Bystrianska jaskyňa

Bystrianská Cave is the largest cave on the southern side of the Low Tatras. It lies in the Bystrianský Karst, in the southern part of the Low Tatras National Park, right on the edge of the village of Bystrá at an elevation of 565 metres above sea level. Of the roughly three kilometres explored so far, 580 metres of winding passages of the Old and New Cave are open to the public.

The entrance sections of the cave have been known to people since time immemorial – their natural entrance lies on the Biele bralo hill above the Bystrianka stream. The cave itself was discovered on 29 June 1923, and new spaces beyond the Peklo abyss were discovered by the Holman brothers together with Jozef Kovalčík in 1926. The connection between the old and new sections was found only in January 1956, and the cave has been open to visitors since 1968.

The underground formed in dark-grey Middle Triassic limestones and dolomites. The passages developed as underground water from the Bystrianka stream widened fissures, at three height levels – the lowest of which is still crossed today by an underground stream that re-emerges several kilometres away in the village of Valaská as a karst spring. A distinctive feature of Bystrianská Cave is its fissure character, with decoration concentrated mainly along one side of the passages.

Bystrá lies in the Horehronie part of the Low Tatras, within sight of the Tále and Chopok resorts, so a cave tour can easily be combined with hiking and skiing. If you find accommodation nearby, the cool underground makes an ideal stop during hot summer days and in poor weather alike – and the trails and peaks of the Low Tatras are just a stone's throw away from there.