Tuckaleechee Caverns Remains Family Business

Wednesday June 23, 2010

TOWNSEND, Tenn.-The Vananda family has taken its business underground. Phillip and Steven Vananda and their families are now operating the business, Tuckaleechee Caverns, which his father started in 1953 on a wing and a prayer.

The cave served as the late Bill Vananda's playground when he was growing up in the Dry Valley area of Townsend. From the time he was four years old, he would spend time exploring the underground wonder. When he reached adulthood, he decided he wanted to open the cave commercially. He joined with partner Harry Myers, and the two set out to improve upon what nature had already provided.

"They went all over the Southeast and all over the country to see commercial caves," Steve Vananda said. "The first two years the cave was open, there was no electricity in the valley, so you had to go through with Coleman lanterns. They built wooden steps and used crushed limestone on the trails. People laughed at them; they thought they were wasting their money."

Money in those days was tight for Bill Vananda. He worked in the off-season as a carpenter and used any additional funds on improving the cave. He and Myers did most of the work with help from family and friends.

As popularity of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park soared, so did that of the caverns. Money that was made from the cave was sunk back into the venture.

In 1982, Bill Vananda bought out Myers and became the sole owner of Tuckaleechee Caverns. Steve Vananda has worked at the caverns off and on since 1965. When Bill Vananda was diagnosed with lung cancer, Steve took over operations of the business.

"I worked other jobs, but I knew this is what I wanted to do," Steve Vananda said.

The National Cave Association rates Tuckaleechee Caverns, which means "Peaceful Valley" in Cherokee, as a Class B cave, because it draws between 50,000 and 100,000 visitors a year. A one-mile trip takes visitors through the cool, damp cave. They file past formations that have been there for thousands of years.

As visitors tour the quiet underground attraction they can hear calcite dripping from the stalactites. They look on in amazement at the formations jutting from the floor and ceiling of the cave. The rock and crystal formations are illuminated to create a fairyland atmosphere.
Visitors to Townsend and the national park frequently make the caverns, which are open to the public from March to November, a stop on their journey. And school groups from all over the country and from Canada use the cave as an underground classroom.

"I think it's a good cave," Steve Vananda said. "I've been through caves all over the country, and have only seen two that are comparable." Interestingly enough, the caves are rumored to have hid Cherokee Indians in the 1840s during the Trail of Tears.

The caverns are located on Old Tuckaleechee Road in Townsend. For more information on the caverns visit www.tuckaleecheecaverns.com or call (865) 448-2274. Townsend is a gateway to the national park and is about 45 minutes from Knoxville on Hwy. 321. For more information on the Townsend area, please contact the Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-525-6834, (865) 448-6134, or visit the bureau online at www.smokymountains.org.

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