Carlsbad Caverns

The crazy caves of Carlsbad Caverns National Park (www.nps.gov/cave) will remind visitors of something cooked up by surrealist painter Salvador Dali. Located beneath the deserts of southeastern New Mexico, with some 85 distinct &lsquorooms&rsquo and ceilings up to 20 stories high, explorers will find bizarre shapes throughout the subterranean limestone stalactites and stalagmites. Many of the best-known caves &mdash such as the Big Room and Lechugilla Cave &mdash are well lit and maintained so that visitors can explore with relative ease. Combining a trip to the area with hiking in the Guadalupe Mountains or heading cross-country to national monuments such as White Sands (www.nps.gov/whsa) or the Gila Cliff Dwellings (www.nps.gov/gicl) can make for an excellent vacation. But be sure to schedule enough time to see the caves, and maybe check out the evening bat flight. A newly renovated visitors&rsquo centre offers a swell introduction.