Discover the jaw-dropping caves of Hungary – PHOTOS

There are many beautiful places in Hungary that is worth visiting, but most tourists think about cities, historical sights, forests, mountains and so on. But have you ever wondered what lies behind the earth’s surface? Well, in Hungary and many other places around the world, it is a whole new dimension of beautiful and interesting. In this article we will introduce you to some of the cave systems in Hungary that are open to tourists and you should definitely consider visiting them.

Most tourists would visit the world famous baths in Hungary, or  admire the horse show and wildlife of the Hortobágy region, or even visit the old cityscapes, but you should definitely check out what is underneath. It is a unique and beautiful world open only to the most adventurous.

Let us start with the most easily accessible. Say you are in Budapest and have already seen the Heroes’ Square and the Chain Bridge a hundred times. You have already been to almost all the baths and have tried the Hungarian cuisine in the local restaurants and now you have no idea what to do. Just go under the surface. There are quite a few caves around Budapest that you can easily visit. Here they are:

Caves in Budapest

Pál-völgyi Cave

It has been accessible to the public since 1919 but it has been modernized to meet the highest requirements. The route is 500 metres long and takes the visitors through a journey among dripstones, stone formations, crystals and primeval shell prints. The cave is famous for its unique dripstones, narrow corridors and large level differences.

Szemlő-hegyi Cave

The caves of the Budapest area are unique as they were created by the upward moving hot thermal waters. This gives dripstones and other stone formations their unique look. The cave is also combined with an interactive exhibition, including methods of cave rescue.

Buda Castle Cave

There is also an interesting urban legend concerning this location, which you can read about HERE.

“Natural limestone caverns and 800-year-old man-made cellars were connected to a labyrinth-like underground system thus becoming one of the most extraordinary caves in Hungary,” writes the Duna-Ipoly National Park on their website. Because of this, it includes a lot of interesting sights such as wine cellars, cave shelters, a medieval prison, and many halls and corridors.

Moving to a different location, probably the most well-known Hungarian cave system is in the Aggtelek National Park, which is located in the Aggtelek Karst region in Northern Hungary and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.

Caves around Hungary

Baradla Cave

The Baradla Cave was formed around 200-230 million years ago and it is one of the most researched caves in Hungary and it is famous for its large dripstones and stone formations. It is quite a sizeable cave system as well, as the Baradla-Domica Cave System spans over 30 kilometres. The Bradla Cave itself being 22,027 metres. The cave’s wildlife is also quite colourful and it is an important area in terms of archaeological finds as well.

As a bonus, you can check out 360° images of some of the rooms of the cave system on THIS website.