Ardovská Cave

It is located to the south-east from Ardovo, on the south-western edge of the Silická Plateau. The cave was formed in the Middle Triassic pale Wetterstein limestones by waters of occasional water course, which sinks underground at the end of wide blind valley leading from Dlhá Ves, resembling an edge karst polje. During the times of snowmelt or intensive rainfall when the ponors are not able to drain all the water, the dolines in front of the cave are flooded by temporary lake. The waters flow now through occasionally flooded lower parts of the cave and spring on surface on the other side of the Veľký vrch. Shapes of river modellation can be observed in several places – oval parts of passages and ceiling channels.

Cave length is 1,492 m. Underground spaces are decorated by onion-like and other stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone curtains and bowls.

The cave is used by 9 bat species in winter, however regularly only 3 species of horseshoe bats. The most abundant is the Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros), important is also occurrence of the Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus euryale). From among the troglobitic invertebrates there is rare palpigrade Eukoenenia spelaea, springtails Deuteraphorura cf. kratochvili, Arrhopalites buekkensis and Pseudosinella aggtelekiensis and also endemic form of troglophilic beetle Duvalius hungaricus sziliciensis, which can be found only in the Silická Plateau of the Slovak Karst. A new species of a very rare Leptotyphlus kovaci was discovered in the surroundings.

The cave is known as significant archaeological finding place. The Bukk-Mountain culture is obvious from several findings from the Neolithic. Also the remains of younger settlements of Hallstadt and Laten Ages. Ardovská Cave was known to the local people from of old.