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Unesco Natural Monuments - Underground Treasures of Slovakia

Travel
6. 4. 2023
Summer temperatures are already a thing of the past, but a beautiful autumn and hopefully a pleasant Indian summer are ahead of us. It would be a shame to stay indoors. Give hiking in Slovakia a chance and discover interesting places you may not have heard of yet.

Since 1995, the unique caves of the Slovak Karst have been included in the UNESCO list of natural monuments. The Slovak Karst, located in the south of Slovakia near the border with Hungary, is the largest karst area in Central Europe and has the largest number of underground spaces (there are 1110 caves and chasms). The following six caves, also open to the public, are on the UNESCO Natural Heritage List: the Dobšinská Ice Cave, the Domica Cave, the Gombasecká Cave, the Jasovská Cave, the Krásnohorská Cave and the Ochtinská Aragonite Cave.


Did you know that there are only three aragonite caves in the world? One of them is located in Slovakia, the second in Argentina and the third in Mexico. Aragonite is a calcium carbonate and forms formations in the cave similar to sea coral. We also have a world unique in the Krásnohorská Cave, a stalagmite (a standing stalactite that grows out of the cave floor), 34 metres long. There are only 6 larger cave formations in the world and only one in Europe. The Dobšinská Ice Cave is also unique in Europe and is considered to be the largest ice cave outside the Alpine massif. The Domica Cave was inhabited by Neolithic man 5000 years ago and today you can take a boat ride here on the underground river Styx.


Visit these not only Slovak, but also world uniquenesses and support Slovak tourism.

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