UNESCO – natural monuments of Slovakia

DOBSINSKA ICE CAVE

DOBSINSKA ICE CAVE – was discovered in 1870. Its entrance was called an ‘Ice hole’ and is located at an altitude of 971 meters. It is one of the biggest ice caves in Europe with a length of 1232 meters and width of 112m. The ice comes in various forms: floor ice, icefalls, ice stalagmites and pillars. The cave is situated in middle-trias roe-stone and was incavated by the flow of Hnilec in 3 levels. The cave has several spectacular sectors – The Big and the Small Hall, Rufiri’s corridor and ‘Ruined House’. The non-ice parts are called The Dripstone and the White Hall, Dry House, Dripstone cellar and ‘Hell’. There are 12 species of bats to be found in the cave.
 

GOMBASECKA CAVE

GOMBASECKA CAVE – was discovered in 1951. Its entrance lies at an altitude of 250 m. It is 1525 meters long and it is mostly decorated by the thin sinter straws that can reach the length of 3 meters. There are also many stalagmites, stalactites and sinter crusts. One of the most beautiful parts is surely the Marble Hall with 8 meters-deep water-well, the Hall of Piece, the Hall of Wisdom and the Straw Hall.




CAVE DOMICA

CAVE DOMICA – was discovered in 1926 and its entrance lies at an altitude of 339m. It is 5358 meters long and is typical for its shields and moguls, cascade lakes, onion-like stalactites and pagoda stalagmites. Air temperature varies from 10,2 to 11,4°C. Its area is divided into: Entrance Hall, Wildwood, Concert Hall, Palm Grove, Dome of Indian pagodas, Dry Hall and the Terrace hall. There are about 1500 bats of 16 different species.



JASOVSKA CAVE

JASOVSKA CAVE – was discovered by the Premonstratesian monks from the local monastery and was made accessible in 1846. It is 2148 meters long and is full of different dripstone structures. It has 5 floors that are connected by narrow shafts. The most beautiful parts are – the Old Dome, Dome of the bats, Great Dome, Straw Dome and the Bear hall. The Dome of the Bats is used for speleoclimatic treatment of allergic and asthmatic problems.



OCHTINSKA ARAGONITE CAVE

OCHTINSKA ARAGONITE CAVE – was accidentally found in 1954, it is 300 meters long with beautiful aragonite decoration that was formed under very specific hydro-chemical and climatic conditions in closed underground hollows. It has many different forms – needle-like, spiral or kidney-like forms that create a mixture of beautiful images. The most beautiful part is surely the Milky Way, where aragonite clusters on the ceiling shine like stars in the sky. The cave is one of the three aragonite caves in the world – other two are located in Mexico and Argentina.
 

KRASNOHORSKA CAVE

KRASNOHORSKA CAVE – was discovered in 1964 by the speleologists from Roznava. It is 1356 meters long with an air temperature of 9 °C. It is well-known for its ‘Dripstone of the cavers’ which is with the height of 32,6 meters one of the biggest sinter monuments in the world. It consists of the following parts – Perejovy Dom, Crack Hall, Big Canyon and the Hall of the Giants. The cave is not illuminated at all.



NATIONAL PARK POLONINY – STUZICA WILDWOOD

NATIONAL PARK POLONINY – was enlisted into UNESCO on 28th June 2007 under the name of ‘Carpathian beech wildwood’. It is located on the borders of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine. The area is characterized by the presence of big beasts – bears, wolves, lynx or wild cats and Stuzica is also the only place where you can find bisons. It is the biggest mountainous wildwood reservation in Europe and was proclaimed a reservation for the protection of beech, fir and maple wildwood forests.