5+1 most beautiful caves to discover in Hungary this summer

Hungary is full of hiking trails and national parks that are popular tourist destinations in summer. However, for those who have already explored all traditional travel destinations, something new may be of interest: caving can provide the new experience you are looking for this summer. Read on to discover the most beautiful caves in Hungary!

The Hungarian National Cave Register currently lists 4,131 caves in the country. Although many of them are less than 10 metres long, there are still several significant caves in Hungary. As pointed out by the Ariadne Karst and Cave Research Association, the total length of Hungarian caves exceeds 272 kilometres, with 36 reaching 1 kilometre in length. Of these, the longest Hungarian cave, the Pál Valley Cave, is about 30 km long.

Several lists of the most beautiful, unmissable caves in the country are circulating on the Internet. Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, turistamagazin.hu, and hellovidek.hu have all written their own picks for travel. Here, we collected which caves have made it to the top of these lists to make decisions regarding future excursions easier.

1. The Aggtelek Karst cavern systems

Perhaps the country’s most famous stalactite sights, extending into Slovakia as well as Hungary, the cave system has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. Formed about 2 million years ago through flowing water eroding the limestone, the Baradla Cave is the most prominent, popular, longest, and most spectacular cavern not only in the region but also in the whole of Hungary with a total length of 25 kilometres.

There are several cave tours to choose from, from the 60-minute Aggtelek short tour to the longer 4–5-hour tour. The Aggtelek National Park covers an area of nearly 20,000 hectares so that visitors can explore the surface, too, besides the underground.

2. Csévi Cave, Pilis

Csévi Cave is located in the Pilis Mountains, north of Budapest. The cave is 104 metres long and is open to the public but is under ecological protection. By the light of a head torch, you have to descend a few steep metres, avoiding rubble in the dark, to get through the limestone cave. The narrow clearings in the rim above the cavity offer a beautiful and substantial panorama.

3. Körös Cave, Bükk

Another protected area is the Körös Cave, also known as the Körös Hole, located in the Bükk National Park in the southeast of Hungary. It is the highest-altitude cave in Hungary.

It is 42 metres wide and around 8 metres high. In the part of the cavern closer to the entrance, a large horn opens up to the sky, which is a natural source of light during the day and provides access to the area without a torch. The cave is open to the public.