Munkastova Cave


Useful Information

Location: Fjøll og annað í Vágoy, Vágar island.
(62.0605941, -7.3863737)
Open: no restrictions.
[2020]
Fee: free.
[2020]
Classification: Speleologysea cave
Light: n/a
Dimension: V=260.000 m³.
Guided tours: by boat
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Munkastova, 380 Sørvágur, Vágar, Tel: +298-333455. 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.
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History


Description

Munkastova is the secon biggest cave on the islands, nevertheless it is advertised as the biggest cave of the world with a volume of 260.000 m³. It is located at the northern end of the west coast of Vágoy (Vágar island), near Raðnes cape. There is a huge cove with an enormous overhanging cliff face, and on one side a crack in the rock was widened by the sea. Behind the rather small triangular entrance portal is a much bigger chamber with a sky hole where the sun shines in. So this tour is obviously best when the sun shines through the hole and the seawater starts to glow in an eerie blueish colour. The cave portal faces north, the cave runs roughly southwards, and the sky hole is on the southwest. The best time for sun shining is in the early afternoon.

One more comment about the "biggest cave" stuff. It is definitely not the biggest cave, what they obviously mean is biggest sea cave. However, it is definitely outnumbered by Klæmintsgjógv on Hestur island, also on the Faroes. We do not have any speleological literature about the cave and we guess it was never accurately surveyed, so all the numbers given are just guesstimates. There is no official list by volume, a result of the fact that it is almost impossible to determine the volume. Volume is determined by laser scanning, and the laser scanners require solid ground.

Munkastova is occasionally used for floating concerts, the cave echoes the music. The cave can only be visited by boat, there are boat tours available from Sørvágur Such tours take typically one to two hours and also show the famous sea-stacks Drangarnir with the spectacular naturural bridge across the islan, and the Múlafossur Waterfall, which drops the coastal cliff into the sea. The Drangarnir are quite impressive, located in front of Raðnes cape they are actually on the route from Sørvágur to Munkastova.