The Slovak Spectator

Exploring Slovakia’s caverns and caves (Spectacular Slovakia - travel guide)

Belianksa Cave in High Tatras (Source: Michal Rengevič)

Slovakia is rich in caves, with more than 6,200 that have already been explored.

This article was prepared for an edition of the Spectacular Slovakia travel guide and was published in the travel guide Slovakia.

A helping hand in the heart of Europe offers for you Slovakia travel guide.A helping hand in the heart of Europe offers for you Slovakia travel guide.

Going into a cave in Slovakia does not have to involve passively admiring the various shapes of stalactites, stalagmites, and stalagnates. Some cave staff offer a helmet and a headlamp, which turns the visit into a real underground adventure.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Slovakia is rich in caves, with 7,000 having already been explored. Twelve of these have been opened to the public by the Slovak Cave Administration (SSJ). A total of six are inscribed on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List (Domica, Gombasecká, Jasovská, Krásnohorská, Dobšinská Ice and Ochtinská Aragonite).

SkryťTurn off ads

Ice caves and more in Slovakia

Every cave administered by the SSJ is unique.

The nature of the glaciations in the Dobšinská Ice Cave (eastern Slovakia) makes it one of the most important caves in the world (it was also among the first electrically lit caves), and the rich aragonite formations resembling white flowers in the Ochtinská Aragonite Cave (eastern Slovakia) are some of the finest in Europe.

The most visited and possibly the most beautiful cave is the Demänovská Cave of Liberty (northern Slovakia), with its majestic domes, hundreds of stairs and a roaring stream inside.

“I’ve been in a cave before, but it wasn’t as fabulous as this one,” said Francesca Orr, a tourist from Manchester, Great Britain.

The Demänovská Cave system is 35 kilometres long and also includes the Demänovská Ice Cave, located three kilometres from the Cave of Liberty.

SkryťTurn off ads

More typical examples of extensive halls decorated with white sinter and huge stalagmites can be found at the Belianska Cave in the High Tatras or the Harmanecká Cave in central Slovakia.

There was an explorer at the beginning

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk
Publisher of The Slovak Spectator.
Vyštudoval žurnalistiku na Univerzite Komenského. V denníku SME pracuje od roku 2013, aktuálne sa ako redaktor zahraničného oddelenia venuje najmä strednej a východnej Európe.

More articles from: Travel

Top stories

Stock image.

Twice as many Ukrainians work in Slovakia now than before the Russian invasion.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad