The cave is located 200m from the village of Kamaraki and is not accessible to the public. It lies within 12-million-year-old Miocene limestones and above the ophiolithic rocks of the area.
It is a long cave, as it used to be the bed of an old underground river. It reaches a length of 200m and develops in parallel to a second hall of 120m long. Its decor is striking with stalactites and stalagmites of many shapes and sizes.
The cave owes its name to the Hainides, Cretan rebels during Ottoman times, who used it as a base. It was a hideout of a well-known rebel of the area, Captain Palmetis, and a refuge for the inhabitants. In 1866-68, during the Cretan Revolution, the Revolutionary Committee and the Provisional Government used it as a base.