Jenolan Caves

Jubilee Cave

Useful Information

Location:	4655 Jenolan Caves Road, Jenolan Caves NSW 2790. 182 km west of Sydney
Open:	Currently not offered. [2023]
Fee:	Currently not offered. [2023]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	LED Lighting
Dimension:	L=20,000 m, VR=200 m, A=790 m asl, T=16 °C.
Guided tours:	D=2 h, St=679.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Jenolan Caves, 4655 Jenolan Caves Road, Jenolan Caves NSW 2790, Tel: +61-2-6359-3911, Tel: 1300-76-33-11. 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

1893	discovered by J. Wilson.
1894	additional parts discovered by J. Wilson.

Description

Jubilee Cave was named such as it was discovered in the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria's reign, 1893. It is full of impressive speleothems, especially helictites. Being the most strenuous of all caves, with a huge number of steps, the beauty is worth the effort. The passage is also rather narrow, at least compared to other caves at Jenolan.

The cave is entered through Ridleys Shortcut from Imperial Cave, which is the passage through which the cave was discovered, and still the only entrance. Ridleys Shortcut accesses Cooks Cavern, a small chamber in the middle of the U shaped passage. Both branches are visited and finally the tour returns to the entrance. Cooks Cavern was named to the honour of Joseph Cook, a former Prime Minister of Australia. But at the time it was named, he was member for Hartley.

The right branch has the Pincushion an extraordinary cluster of helictites, and the Victoria Bower, named after Queen Victoria, with the Gem of Jenolan at the far end. The name is well-deserved.

The left branch is narrow and sometimes low, the group has to crouch down to reach Alabaster Hall at the end of the cave passage. Imressive white stalactites and stalagmites are mixed with orange calcite crystals.