River Biela - Belanská - Slovakia
The river sources near to the community of Ždiar, by connection of several brooks.
21 km
Basic information about river river sections Kilometrage Localites | Services Article Fotogallery Videogallery | Discussion Water stages |
Article
SK: Belianska Cave – The Only Open Cave in the Tatranian National Park
Summer is gone and warm sunny days were changed for colorful fall. If you have also an option to leave your work duties for few days and go to nature, do it then. Beautiful nature that is so colorful these days, fresh mountain air and so on, do miracles. If the fall sun disappeared from the sky and was replaced by thick fog or even heavy rain, a short walk in mountain area can clear your mind and recharge you.
Fall relax in the High Tatras
We have visited the High Tatras that are calmer in this time of the year. It is because the summer time is over and winter hasn’t started yet. The Tatranian nature seems more wild during the fall, at least from my perspective. Perhaps it is due to the fact that usually crowded tourist trails you would see a bear there, rather than tourists.
During the evening hours we accommodated ourselves in a picturesque log cabin on Tatranska Strba lake. After the dinner we pondered above a map, where would we go. We wanted some easy walk, because weather forecast said it would rain on the other day, entire day. Eventually, we decided to visit the Belianska cave , the only mountain stalactite cave accessible to public located in the Tatranian National Park.
The Belianska Cave – a unique natural sight
We moved from Tatranska Strba Tatranska Kotlina after the breakfast. We decided to park the car in front of a local grocery store because it still didn’t rain and take a walk in the most eastern and the lowest laying settlement at the Tatras.
You can park your car, however, even on a paid parking lot below the cave. From there you can get to the cave by a walk. A walk along the natural trail takes about twenty five minutes. The trail was created by the Administration of Slovakian Caves together with the administration of the Slovakian National Park.You should prepare that you would have to overcame 120 meters of elevation on less than 900 meters of walk. It is really tough. Should you stop for a while in one of five stops with infoboards, you would rest a bit at least. Moreover, you would learn something interesting about the caves and precious sights in the area.
National Natural Sight of Belianska Cave is located on the northern slove of Kobyla Hill, in the eastern part of the Belianske Tatras . A guided tour there takes about an hour an half depending on stamina of visitors. I was very excited about the cave, it has not only beautiful stalactite decoration but also many underground spaces; they seemed far more spacious than in other caves I have visited so far.
The length of the cave is about 3640 meters and 160 of elevation. However, only a sightseeing trail is opened to the public, it is 1370 meters long. While we had crossed it we had to overcome 125 meters of elevation and climb up 860 steps. Despite this, temperature in the cave is around 5,0 to 6,3 °C. It is not necessary to take extraclothes. I had a cap and a scarf, after first hundred steps I put my cap into my backpack. It is really some challenge to get up so many steps.
A nice guide guided us in the cave. He had interesting accent and except usual information on the cave his funny notes make us laugh. The Belianska cave was exceptional for its vast dome-like and hall-like spaces (Fallen Dome, the Dome of Ruins), oval shapes that were created by water (The Pipe Dome, the Gap Dome) or more chasms (the Hunger Chasm, Hell) and shafts. Even sintra waterfalls were interesting (the High Dome, the SNP dome, the Waterfall dome), pagoda-like stalgmits (the Palm tree hall) or other sintra fillings (Galleries, Jewelries, White hall). Peculiar was also a stalagmite that was 2 meters high, 1 meter wide and leaning. It was located in the Dome of Ruins, slightly resembling the tower of Pisa. Children were happy to see the Music Hall. There the children had to sing something. To be honest, the Belianske Caves surpassed even my expectations. I very recommend to visit it.
You may find opening hours of the Belianske Caves, and entrance fees HERE.
Text : O. Maňáková
Photo : O. Maňáková aand O. Mažgút