A caver crawling through a low, muddy cave passage Under the ground

Caving in the Simbruini mountains

Subiaco

The Simbruini are riddled with caves that nobody signposts, and the way in starts with an off-road drive up off the valley floor. After that it is tunnels, and some of them are tight.

How the day goes

  1. Kitted out at the centre: wetsuit, boots, helmet and lamp are handed over.
  2. Up to the cave mouth in the operator's off-road vehicle.
  3. In through the tunnels and the narrow passages, following the guide's beam.
  4. Out and back down, with the beech woods and Subiaco underneath you.

Some passages are a squeeze, and if that is not your idea of a good morning, the lit walkways at Pastena show you the same rock.

Where it is

Subiaco at its real position from Rome, with everywhere else we list behind it — so you can see how far out this one is.

Subiaco, and where it is from Rome Subiaco drawn at its real position relative to Rome, about 68 minutes by car. The faint dots are the other places we list, so you can see how far out this one is. 68 min Rome Subiaco

Open it where the roads are

Takes you to Largo Martiri di Cicchetti snc, 00028 Subiaco (RM), the address the operator publishes.

Getting there

Getting there, the comfortable way

  • 1 h 08drive from the middle of Rome
  • 73 kmeach way

  • Rent a car for the day

    The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.

    • You pick it up in Rome and drop it back in Rome
    • No timetable to build the day around
    • The stops on the way are the good part, and they need a car

    Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Localrent, and anything about that booking goes through them.

    See prices on Localrent

  • Have a driver take you, door to door

    No parking to find, no wrong turns, and you leave when the day is done.

    • Picked up where you are staying, dropped back there
    • No parking to find and no ZTL to worry about
    • Nobody spends the day driving

    Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Welcome Pickups, and anything about that booking goes through them.

    See prices on Welcome Pickups

Also around Subiaco

A river running through a wooded valley Down the river

Soft rafting on the Aniene

Five kilometres down the Aniene. Helmet and paddle included, shuttle to the start.

€25 per person

Books on viverelaniene.com

See the day
A canyoner in the water of a canyon, helmet and wetsuit on Down the river

Power rafting on the Aniene

The same stretch of the Aniene as the soft rafting but run in wetsuits, with a land briefing first, then strong currents, rapids, surfing and jumps at the end.

See the day
A canyoner in helmet and wetsuit descending a rope beside a waterfall Down the river

Packrafting the Aniene solo

You paddle an individual inflatable kayak down the Aniene, with guides alongside.

See the day

More under the ground

Stalactites lit inside a show cave Under the ground

Pastena caves

Walk into the hill on wet steps, in a guided group of no more than twelve.

€10 per person

Books on grottepastenacollepardo.it

See the day
Cavers with kit bags in a lit cave passage Under the ground

Speleo-canyoning in a hidden cave

A trip that combines caving with canyoning progression techniques: you walk through underground chambers, cross fixed sections and rope traverses with a helmet, harness and head…

See the day

We have not verified this one yet. Everything below comes from the operator and we have not checked it — treat it as a lead, not as a listing.

Photograph by Kingfiser, Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0. Not this place: it shows what the day looks like, and will be replaced with the operator's own photograph or ours from the field.

Links marked affiliate pay us a commission — you pay the operator's own price and we never take your money. How we rank