Gangala Valley

Overview

Gangala Valley, located in Nanjo City, Okinawa Prefecture, is a valley formed by the collapse of a limestone cave. While it was a cave hundreds of thousands of years ago, it's now a lush forest. Spanning approximately 14,500 tsubo (about 48,000 square meters) with a walking distance of about 1km – roughly the size of one Tokyo Dome. Within the forest, you'll find the 20-meter-tall Oofu (Ufusyu) Gajumaru tree towering over the former cave site, and the Ikiga and Inagu caves, places of worship for praying for fertility. At the Sakitari Cave site within Gangala Valley, discoveries include the world's oldest shell fishing hooks (approximately 23,000 years old), clay fragments with claw-shaped patterns (approximately 8,000 years old), and human remains believed to be approximately 9,000 years old. Excavation research on the Port Kawaminato people continues today, conducted by the Okinawa Pleistocene Site Research Team (a group of researchers from the National Museum of Nature and Science, the University of Tokyo, and local Okinawa researchers), along with the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum. Gangala Valley opened to the public as a tourist destination in April 1972, just before Okinawa's reversion to Japan, with the aim of creating a bright spot in the southern region. However, a few years later, pollution occurred due to livestock wastewater flowing in from upstream of the river running through the valley, leading to an immediate closure. After waiting 30 years for the river environment to recover, it reopened in August 2008 as a guided tour-only area with reservations required. Gangala Valley is a precious place where you can simultaneously enjoy Okinawa's history and nature. A guided tour allows for a deeper understanding. The tour covers highlights such as the Oofu Gajumaru tree and the Ikiga and Inagu caves, along with explanations of the history of the Sakitari Cave site and the formation of Gangala Valley. The tour guides are knowledgeable about Okinawan history and culture, allowing you to ask questions on these topics as well.