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You don't need to be an eccentric billionaire or rugged survivalist to take up residence in a cave. All around the globe, living in an rocky recess is just a fact of life and can be way more homey than any manmade structure. Here are some real estate destinations to investigate should you attempt to cultivate that post-modern caveman chic.

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Swiftlet nests command a high price for the thick texture they give bird's nest soup. But how does one go about farming birds' nests? By building imposing concrete towers, of course. More »
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These conical, seven-century-old caves in Kandovan, Iran are made of ancient volcanic ash. They're still occupied and open to tourists visiting northwestern Iran. More »
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For years, scientists believed that the colorful deposits found in lava caves around the world were mineral deposits, but more recently they've discovered that the collections — ranging from blue-green drips to shimmering pink hexagons — are actually microbe poop. More »
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This photo looks like it could have been taken on another planet - miners harvesting dilithium, perhaps. But this cave full of monstrous crystals is located in Mexico, and the crystals themselves are a form of gypsum, one of the most common elements on Earth. What geologic processes caused the crystals to get so freaking big? More »
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In Tokyo, retail stores are turning into enormous metal caves. Here's one, installed by artist Kimihiko Okada on the ground floor of the Diesel store in Aoyama. Okada took a giant sheet of metal just millimeters thin and molded it into stalactite shapes. It looks like what you'd imagine nature might become 100 years from now when we all live in domes and are trying to recreate the natural world from industrial waste. More pretty caves below. More »
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