Carlsbad Caverns

The crazy caves of Carlsbad Caverns National Park (www.nps.gov/cave) will remind visitors of something cooked up by surrealist painter Salvador Dali. Located beneath the deserts of southeastern New Mexico, with some 85 distinct ‘rooms’ and ceilings up to 20 stories high, explorers will find bizarre shapes throughout the subterranean limestone stalactites and stalagmites. Many of the best-known caves — such as the Big Room and Lechugilla Cave — are well lit and maintained so that visitors can explore with relative ease. Combining a trip to the area with hiking in the Guadalupe Mountains or heading cross-country to national monuments such as White Sands (www.nps.gov/whsa) or the Gila Cliff Dwellings (www.nps.gov/gicl) can make for an excellent vacation. But be sure to schedule enough time to see the caves, and maybe check out the evening bat flight. A newly renovated visitors’ centre offers a swell introduction.