New Zealand
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
Welcome underground in New Zealand! The Waitomo Caves are limestone caverns lit up by thousands of tiny glowing creatures clinging to the ceiling like a galaxy of stars.
Why is it special?
Its ceilings twinkle with thousands of tiny blue-green lights, made entirely by living glowworms.
Visitors glide through the caves by boat in near-total darkness, looking up at what feels like an underground sky full of stars.
How does it glow?
The lights aren't stars or crystals at all — they come from a glowworm species found only in New Zealand, called Arachnocampa luminosa.
Each glowworm makes its own light through a chemical reaction in its body, then dangles sticky silk threads to catch tiny flying insects drawn to the glow.
Amazing facts
A glowworm is actually the larva of a tiny fly, and it can glow for six to nine months before becoming an adult.
The limestone caves themselves were carved out over 30 million years by an underground river.
Quick facts
- A glowworm is actually the larva of a tiny fly, and it can glow for six to nine months before becoming an adult.
- The limestone caves themselves were carved out over 30 million years by an underground river.
- Local Māori chief Tane Tinorau first explored and mapped the caves by raft with an English surveyor back in 1887.
- The brighter a glowworm's light, the hungrier it usually is — a bright glow means it has more sticky threads waiting to catch food.