Chambers of the Black Hand

I had a great time just doing the mine tour with a great guide who was knowledgeable and explained everything in a fun way that made it so enjoyable. Thank you.
I just wanted to see how a mine sort of operated and how the guys and gals actually got to the Opals.
Have to say that it looks like. Tough old life even with modern tools.
Good mine visit!

The carvings were very interesting and the animal ones were especially well done but the absolute best part was the informative guided mine tour, our tour guide was especially knowledgeable, probably because he had been a professional miner in the area for 30 years, so had some great stories! Well worth booking.

We booked the opal mine tour and sculpture tour as a package which saved $10 per person. After an introduction we worked our way around all 26 chambers to view the 900 sculptures hand carved in the sandstone walls. We then explored the lower level old mine on an informative and entertaining guided tour with John. Recommended!

Lots of details shared.
Both guides, William and Darren good. Could answer all our questions
Funky artwork

Amazing experience and lovely guides. The detail in the sculpture work is breathtaking and just gets more and more interesting. Even the kids loved it as they walked through looking for all of the Where’s Wallys hidden amongst the carvings.

Take some coins to leave with Buddha!

Definitely worth spending the money to go was definitely worth every cent absolutely amazing

This was an absolute surprise and delight to find in Lightning Ridge - I had not heard about this place during my previous visits many years ago. The tour takes about 1.5-2h and it is very fascinating to see what this one gentleman "past his prime" (he was 58 when he started) created in his moments of boredom. Ex military, not trained in arts at all, what he accomplished there is extraordinary and inspiring. We thoroughlly enjoyed our visit, the kids loved it too, and definitely recommend it.

My family and I visited and cost us $128 to do the self guided sculpture tour. 2a 2c would I pay this again yes most definitely put aside half a day thou I would love to to the mine tour as well which is $85 adults and $64 for children. It's an amazing experience the staff were great and they set up a challenge for kids strongly recommended this.

This was fascinating.
Really worth the visit.
Please be aware there are some very steep and very long stairs.
We saw some older folk really struggling with this and for sure they had no idea of how they were getting back up the stairs to the top.
Allow a good two hours here minimum.

This is a highly recommended opal mining tour/experience from both other travellers & locals. And it didn't disappoint.

All done underground. Approx a 2.5 hr guided tour and self walk through underground mine. Very interesting! Learnt a lot. The story on the sandstone Sculptures inside the walls of the mine is fascinating. Beautiful shop to purchase opals inside, too.

Easy to book & pay online. I did both the opal mine tour & and sculpture tour. $85 for both tours, per person. $48 for opal tour only.
I'd highly recommend this tour when umin Lightning Ridge. But in my opinion, l thought the price was a little $$$$.

Amazing experience, imagine all of this being created by a man using only a butter knife and forks. Doing both the mine tour and the Chambers Tour was excellent. Informative and awesome.

Had a great tour through the underground sculptures. For an artist with no training they are amazing with very recognisable people
Guides were very friendly.
Was lovely and cool and took about an hour to walk our way through.
Highly recommended for something different to do.

Amazing rock carvings by a very talented miner, a must visit in lightning Ridge

Highly recommend seeing the sculptures by Ron Canlin. An impressive body of work is on display, which for me, gets better and better as the artist hones his skills. I wasn't a fan of the sculptures that had been painted, personally feel the raw stone tells it's story enough. But overall this underground space and the story behind it is rather amazing. You'll need to book in advance and it's easier done online. We had a verbal introduction at the start and the. We had time to enjoy the rest of the sculptures in our own time.

The underground sculptures are truely amazing. We weren't sure we wanted to spend the money to go, as the kids didnt really fancy going (8 & 10), however, It was worth every dollar! We all loved it! I could have spent hours there taking it all in. Such a unique experience. I'm looking forward to going back again one day.
Everyone working there were really lovely and friendly. 5 stars

A highlight of Lightning Ridge, a very worthwhile informative experience. You go down a real mine with a real miner. The colourful stories and experiences of a seasoned miner make the tour so much more and compliment all the facts, figures and history of opal mining in Lighting ridge. Another highlight of the mine is the art work. Animals, people, pop culture characters, the list goes on, all carved into the mine walls.

Exceptional place to visit and enjoy all the carvings that Ron has done over the years. And he only used a knife ( pictured) and a fork, lucky it was sandstone he was carving

A very much a wow tour and a must do tour if in Lightning Ridge. This guy is one very talented artist who was self taught. A credit to him and those who looking after his heritage.

My place on the tour was pre-booked and I highly recommend that you book ahead to get a place in the tour. I only did the first level being the sandstone carvings but I recommend that you leave at least two hours to do that part. It’s an amazing tour and the carvings are exactly that, amazing! You are allowed to take photos of the carvings, just don’t take any when walking down or up the stairs. Also bring your money because the opals in the shop are so beautiful and the settings are something that I have not seen in a lot of them before. If you only do the sandstone carvings tour, they have a video that’s continuous play that tells you about the next level. This mine also had a one person lift if you have some mobility issues. Keep your phone charged for photos and put it on airplane mode when you go down there. Enjoy!

The sculptures were amazing and the mine tour was great.