For the first time in years, Natural Bridge Caverns, the largest cavern in Texas, is offering a rare opportunity to get a close-up view of a “spectacular and unique natural phenomenon” — and it won’t last long. 

The family-owned show cave announced on Wednesday, April 22, that aquifer tours are now available for purchase after the heavy rains poured down on San Antonio over the past week, particularly hitting hard in Comal County, where the cavern is located. The cave’s website says the precipitation revealed a “hidden aquifer.” 

Winter D. Prosapio, director of communications for Natural Bridge Caverns, however, tells MySA that it’s been 10 years since the last Aquifer Tour was available, due to the ongoing drought in the Texas Hill Country.

“Hydrologically, we needed to have enough rain to make up the deficit that’s been ongoing, then we had to have the rain fall in the right area, and then we needed it to fall in a sustained way,” she said. “All those things came together with this rainfall.”

And according to her, the result is something stunning to behold. 

“Our cavern system is a living system,” said Prosapio. “Water flows in all the time. But right now it’s joyously loud in our rooms with water dripping down from crevices and cracks everywhere—as it has for eons,” she said. 

According to the Show Cave’s website, water from the Trinity Aquifer has risen through its discovery passages, which will temporarily allow guests to observe it fully. Buried deep in the earth, aquifers are millions of years old, and they supply about 60% of water used by human beings, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. 

Prosapio says it’s completely safe to go on the aquifer tour. The cavern has a special trail, built to allow guests to see all the beauty of the cave system without getting wet. While the top of the Trinity Aquifer is always visible on cave tours, right now, you can see it full of water. However, it might last only for a few days before the water drains through the cave’s porous rock. 

Find it: 26495 Natural Bridge Caverns Rd, San Antonio, TX 78266