Going underground: Caves in Slovenia

Do you have any idea, how many caves there are in Slovenia? As much as 12.300 caves, but only about 20 of them are show caves. One could say, that until you’ve gone underground and had a look at this glorious, hidden world, you haven’t really experienced Slovenia.

Quite some part of the country is occupied by karst landscape, where eroded limestone created many caves. These are actually underground channels, produced by rainwater running through the karst. Having so many caves it is no surprise that caving is so popular in Slovenia.

One of the world’s most famous cave, Postojna Cave** is also the longest cave in Slovenia, measuring 24,340 m in length. Apart from offering amazing experience and view of underground world, it is home to človeška ribica, the so called “baby dragon”.**

The second longest is cave under Predjama castle, that has a specific structure – her tunnels are spread across four levels. And of course, I shouldn’t forget to mention Škocjan Caves that are ranked among the most important in the world. Having such significant underground phenomena are also listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The variety of this underground world is amazing. There are caves, where you can find snow even during the summer. The most visited one is Snežna jama, which name literally translates to snow cave - who would have guessed?

Now, when we think of caves, we mostly think about tourism or sports activities, but in the past caves had other functionalities as well. During the war they served as shelters and storage places. Some of them offered a great supplied of ice, which has even been transported to Egypt in the 19th century. And sometimes the caves were used to store food as well.

There are many caves to be visited in Slovenia and if what you’re going for is a bit more active visit, you can try out bouldering or kayaking. Not really a cave, but still underground is the disused mine under the Mount Peca, where you can bike through the tunnels. But now the question – which one of these magnificent caves to visit first?