Extreme Sports Tourism
The cave is a popular vertical caving destination. The high side of the mouth is covered with heavy foliage, so cavers most often fix their ropes on the low side, where bolts have been fixed into the rock and the area is clear of obstructions. Rappelling to the floor takes about twenty minutes, in which time abseil equipment and rope can heat up to hazardous levels. Climbing back out may take from forty minutes to more than two hours. A person without a parachute would take almost ten seconds to freefall from the mouth to the floor, hence the pit is also popular with extreme sports enthusiasts for BASE jumping. An average-sized hot air balloon has been navigated through the 160-foot (49 m) wide opening and landed on the floor below. Base jumpers can get out in about 10 minutes using an extraction rope. (video: Journey to the Earth's Core-History Channel). Base jumping, or being extracted by rope is no longer allowed. Local villagers are focused on protecting the birds.
Read more about this topic: Cave Of Swallows
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