Grutas Karmidas

Grutas de Karmitas

Useful Information

Location:	Near Pueblo. Leave the paved highway Interserrana from Tulancingo at Zacatlán, or from Teziutlán at Zacapoaxtla.
Open:
Fee:
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	gasoline lamps.
Dimension:	L=500 m.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grutas Karmidas, Zapotitlán de Mendez, Puebla, Mexico. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

19-MAR-1919	discovered by Miguel Manzano Lobato.
1923	artificial entrance completed, cave opened to the public.

Description

Grutas Karmidas was discovered by the owner of a distillery, Mr. Miguel Manzano Lobato. He had a small engine driven by the water of a stream. But this stream fell dry every year and so he had to stop destilling. He decided to explore the stream, so he might be able to continue work during the dry season.

In 1919, in the dry season, the stream fell dry nearly completely and so he followed the dry bed upwards into the cave. The entrance was very tight, so he had to widen it. Then he had to climb a seven metre high cascade.

Mr. Manzano was so impressed by the cave, that he decided to open it to the public. But he needed an easier entrance. So he started building a tunnel to a nearby cavern. He was once trapped in the tunnel for three days after an collapse, but afterwards he continued working on it.

When the cave entrance was completed, the cave was opended to the public. The owner named it Grutas Karmidas after one of his sons, who died very young.