Postojna Cave, Slovenia

1. Introduction

The ticket mentions the time at which you will enter the cave. You have to be a few minutes before the entrance filter at the entrance of the cave, you can't miss the direction by the flow of tourists and signs. Groups are divided before the entrance in 4. Access to the cave is only with the authorized group escort. He/she can present in Slovenian, English, German or Italian, each tourist is free to choose one of the 4 languages and join the guide.

The guide gives an instruction and an intro about the cave, mentioning that we will visit the most beautiful cave in Europe. Postojna cave, actually Postojna caves, measures 24 km long of which 5 km are visitable.

2. Train

We enter the cave and arrive at .... station! Seriously! The cave being very high is strabatuta for almost 2 km one way and as much on the way back by a little train like the one in the next picture. The train takes us through a mega natural underground palace of limestone, lighted where we pass, highlighting many thick columns, but also stalactites and stalagmites. I do NOT have the feeling that I am in a cave where I have to bend down or crouch to avoid hitting my head on the ceiling. It's like we're in an amusement park where we're riding around in a little train like happy children. Disembark! The tour begins. Didn't it start already? Let's consider that we're going to level 2 as in games: the per pedes visit is next.

3. Per pedes

The route follows the shape of the figure 8 going up to a higher floor and then down again to the one where the train stopped. Like the Bear Cave in the Apuseni Mountains in Romania. Although there are so many interesting formations that could be likened to animals, objects, constructions, etc., due to the huge size of the visited objective they are not emphasized by so many names as we find in the caves in Romania. The trail is landscaped, the floor in the area of the passageways is impregnated with antiskid. Guards or railings delimit the area allowed to be traveled from the rest of the gallery.

4. The Russian Bridge and the Tower of Pisa

We pass by the rooster and then cross one of the sights - Russian Bridge, a real bridge built in World War II that facilitates crossing at a higher level from one gallery to another. Next to the bridge we also have a Tower of Pisa. The galleries are so rich in limestone formations many of them of remarkable size.

5. Tubes Gallery, Heaven's Gate

Tube Gallery or White Gallery is easily recognizable. We go through Heaven's Gate.

6. Red and Black Gallery

Easily identify and Red Gallery. Unmistakable is also Black Gallery, which bears on the ceiling many traces of the fact that fire was made here during the war.

7. The Brilliant

Level 3. We are approaching the end of the walking tour and reach the symbolic formations of Postojna Cave - a huge white stalactite of 5 m, called The Brilliant. Other galleries visited were Concert Hall, Ball Hall, Golgota.

8. The elms and the shop

Level 4. Are there more surprises in store? In this cave, which is actually a chain of communicating caves, lives a unique creature that has found here a ... favorable environment. I don't know the name of the "animal" in Romanian, but in a direct translation from German, it would be called "man-animal". They don't like light and noise. Information about this creature is presented on a screen, then you can see some in an aquarium, but you're not allowed to use the flash and you're not allowed to psss! Quiet and dark so you can see the strange critter! This strange creature is also called olm.

Level 5. The souvenir shop. This is in the middle of the cave. In addition to the "classic" souvenirs, you can buy plush "man-animal" stuffed animals.

Almost done! We get off at the train and we have 2 km on wheels, partially on a different route than the one we came on, until we get out of the cave where...

Level 6. .... If you want to get some money out of your pocket, there is a picture waiting for you, a snapshot taken by a camera somewhere shortly after entering the cave.