Txaruta II. TX-2

This cavity is the most important one in the Montes de Txaruta. The entrance shaft is wide and spectacular, 60 metres deep and decorated with ivy and vegetation. At its base there is a mountain of leaves.

From the base of the shaft and to the left runs the greater development of the cavity; even in its tectonic aspect it seems a different pit from the gallery described above. Shafts and meanders follow one another and the technical difficulties increase. At the start shafts are more frequent, with as many as 2 parallel shafts joining the same points, and further on, in a more horizontal development, we find the Musicalia meander, a narrow meander lined with formations in which we advance at different heights. At the end of this meander we come to new shafts. After descending the 18 m shaft, the pit develops in two directions, both with numerous shafts. On the left we reach the -337 m level and on the right, ascending, we reach the -252 m level via the pozos del abuelo, which lead to a chamber. The new zone explored leads us to the not inconsiderable depth of -337 m, after forcing a passage through a narrow meander at the -251 m level. This bottomless meander allows its descent some metres further on, leading to a new zone of shafts alternating with more or less narrow passages. After these, the pit takes on a horizontal character through a meander with water. After a couple of steps one reaches a heavily decorated meander that gradually narrows, preventing continuation.

In the wide zone there is a gallery with a flowstone floor and a beautiful column; in the dry gours we find the skeletons of some animal, and throughout the whole gallery we observe more bones.

The chamber to which the pozos del abuelo lead receives a clear inflow of water that is lost through a narrow meander; at the head of this meander there is a narrow fossil gallery of horizontal development. From a narrow meander onwards the circulation of water becomes evident.

From the base of the entrance shaft we can continue to the right along the obvious gallery and, after a few metres, descend a 14-metre shaft that leads nowhere; or we can also turn left to continue along a very beautiful fossil gallery, which opens out through a meander that we descend on rope (14 m) and reach a very wide zone. After trying to follow the water's passage and after a narrow passage we cannot continue; nor can we proceed through some crawls or after a brief climb to a window.

The left-hand route begins with a discreet damp gallery that, after a sharp turn to the right and having left a branch to our left, leads into a meander. We descend the meander and come upon a T-shaped gallery. Then, along the main gallery, we descend successive shafts that leave us in the dinosaur chamber. From here on, progress through the cave continues through a narrow meander.

The cavity is the result of work carried out over several years by G.E. Otxola E.T., subsidised by the Department of Public Works of the Government of Navarra. Salamanders are often seen in the mountain of leaves at the base of the entrance shaft.