Cova Santa

Santa Caves


Useful Information

Location: Santa Jose, Ibiza. 7 km west of Ibiza on EI-700, at the turnoff towards Sa Caleta.
(38.89449781041184, 1.3315334554873455)
Open: All year Tue-Fri 10-13, 15-19, Sat, Sun, Hol 10-19.
[2020]
Fee: Restaurant: free.
[2020]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System LightColoured Light
Dimension:  
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed, except during events
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: Cova Santa, Ctra. San José, 07817 Ibiza, Islas Baleares, Tel: +34-971-395-714 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

15th century cave discovered.
1957 cave opened to the public.
2018 partnership with Grup Iglesias.

Description

Cova Santa is a restaurant with a show cave in a suburb of Ibiza. Normally caves with a San or Santa in the name are either used as churches and dedicated to a saint, or named so after a nearby town. In this case the cave is said to give the name to nearby village San José or San Jorge. The river in front of the cave is also called Torrent de Sa Cova Santa, although it is not connected to the cave.

The cave was known several centuries. According to legend the cave was once a hideout for pirates. However, there is no evidence for this legend inside the cave. Its strategic use for such a purpose is actually rather low. As it was rather big and had speleothems it was developed as a show cave in the early days of tourism shortly after World War II. The cave is developed with concrete trails and staircases, iron railings and electric light. Some coloured light is a little annoying, but probably fitting for a cave which is also used as an extension to the restaurant in front.

Many show caves have have a restaurant or at least a cafe at the entrance to provide food and drink to the visitors and for additional income. Here it seems at some point the cave became a sort of additional feature of the restaurant. The huge restaurant and disco is nevertheless not inside the cave, only the wine cellar of the restaurant is located in the first chamber of the show cave. But the cave has a sound and light show which makes it an extension of the disco. The restaurant is operated by Espai Kru, a prestigious restaurant group in Spain. The fresh ingredients are cooked with techniques from different cultures, such as Japan, China, Peru, Mexico and Korea. They seem to be quite fond of raw food such as sashimis, carpaccios and tartares. Most of the restaurant is open air, terraces in front of the cave entrance with flat roofs and tents for the rain. So the restaurant became at least a sight of its own.

There are numerous events at the location during the years. Tickets are sold online from their website.