so great is the wheelchair-accessible entrance, making the entire first chamber of the cave accessible via a boardwalk. After that, the other chambers do need to be reached by stairs. At the start, they give you an audio headset and map to use in the cave with explanations along the way.

The cave is full of megafauna fossils with a few displays inside the cave. It is home to a 50,000-year-old zygomaticus jawbone that is embedded in the cave wall and if you keep an eye out, you may even find some other fauna living in the cave! We spotted this cute little frog chilling between a stalagmite and stalactite when we visited last. Keep an eye out for us and let us know if it’s still there!

Calgardup Cave

Now, this is what we call a self-guided adventure cave! Located just up Caves Road from Mammoth cave is Calgardup Cave. A brilliant adventure cave for all ages. Before entering the cave, you are given a quick safety briefing and handed your hard hat (complete with a head torch!) and a torch connected to a lanyard so you can keep both hands free when needed. This got us beyond excited, as not only was the cave quiet and self-guided, but we felt like real explorers!

There are still stairs and boardwalks with handrails throughout the cave, so no actual rock climbing, but there were sections of very low ceilings with stalactites hanging on tight over your head. Overall, a very exciting cave to explore. We had the place to ourselves, which meant when we turned off our headlamps and torches we got plunged into a darkness so thick we couldn’t see a thing, even if it was a centimeter in front of our faces.

We come back every so often when the weather isn’t great because this cave is just awesome! We’d say it’s the least well-advertised of all the caves, so if you are looking to have a cave to yourself, this is your best bet!

Giants Cave

Last of all and definitely not least, is Giants Cave, the deepest cave in the Margaret River Region at 86m! Located just down the road from Lake cave outside of Boranup. We would have to say this is by far our favourite cave. If you are all about adventures and taking the road less written (or in this case travelled, see what we did there?), then this is the cave for you!

It is of course, entirely self-guided, hard hat and torches included, it is generally quiet (we have never been in school holidays so it may get a little busier during this time) and best of all, it doesn’t have paths or boardwalks for half of the cave! For this reason, it’s not for everyone, and children under the age of 6 are not permitted.

The first few chambers are pretty easy to get to, but then you reach a point that tells you to turn back if you aren’t fit or confident climbing through caves. This is the point where it gets GOOD! Scrambling over rocks, using a rope to get down steep rock slides, and squeezing through tight spaces.

We were having a blast! The best bit though is a steep vertical climb up a small metal ladder that goes up into a very tight spot between rocks. You need to go one person at a time and even then it’s a squeeze, especially if you have a bit of a booty like Nathan!

Honestly, we can’t recommend this cave enough. From the huge ballroom chamber (yes, Tiff did dance here) to the beautiful calcite formations, and, of course, the adventure cave exploring. It just doesn’t get better than this. If you only have time for one cave, this is the one we recommend every time!

Best caves in Margaret River Region

So there you have it. Our little guide to all the caves in the Margaret River region. They are all unique and worth visiting. Whilst we were doing a little research on the caves, we found out that there is now an adventure cave tour running in Margs that takes you into parts of the caves the general public can’t access.

So that’s our next trip already taken care of! We will update you all with a review once we get to do this tour, as it sounds amazing and right up our alley. Drop us a DM on our socials if you’ve done it before or have any questions about the stunning caves of Margaret River.

 

Remember when you are exploring these caves, they are on Noongar land. The Wadandi and Bibbulman people are the traditional owners of this land and the caves you will be enjoining.

These caves hold Dreamtime stories and have significant cultural connections to the Wadandi and Bibbulman Noongar people. So please be respectful of this and leave these caves as you found them. Tread with care, ensuring you do not damage plants or wildlife you find in the caves. In this way, generations to come, can enjoy the land.

We’d like to thank the Wadandi and Bibbulman people for welcoming visitors to their Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Acknowledging that this always was and always will be Indigenous land.

 

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