Long before skyscrapers punctured the sky, people were hand carving entire worlds into rock. Across continents, cliffs, canyons and volcanic landscapes have been hewn into hidden cities, monasteries and temples.
Some were created as refuges from invading armies, others to escape unforgiving climates or honour the gods, but all stand as extraordinary feats of human ingenuity. All of them have won Unesco listing.
Some of these settlements are so otherworldly they’ve become unlikely stars of the silver screen, from James Bond’s high-speed chase through Matera, to Luke Skywalker’s desert home in Tunisia.
We’ve scoured the globe to bring you eight of the world’s most remarkable cave cities. Follow us beneath the surface.
Sassi di Matera
Italy
For centuries, families lived in the caves carved into this limestone gorge in southern Italy, but by the 1950s, poverty, overcrowding and poor sanitation forced residents out. Matera became one of Italy’s “forgotten cities” until Unesco recognition in 1993 prompted a remarkable restoration and its captivating huddle of boutique hotels, restaurants and galleries won it a starring role in James Bond film No Time to Die.
How to do it
Ryanair flies direct from Stansted to Bari, from there it’s a one hour 15-minute bus ride to Matera with SITA Sud (€6/£5). Stay at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita (doubles from £200) – the 18 ancient caves serve as elegant, minimalist suites. UK nationals are subject to the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES).
Göreme
Turkey
Millions of years ago Mount Erciyes, Hasan and Melendiz erupted covering Cappadocia in layers of ash that hardened into soft tuff. Wind and rain eroded the softer rock beneath leaving harder basalt caps and creating distinctive pillars – some more than 130ft tall – nicknamed fairy chimneys.
Locals hollowed out these lunar-like formations to make homes, while Byzantine monks transformed many into hidden monasteries, chapels and churches adorned with vivid frescoes. Explore the Unesco-listed region on foot or, best of all, from above with a sunrise hot-air balloon ride.
How to do it
Explore offers an eight-day Walking in Cappadocia trip from £895 per person, excluding flights. UK nationals can visit Turkey without a visa for up to 90 days.
Vardzia
Georgia
In 1283 a significant earthquake exposed the honeycomb maze of this staggering cave city that was built into a 1,640ft-high cliff above Georgia’s Mtkvari River in the 12th century by Queen Tamar of Georgia – the first woman to be crowned as a King in Georgian history.
With 400 rooms, 25 wine cellars, a bakery and 13 churches – including the frescoed Church of Dormition – all linked by tunnels, it housed monks, soldiers and villagers. Legend said its name came when Tamar became lost in the caves and cried “ak var dzia” – “here I am”. A small monastic community still lives in sections of the caves.
How to do it
Wild Frontiers offers a nine-day Georgia: Land of Myths and Mountains tour that includes a visit to Vardzia from £1,590 per person, excluding flights.
Matmata
Tunisia
Buried beneath the desert hills of southern Tunisia, this troglodyte village was carved by Berber families seeking refuge from the searing Saharan heat. Some dwellings are thought to be more than 1,000 years old and the settlement remained largely isolated until Tunisian independence in 1956 brought roads.
Its otherworldly landscape later caught Hollywood’s eye: the Hotel Sidi Driss became Luke Skywalker’s childhood home in Star Wars, with fans still able to see film props and memorabilia.
How to do it
Corinthian Travel offers a 10-day Tunisia: Star Wars on the Planet Tatooine tour that visits Matmata from £3,280 per person based on two sharing. Includes internal flights. UK nationals can visit Tunisia without a visa for up to 90 days.
Ellora Caves
India
Hewn into a basalt cliff in Maharashtra, the Ellora Caves are among the greatest feats of rock-cut architecture on Earth. Created between the sixth and 10th centuries, the 34 Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves stand side by side in a rare celebration of religious coexistence.
The showstopper is the remarkable Kailasa Temple, carved from a single rock by thousands of men chiselling downwards. Top tip: the Jain caves attract far fewer crowds and contain some of Ellora’s most delicate carvings.
How to do it
Bamboo Travel offers a 14-day Deccan Odyssey luxury train tour that stops at Ellora from £6,765 per person based on a shared room, including international flights. UK citizens require an e-visa (US$10–25 (£8–£19)) to enter India.
Longmen Grottoes
China
One of the world’s greatest open-air galleries, the Longmen Grottoes shelter China’s most important collection of Buddhist art. Spread along the banks of the Yi River and carved over four centuries (from AD 493) into limestone cliffs, the caverns shelter more than 100,000 statues – from tiny carvings to the majestic 56ft Vairocana Buddha. For an extra dose of ethereal beauty, visit at dusk during peak season when they illuminate the grottoes.
How to do it
Wendy Wu Tours offers an 18-day Ancient China tour that visits the grottoes from £3,990 per person, including international flights. Until Dec 31, 2026, you can enter China visa-free for stays of up to 30 days.
Mesa Verde National Park
USA
The first US national park created to preserve human history, Mesa Verde – in south-west Colorado – protects dwellings dating from the 7th to the 14th century of the Ancestral Puebloan people who made this region their home for more than 700 years. Explore a lost world of cave dwellings, including Balcony House, Long House, Spruce Tree and the spectacular Cliff Palace, a 217-room settlement tucked beneath a vast rock overhang.
How to do it
Audley Travel can arrange a 15-day tailor-made self-drive Cultures and Canyons of Western USA tour from £5,940 per person, including international flights. UK nationals require an ESTA to enter the US.
Mada’in Salih (Hegra)
Saudi Arabia
With Petra currently off limits to travellers, head instead to Hegra, the Nabataeans’ second city. Carved into the rose-red sandstone cliffs of Saudi Arabia’s AlUla valley more than 2,000 years ago, its hundreds of desert-air-preserved tombs culminate in Qasr Al-Farid – the spectacular, unfinished “Lonely Castle”, marooned in the desert like a jagged molar.
Saudi Arabia’s first Unesco World Heritage Site, Hegra offers an extraordinary glimpse into the civilisation behind Petra, without the crowds.
How to do it
Exodus offers a 13-day Saudi Arabia Explorer tour from £5,689 per person excluding flights. UK nationals require an e-visa to enter Saudi Arabia.