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Belianska Cave is one of the most visited accessible caves in Slovakia. In addition to bizarre rock shapes, it is known for its rich occurrence of calcite sinter filling. Although the interest in the natural sights of the cave has persisted for 125 years, the laws of its creation have not yet been fully clarified.

Belianska Cave

Belianska Cave is one of the most visited accessible caves in Slovakia. In addition to bizarre rock shapes, it is known for its rich occurrence of calcite sinter filling. Although the interest in the natural sights of the cave has persisted for 125 years, the laws of its creation have not yet been fully clarified.

location
It is located on the northern slope of Kobylie Hill in the eastern part of the Belianske Tatras. It is located in the Belianske Tatry National Nature Reserve in the Tatra National Park.

Access to the cave
The forest road to the Belianská Cave leads from the village of Tatranská Kotlina, a few kilometers northeast of Tatranská Lomnica. An educational trail with a length of about 1000 m leads to the entrance at an altitude of 890 m, which overcomes an altitude difference of 122 m. The ascent takes about 25 minutes.

The nearest public transport stop:
Tatranská Kotlina (bus)

Access by car to the settlement Tatranská kotlina:
From Poprad direction Smokovce, Tatranská Lomnica, Tatranská kotlina - 30 km
From Stará Ľubovňa via Spišská Belá in the direction of Tatranská javorina - 40 km

Natural conditions

It is formed in the Mesozoic dark gray Gutenstein limestones of the Křížňany mantle. The formation of cave spaces was conditioned by interlayer areas, less tectonic faults, along which the waters penetrated and flowed into the deeper parts of the underground. The original cavities were completely filled with water, which, in addition to corrosion, also caused a slow pressure flow. Massive domes and smaller cauldron-shaped depressions were modeled on the ceilings.

The original cavities of the cave probably arose in connection with the division of the originally larger plateau Kobylieho vrch above the cave, as well as with the subsequent deepening of the Belá valley. The largest underground spaces were created before the main Quaternary glaciation of the Tatras. The waters penetrating into the cave at the time of the retreat of the ice ages only partially remodeled the previously created underground spaces. At present, seepage water from precipitation is concentrated in the lowest parts of the cave, where they create occasional streams.

The length of the cave is 3,829 m with a height difference of 168 m. Chimney spaces leading from the upper, original entrance, situated 82 m above the current entrance, open into the entrance parts, accessible through a pierced tunnel. The ascent and descending parts of the tour route, conditioned by the interlayer areas of limestone, rise from the Crossroads and in some places are widened by routing into the dome-shaped and hall-like areas (Ruined Dome, Dome of the Ruins). Oval shapes of water modeling have been preserved in several sections (Tubular Dome, Long Corridor, Abyss Corridor). The considerable vertical fragmentation of the cave is completed by abysses (Hunger Abyss, Hell) and chimneys.

They are attracted by sinter waterfalls (High Dome, SNP Dome, Waterfall Dome, Music Hall) and pagoda-shaped stalagmites (Palm Hall). Other forms of sinter filling (Gallery, Jewelery, White Hall) are also richly represented. The air temperature is 5.0 to 6.3 ° C, relative humidity 90 to 97%.

7 species of bats were found in the cave. The dominant is the common bat (Myotis myotis). Rare are the bearded bat (Myotis mystacinus), the Brandt bat (Myotis brandtii) and the ciliate bat (Myotis emarginatus). Bathynella natans lives among the small invertebrates in the lakes.

History
The entrance to the cave has been known for a long time. The entrance parts of the cave were known to gold diggers as early as the first half of the 18th century, as evidenced by the inscriptions of their names on the rock walls. However, they remained secret for many years. The entrance was again found by L. Gulden and the Fabry gold digger in 1826, but they did not penetrate deeper into the cave. In 1881, J. Husz and J. Britz accidentally found a hole in the underground. In a few days, they decided to enter the unknown underground spaces. A. Kaltstein, I. Verbovszky and J. Britz took part in other discoveries up to the Dome of the Ruins in the years 1881 - 1882. With the financial support of the town of Spišská Belá, the cave was made accessible by A. Kaltstein through the original entrance as early as 1882 in the section after the Palm Hall, at the end of the year they broke through today's entrance. In 1884, it was opened to the Dome of the Ruins, from where the tour route was rounded off by breaking the tunnel into the side corridor of the Crossroads in 1885. It has been electrically lit since 1896. In 1926, K. Piovarcsy, G. Gabriel and other members of the Carpathian Association discovered new premises around the Bandit Chamber and the Music Hall. The boulder corridor, the Column Dome and the opening of the Hell Abyss were discovered by P. Klepáč in 1935. The survey of the abyss was organized by V. Benický in 1939. Extensive reconstruction work in the cave took place in the 1950s and in 1979-1980 the tour route was modified by a break between the Clay Corridor and the Ruins Dome.

In recent years, the cave has been used for healing speleoclimatic stays. At present, more than 1000 m are accessible with an elevation gain of +125 m.

Additional information

Transport: By foot, By bike, By car, By bus
Parking: Free parking nearby

Accepted payments: Cash
Languages: Slovak

Suitable for: Childrens, Families with childrens, Elderly, Young, Adults
Season: Summer, Autumn
Updated on: 17.3.2020

Opening hours

Weather

Not specified


Contact

Belianska Cave
Belianska jaskyňa
059 54  Tatranská Kotlina
Region: Prešovský
District: Poprad
Area: Spiš, Tatras
 49.22889, 20.311331

Belianska jaskyňa
059 54  Tatranská Kotlina

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