# Castellana caves: the short tour or the Grotta Bianca

> The Castellana caves run 3,348 m and reach 122 m deep, at 16.5°C. The 1 km tour takes about 50 minutes, the 3 km one about 100, with the Grotta Bianca.

URL: https://myitalia.it/attractions/grotte-di-castellana
Last updated: 2026-09-11

The Grotte di Castellana are visited on one of two routes: a partial one of 1 km in about 50 minutes, or the full 3 km in about 100 minutes, which is the one that reaches the Grotta Bianca.

## Two routes: 1 km or 3 km

The partial route covers 1 km in about 50 minutes. The full route covers 3 km in about 100 minutes and includes the Grotta Bianca. Both go down to about 70 meters below the surface.

The choice is really about the Grotta Bianca. If it's the reason you came, only the long route gets you there, at twice the time underground. With children or a tight afternoon, the short route is the sensible one.

## 3,348 meters long, 122 deep, 62°F

The caves run for 3,348 meters and reach 122 meters below the surface, at a constant 16.5°C (62°F).

They were discovered on January 23, 1938, by the speleologist Franco Anelli, who went down through the Grave, the sinkhole at the entrance. The entrance is 1.5 km from the center of Castellana Grotte.

In August, 62°F after a Puglia afternoon is a real drop, so a layer is worth carrying even for the short route.

## No 2026 prices are published

No 2026 prices are published in readable form. The official tickets page sends you on to an online box office without showing a list, and the alternative pages we tried return errors.

So this page quotes no price. That is a gap in the operator's publishing, and a figure copied from a reseller could be out of date by the time you book. Check the price at the moment of purchase.

## The Puglia Musei Card: €20 for six months

The Puglia Musei Card costs €20 (2026) and gives six months of access to all the sites of the Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Puglia, except the museum at Mattinata and the Castello Carlo V in Lecce.

Nothing we read says whether the caves are part of that network, so don't count on the card here. Where it clearly works is the state sites: the [Castello Svevo in Bari](/attractions/castello-svevo-bari), run by the same Direzione, costs €10 on its own and opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 7 pm, with Sundays cut to 1:30 pm from October to March (2026).

At €10 for the castle alone, the card needs at least one more state site of similar price to pay off. For a single site there is also a €1 add-on that extends one ticket for six months.

For comparison, the Marche's show cave is at [Frasassi](/attractions/grotte-di-frasassi), and the region is at [Puglia](/regions/puglia).

## FAQ

### How long is the Castellana caves tour?

There are two: the partial route covers 1 km in about 50 minutes, and the full route covers 3 km in about 100 minutes and includes the Grotta Bianca. The visit goes down to about 70 meters below the surface.

### How cold is it inside the Grotte di Castellana?

16.5°C (62°F), constant all year. In summer that is well below the temperature outside, so bring a layer for the 100-minute route. The cave system itself reaches 122 meters below the surface.

### How much are tickets for the Castellana caves?

No 2026 price list is published in readable form. The official tickets page sends you to an online box office without showing prices, and the alternative pages return errors, so check the price at the moment of booking.

### Does the Puglia Musei Card cover the Castellana caves?

Not in any source we read. The €20 card covers the state sites run by the Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Puglia for six months, such as the Castello Svevo in Bari, except Mattinata and the Castello Carlo V in Lecce (2026).

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Grotte di Castellana si sviluppano per 3.348 metri e raggiungono 122 metri di profondita' dalla superficie, con temperatura costante di 16,5 gradi; si visitano con un percorso parziale di 1 km in circa 50 minuti o completo di 3 km in circa 100 minuti che include la Grotta Bianca. | [Grotte di Castellana S.r.l.](https://www.grottedicastellana.it/) | medium | 2028-12-31 |
| La Puglia Musei Card costa 20 euro (2026) e da' accesso per sei mesi a tutti i siti della Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Puglia, esclusi il museo di Mattinata e il Castello Carlo V di Lecce. | [Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Puglia - Ministero della cultura](https://museipuglia.cultura.gov.it/ticket/) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| Il Castello Svevo di Bari costa 10 euro intero e 2 euro ridotto (2026) ed e' aperto da martedi a domenica 9:00-19:00, con la domenica ridotta alle 9:00-13:30 da ottobre a marzo; ultimo ingresso un'ora prima della chiusura. | [Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Puglia - Ministero della cultura](https://museipuglia.cultura.gov.it/ticket/); [doc 2](https://museipuglia.cultura.gov.it/musei/castello-svevo-di-bari/) | medium | 2027-06-30 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/region.puglia.1600.jpg
Author: acediscovery. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panorama_Polignano-a-Mare.jpg

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/attrazioni/grotte-di-castellana.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/atracciones/grotte-di-castellana.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/attractions/grotte-di-castellana.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/grotte-di-castellana.md