Now let's go underground to a subterranean world called Linville Caverns that is sure to leave unforgettable memories.

[bright music] - In 1822 there were some fishermen fishing in the stream just outside the entrance there and they noticed fish swimming in and out under the rocks.

So they decided to see where those fish were going and they crawled through a small opening where the caverns door is located now or very close to it, and popped up inside the caverns.

- So around 1937, John Quincy Gilkey Corporation opened it up to the public for tours.

Then we had the major flood that happened in 1940, took roughly a year or so after the '40 flood to reopen it in which the ownership that now owns it took over, it opened it back up in '41 for tours again.

- What's it look like?

Well, it's fairly colorful.

There's four or five unique colors just from different mineral deposits in the water.

There's some fish that swim in there, these basic cave formations stalactites, stalagmites.

Sometimes there's bats in the wintertime.

It's limestone, so it's easily dissolved by water.

There's a underground spring that flows out of the cave and just over time, it's just slowly eating its way through the rock that is inside of the cave.

As it makes its way out of the stream.

- When you go in, it's going to be chilly.

It's 52 degrees year round.

It's short, a short tour, so it, it doesn't overwhelm most people.

There's a lot of history here, a lot of natural beauty here and it's a wonderful place to be, I think.

[bright music] They're going to talk about how the caverns was formed, how it was discovered, show you different formations that nature has formed inside and have been named different things.

Our tour guides try to make it a fun and informative tour and try to get people involved in what they're doing as well.

- This is mostly Pisgah National Forest that's further up the road.

It's about 500 acres that they own out here.

So once you get around the curve up the mountain there, that's when the Pisgah National Forest starts.

Up the road you have the Linville Falls, you have the Gorge area, Wiseman's View.

Yeah, the Linville Gorge area is another nice spot to go and see after caverns.

The tour guys, they have great information.

They also put their personal information they have with the Cavern Society and it makes it very fun in there.

When you come out of there, you feel very educated and very informed.

- I was very surprised by the shady dolomite that Steven was telling us about and how old it was and the fossilized material inside the rock.

I thought that was really cool.

You know, you're so enthralled inside with the formations and just the intricate history and the people that work there are so friendly.

- We have a relatively small gift shop, but we have a lot of unique items.

There is a stone in the caverns known as onyx or pink onyx, and we carry onyx in the caverns because of this.

So you can view it as a souvenir from Linville Caverns that represents us to a point.

- The cave is federally protected, it's a natural heritage area so we can take rock out of the cave to make things in the gift shop.

A lot of people ask that.

We have to get the rocks brought in just because of that.

If you've never been to a cave at all, this is a very good one to start because it's not a very large cave.

You're in there about 35 or 40 minutes.

So if you think you may be claustrophobic or want maybe a new experience with some small children, it's a very good cave to do that with.

It's a good beginner cave, I would say.

- This is our first visit.

Anna wanted to come see a cave for her birthday, so that's why we're here.

- I didn't know if that, if you touched it, the oil in your hands would stop making it grow.

- Yeah, yeah, I didn't know that either.

It was just beautiful to see, you know, you forget about being closed in and it's just amazing to see how old everything is and all the different formations that are there.

- What I feel is special about it, it is one of the most unique places in North Carolina when we see that you are enjoying yourself, that makes our time there more enjoyable.

[light music] - You'll find Linville Caverns at 19929 U.S. Highway 221 in Marion.

They're open for tours from March through November.

Give them a call at [828] 756-4171 or visit their website at linvillecaverns.com to learn more.