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A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits.
A show cave may be managed by a government or commercial organization and made accessible to the general public, usually for an entrance fee. Unlike wild caves, they may possess regular opening hours, guided group tours, constructed trails and stairs, color artificial illumination and other lighting, musical/video/laser shows and concerts, elevators, small trains, and boats if they contain underground water features, such as subterranean lakes. Some caves (mainly in Asia) open to the public have temples, monasteries and religious statues or monuments. They are often important tourist attractions - in 2012 Mammoth Cave was said to receive 400,000 visitors a year.
The development of electric lighting enabled the illumination of show caves. Early experiments with electric light in caves were carried out by Lieutenant Edward Cracknel in 1880 at Chifley Cave, Jenolan Caves, Australia. In 1881, Sloupsko-Šošůvské Jeskyně, Czech Republic, became the first cave in the world with electric arc light. This light did not use light bulbs, but electric with carbon electrodes, which burned down and had to be replaced after some time.
The first cave in the world with electric light bulbs as we know them today was the Kraushöhle in Austria in 1883. But the light was abandoned after only seven years and then visited with for decades. Today the cave is guided with handheld LED lamps. In 1884, two more caves were equipped with electric light, Postojna Cave, Slovenia, and Olgahöhle, Germany.
Because of the unwanted development of lampenflora (algae attracted to heat and light) around incandescent electric lights in show caves, many of these attractions, such as Ingleborough Cave in England, have switched to cooler-temperature LED lighting.
| Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst Caves | On the Subterranean World Heritage List. Several caves, including an ice cave and one festooned with aragonite crystals | |
| Alabaster Caverns | Located in the Alabaster Caverns State Park, Oklahoma. Formed in gypsum alabaster | |
| Aven d'Orgnac | Located near Orgnac-l'Aven. Highly decorated chambers | |
| Batu Caves | Located near Kuala Lumpur. A cave complex in a mogote, which contains a Hindu temple | |
| Bears' Cave | Located in Chişcău village, Bihor County. Renowned for its cave bear skeletons | |
| Blanchard Springs Caverns | Located in the Ozark–St. Francis National Forest, Arkansas. One guided route is long | |
| Blue Grotto | Located on Biševo island, Dalmatia region. A sea cave accessed by boat renowned for its blue light | |
| Cango Caves | Located near Oudtshoorn. South Africa's major show cave, with neolithic artefacts and paintings | |
| Carlsbad Caverns | Located in the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico. On the Subterranean World Heritage List | |
| Craighead Caverns | Located in Tennessee. Includes a lake | |
| Deer Cave | Located near Miri, Sarawak. With a huge passage up to wide, and high | |
| Dobšiná Ice Cave | Located near Dobšiná. An ice cave on the UNESCO World Heritage list | |
| Eisriesenwelt | Located near Salzburg. A major ice cave | |
| Frasassi Caves | Located near Ancona. A major, richly-decorated show cave | |
| Grotta Gigante | Located near Trieste. Includes a very large chamber accessed by suspended walkways | |
| Grutas de Cacahuamilpa | Located in the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park, Guerrero. Largest show cave in Mexico | |
| Huanglong Cave | Located in Zhangjiajie-Wulingyuan, Hunan. Major show cave having over a million visitors a year. | |
| La Verna Cave | Located in Sainte-Engrâce. With the largest chamber in a show cave | |
| Magura Cave | Located in the Balkan Mountains near Belogradchik. Includes access to Epipaleolithic paintings | |
| Mammoth Cave | Located in Kentucky. The world's longest cave system. On the Subterranean World Heritage List | |
| Manjanggul | Located on Jeju Island. A lava cave on the UNESCO World Heritage list | |
| Phong Nha Cave | Located near Quang Binh. UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Postojna Cave | Located near Postojna. The longest show cave in Europe and the birthplace of speleobiology; with small trains and concerts | |
| Viento Cave (Cueva del Viento) | Located on Tenerife, Canary Islands. The largest lava tube system in Europe | |
| Waitomo Glowworm Cave | Located in the Waitomo District, North Island. Famous for its glow worms |
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