St Michaels Cave has interested visitors to Gibraltar ever since the days of the Romans. The cave was long believed to be bottomless. This probably gave birth to the story that the Rock of Gibraltar was linked to the Continent of Africa by a subterranean passage over 24 km long under the straits of Gibraltar.

Pomponious Mela, one of the earliest writers on geography who lived about the beginning of the Christian era named the cave after a similar cave in his home city in Italy.

It was at one time believed that when the Spaniards first tried to retake Gibraltar from Britain in 1704, a party of 500 of their troops spent a night in the cave after climbing the East face of the Rock. Next morning, however the alarm was given and troops of the garrison surprised and overpowered the raiding party .Many other small caves are linked to the main chamber.