A dive into Geta caves and gorges

Geta caves are among the finest caves in Finland. They are located in the northern part of the mainland Åland.

The Geta caves are accessible via a nature trail, and in the area, visitors can also find a viewing tower, which offers stunning views from one of Åland’s highest points. There are other things to do here, but more on that at the end of the post.

Getabergen, which means the Geta hill, was the first land visible in Åland after the ice age. The first settlers arrived in this area about 6,000 years ago.

Today, the hill rises 107 meters above sea level. From the top of the hill there are wide views of the surrounding terrain, the views are even a bit better from the observation tower.

I highly recommend visiting Geta and exploring these amazing caves.

Along the trail, you will soon encounter a vast area filled with piles of rocks that hikers have been building over the years.

You will find hundreds of these structures here. Normally it is forbidden to build this kind of rock columns.

From now on you will see various magnificent rock and cliff formations everywhere. This is where the circle path begins, which means, once you have circled the path, you return to this same place. Caves are along the path to the left.

As you continue on the trail, you will come to the “Spanish Steps” and the “Amphitheatre”.

I may have missed the Spanish Steps, at least I couldn’t figure out what particular stair-shaped stone formations they would be, but there was no mistaking the amphitheater. It was a vast rocky area, as it were “crushed” so that it had become like a towering theatre stand.

These formations were created 1600 million years ago when red granite erupted from the depths of the earth. Since then, the Ice Age has also left its own marks on the rock.

The labyrinth of caves

After the Amphitheatre, you will come across the first caves. It is easy to miss them if you don’t pay attention and just keep following the path.

These caves are located on the right side of the trail, so you must walk right off the trail. There is a slope marked on the map at this point, walk along its edge and you will find the caves.

To explore the caves, remember to take a torch with you and wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.

You will be fascinated by the labyrinth of caves and gorges that stretch under the cliff and between the boulders.

The caves, however, are not closed, instead the light is always shining from some corner of the rock, so that even a person such as myself, who dreads cramped places, enjoyed exploring them for a long time.

Take your time exploring, it’s so much fun!

After enjoying these caves, return to the trail and follow it further down to the largest cave in the area. It is called Djupviksgrottan, named after the bay Djupviken. The cave is by the next slope on the map.

The doorway to the cave is shallow, but inside the cave expands and it is guite large. The locals used this cave as a refuge to hide from the Russian invaders during the Great Northern War (1714–1721).

Close to the cave, there is a peculiar boulder shaped like a ship’s bow. It looks like it has fallen off the cliff.

You will encounter amazing rock formations and big boulders everywhere. I didn’t realize something like this existed in Finland!

Be aware of the challenging trail

After exploring the cave, continue down the path to Djupviken, which is a natural harbour famous among boaters. This is a good place for a picnic break, if you haven’t had your snack by now.

From the bay, the trail continues back up to the cliffs. At this point the route is steep and challenging in some places, the path seems to go vertically up the cliff. Especially in rainy weather, the cliff is slippery, so be careful!

On the way back, the trail passes through another gorge known as Signhild’s Crib. According to the information sign, the gorge is several kilometers long, and it sometimes narrows down to a hand’s breadth and sometimes widens to several meters.

There’s a legend about an English princess named Signhild who arrived in Åland on a missionary journey. Unfortunately, her preaching did not go well, and the locals wanted to kill her.

She managed to escape and hide with her horse in this gorge, which ultimately saved her life.

The trail’s length is 5 kilometers. The hike typically takes about 2 hours to complete, but it propaby takes longer if you’re keen on exploring the caves thoroughly.

I why wouldn’t you, after all, it’s not every day that you come across caves like this in Finland!

Below are a few more pictures from Geta’s caves and a trail map.

What to take with you?

For a cave tour, I recommend the following equipment:

• A torch for exploring caves. Headtorch is the best, then your hands will remain free.
• Clothes that can get dirty. There are cramped places between the caves and you need to rumble.
• Stirdy shoes with a firm sole. Rocks are steep in places.
• Snacks or picnic. An excursion is not an excursion without food!
• Something to sit on. It is more comfortable to sit on something soft rather than on a bare rock.
• A camera or phone for taking those awesome cave photographs.

How To Get There?

You can see the location of Geta in this map.

By bus

There is a bus connection from Mariehamn (line no. 2). The bus goes to the village of Geta, from where you’ll have a 1.3 kilometre walk (uphill!).

By car

By car you can set your navigator to Soltuna Restaurant & Café. The distance is 40 kilometres from Mariehamn.

If you want to explore other nature trails in Åland, try this:

Other things to do

Soltuna Restaurang & Cafe has also accommodation available. There are cabins and caravan spots on the area.

There is a disc golf course on the top of the hill. I saw many players during my visit.

The area is a popular bouldering site. Bouldering is rock climbing, where you move sideways on a cliff without any ropes. You put a mattress underneath in case you fall. I saw a few bouldering crews along the way.

Soltuna Restaurant & Cafe has also a minigolf.

You can read about other attractions in the Geta area in this municipality’s tourism flyer. The text can also be found in English.

Have a nice cave exploration tour!