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Must see, Candraloni sinkhole

beautiful karst sinkhole

The Grotta dei Candraloni, a sinkhole where the waters of the stream of the same name fall.

Finally, a protection was placed on the road adjacent to the cave, a very, very dangerous point overlooking the cave. Pay attention.

Always spectacular to visit this place, pay close attention to the slippery surface.

The Grotta dei Candraloni is a natural sinkhole hidden in the Verteglia plateau in Montella, in the province of Avellino. The main entrance of the cave is hidden by beech woods and you have to climb to an altitude of 1220 meters above sea level, from here you enter the mysterious bowels of the path that extends for 840 meters, while the depth is 65 meters. The first obligatory passage of the path of the beech groves at the entrance to the cave consists of a series of natural ladders to the left of the homonymous Candraloni stream. Then, only the most experienced, motivated and equipped can continue, remaining on the left, for a climb of a few meters, made a bit slippery by the presence of water, while the many twigs are more characteristic and for those who know how to use them, even useful ones. and trunks of trees present, lying there by the bad weather of winter and by the strange games of nature. It then begins along the main branch of the cave, a "karst channel", which extends for 400 meters and leads to the river delle Acque Nere. This is the easiest and most spacious section of the sinkhole, although it is very likely the presence of mud, even high, and the "sucker effect" that can cause if you sink with your feet. Not infrequently, it can also reach the knees and often also dirties concretions and stalactites. The path then begins to tighten, becomes a bottleneck, even quite full of water at certain times of the year, slowing down the continuation considerably, which culminates in the plain of the Black Waters below.

The Candraloni sinkhole is located on the massif of Mount Termino within the Regional Park of the Picentini Mountains at an altitude of 1120 meters and has a development of 840 meters by 65 meters of depth. The first passage from the path of the beech forest to the entrance of the cave, I would dare to say "obligatory", consists of a series of natural ladders on the orographic left of the Candraloni stream of the same name, then remaining on the left a climbing of a few meters is required. completely easy, both for the very slippery rock and for the presence of branches and trunks of all thickness, which if on the one hand can prove useful for a few more grips, on the other hand they give a lot of annoyance because they are an obstacle that slows down and exacerbates the progression. The cave has a main branch about 400 meters long, this "karst channel" leads the river to the Black Waters, it can be traveled easily as it is large and spacious, the only drawback is the amount of mud that weighs down the movements because it sometimes sinks up to the top the knees and the suction effect tends to keep the foot stuck, there are minute debris everywhere, even the concretions and stalactites are soiled that they seem to be made of earth and leaves. The first bottleneck that you meet passes easily despite the presence of water, but we come to the second, which would require you to get totally wet almost up to the bust, in all honesty for today we are not willing to this small sacrifice and we decide to view the other branch which we will find to be much more interesting. Already in the sixties the very first explorations of the GS CAI of Naples and CSR stopped at this bottleneck. Twenty years later, thanks also to the realization of the topographical survey, it was understood that the waters could be conveyed into the underlying plan of the Black Waters, thus various work phases with support of coloring tests and a 40-meter excavation in the terminal siphon, led in 1987 to the opening of a passable passage in the Candraloni - Acque Nere system and to the exploration of other short branches. The most important secondary branch is taken in the opposite direction to the first, practically as soon as you descend the difference in height of the initial shaft you proceed to the right in the ascent. The small advantage is that there is no water and above all the passages are relatively clean, so we have the opportunity to admire numerous karst shapes by taking some photos without the hassle of getting wet or smudging the camera with mud. Beyond the inevitable stalactites and stalagmites, our attention is captured by a fault line on our left, while on the right a sequence of tubs and tubs that diametrically measure from a few cm up to more than a meter, together with particular calcite flows, all proceeding in a space no more than two meters wide until you reach the "jump of the tape" a large well that theoretically rises in the direction of the source. In the distribution of calcite, it causes the eccentric to take anomalous directions, even twisting or meandering, they could also be connected to the action of moderate air currents which by moving the water droplets divert the distribution of calcite. "Francesco Cosentini". http://www.caisalerno.it/2009/allegati/Paolo_Sarni/2017.01.21%20ANELLO%20DEI%20CANDRALONI.pdf

The Candraloni cave can be visited for a good stretch. We recommend the use of equipment and clothing suitable for speleological use as well as a good knowledge of the area. Absolutely not recommended to venture alone.