Važecká Cave

Underground treasury of the Upper Liptov

The Važecká Cave is one of the most known caves in the northern Slovakia. Though by length it belongs among the short show caves, it is known by occurrence of rich dripstone decoration, remarkable findings of cave bear bones, as well as by rare cave fauna.

Notes:

^*1 - Children from 6 to 15 years; disabled over 15 years with valid certificate
^*2 - Full-time students - if studying at a university, a confirmation of student status for the current academic year; Persons over 60
^*3 - Photo-Video - Taking pictures and short video recording without using a tripod can be accomplished only during cave visit after payment of entrance fee and extra fee for taking pictures. The fluency and safety of cave operation mustn’t be disrupted.
^*4 - Extra admission can be enabled by the cave manager on visitor’s request only between the times of regular admissions and after paying the admission fee and extra fee. The fluency of cave operation mustn’t be disrupted.

The length of show path is 235 metres, vertical distance 5 metres, 88 steps. The duration of visit is about 25 minutes. Cave temperature is between 6,5 °C and 7,1°C.

There is rich snow-white flowstone decoration, small lakes and significant palaeontological finding place of cave bear bones, which lived here and stayed in cave all year long. Skeleton remains are located almost entirely in caves. It was prevailingly herbivore. The bear ate plants and berries and very seldom smaller animals.

Exact wording of rules and restrictions is stated in the visiting rules

It is located in the Važecký Karst on the contact of the Kozie chrbty with the Liptovská Basin, on the western edge of Važec village. Cave entrance is 8 m above the bottomland of Biely Váh, at elevation of 784 m.

It is located in the Važecký Karst on the western edge of Važec village between Liptovský Mikuláš and Poprad. The parking is immediately at the cave.

Car access to cave:

• from Liptovský Mikuláš direction Poprad – 30 km
• from Poprad through Svit direction Žilina – 25 km

The closest stop of public transport:

• Važec (bus, train)

GPS súradnice

It is formed in the Middle Triasic dark-grey Gutenstein limestones of the Biely Váh Series of the Choč Nappe, by ancient ponor waters of the Biely Váh side branch. Cave length is 530 m. Original river modelled passages are in several places reshaped by collapses, mainly along the interbed limestone surfaces.

Underground spaces are decorated mostly by stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone pools. A large part of the cave is filled with fine-grained sediments from floods of the Biely Váh River and perhaps also from waters of the ponor water flow in half-blind valley in Priepadlá

Air temperatures range between 6.5 and 7.1 °C, relative humidity between 94 and 96 %. Entrance parts are influenced by climatic changes on surface during the year, which are demonstrated by frost weathering of limestones.

The cave represents an important palaeontological finding place of cave bear bones (Ursus spelaeus). From among cave invertebrates, the finding of Eukoenenia spelaea is remarkable and unique and means the northest occurrence of a representative of this order of palpigrades, by what the Važecká Cave ranks among the biospeleological localities of the European importance. Sporadical occurrence of several bat species was recorded in the cave.

The entrance hall was known to local people since long ago. The continuation of cave spaces was discovered by O. A. Húska with assistance of A. Somr in 1922. Thanks to F. Havránek, who rented the cave from the Važec landowners and provisionally opened it to the public as early as 1928. The official assessment permiting opening the cave for public is from 1934. The spaces behind the Stone Dome were discovered by F. Havránek and members of the Speleological Club from Brno (O. Ondroušek, E. Coufalík, J. Balák and R. Kunc) in 1952. After the reconstruction of show path and installation of electric lighting is the cave in operation since 1954. The surveyors from Turista penetrated into the side passage behind the Gallery in 1962 – 1963 and the cavers from the regional group of SSS Liptovský Mikuláš in 1988 – 1989. Public has access to 235 m of path.

Húska’s Hall

Miraculous Garden

Lake Hall – Elephant’s Ear

Flowstone decoration

Húska’s Hall

A view of our highest mountains from the cave...

• Visiting rules
• Information leaflet
• Cave tour guide