The birthplace of cave exploration

Speleology is the term for caving, and Slovenia is considered the birthplace of this fascinating but very dangerous adventure. It offers many caves that allow people to descend underground, from easily touristy caves to the world’s deepest holes. The caves here have unique beauty comparable to other famous karstic geomorphology in Southeast China, Vietnam, Laos and Papua New Guinea.

Inside Krizna jama, a place for tourists traveling by boat. Photo: National Geographic Where the rivers mysteriously disappeared With 20,271 square kilometers and 2 million inhabitants, Slovenia provides the world to more than 20 famous caves out of more than 8,000 karstic formations called jamas. Here, it is easy to see with the naked eye the majestic rivers suddenly mysteriously disappearing into the ground, then forming the system of underground paths through the limestone mountains forming caves. There are also traces of cave dwellers of nearly 5,000 years ago, autographs of an expedition in 1557 left on the cliffs of Krizna cave, and since then cave tourism in Slovenia has flourished. from the seventeenth century. Krizna jama, birthplace of cave exploration. Exploration of karstic limestone caves is very dangerous, even with taking pictures in a world completely different from space under the sun. Robbie Shone, British photographer and cave researcher, spent 10 years taking pictures of Kacna caves. The window entry was 250 feet (250 feet) higher than the ceiling, and an additional 250 feet was added to the underground river, the common pillar with up to 500 free-fall, up and down thanks to ropes and lifters. The key to the Slovenian cave system lies in the rivers, when hidden when present, the most famous of which are the rivers Reka, Rak, and Pivka. River caves are not uncommon, however, there are only some karst landscapes where river caves reach as vast as in Slovenia. The karst plateau forms a special geographical area here, it extends from the Adriatic coast in the south to the Vipava Valley, forming a corridor connecting the limestone regions of northeast Italy. Beneath the village of Škocjan are caves of the same name, a UNESCO heritage site, in which an entire river – the river Reka – seems to be swallowed up by the earth. From the ground, the river suddenly plunged into a straw (siphon) in the rock, continuing to winding along underground currents, then emerged 24 miles away near Italy’s Monfalcone before joining the Timavo River into the sea. Adriatic. Where people live with caves More than anywhere, Slovenia is not only the birthplace of the cave tourism industry, but also a place of symbiosis between people and a special geological structure. The Italians and Slovenes living along the limestone corridors have created a unique Teran grape for the famous iron-rich red wine. Caves have played many roles throughout history. They used them as a source of water, a refrigerator, and even an ammunition storage room during the war. During the Ice Age, Krizna jama was an important bear sanctuary – some 2,000 bear skeletons remain. Today, river caves are important habitats for many species of animals, some of which are endangered. Postojna jama is Slovenia’s largest and most touristy cave, complete with trains that take you through tunnels and fossil-filled labyrinth halls and pristine caves. pretty. Nearby Postojna and Planinska jama are home to the proteus anguinus, an endangered species of underwater cave salamander affectionately known as the “human fish”. During Christmas, a scene of the Child God was erected in Postojna and more than 500 people gathered in a stone hermitage to witness a festival performance staged between stalactites and stalagmites. Postojna jama is completely designed with trains taking tourists through the tunnels … Photo: postojnska-jama.eu Here you can choose the right level of cave travel for you. The Postojna Cave is considered the largest jade, where the cave train will take visitors to magnificent sculptures, stalactites, stalagmites and halls. The beautiful Škocjan Cave is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Here you can see the deepest and largest underground gorges in the world. And more than that, behind the cave doors is a place for travelers who have a lot of courage to explore. Krizna Cave impresses with a series of emerald green underground lakes, on which visitors can sail to magnificent limestone halls under the safety guidance of experienced explorers. The birthplace of cave exploration The history of cave exploration is associated with Krizna jama located in the Cerknica Polje limestone belt near the Loz settlement. The length of the cave is up to 8,273m, of which about 600m is arranged for regular tours of tourists, the rest is for explorers. In fact, Krizna is considered one of the most attractive tourist caves in Slovenia, due to the large underground lakes with clear water formed after dams of quartz stone and decorated in various styles. way by rolling rocks. One of the tourist attractions is the bear cave. Currently, Krizna jama is under the management of the Krizna Cave Caving Society, and is here by guided boat travel. The first inscription of the Krizna expedition engraved on a cliff, in 1557. Krizna’s original name was Loz Cold Cave (Mrzla jama pri Lozu), changed to Cold Cave under Mount Krizna (Mrzla jama pod Krizno goro), and now takes the name of the Cross Church located on the hill given to the cave system. , called Cerkev Svetega kriza. The first inhabitants of Krizna cave were in the metallic era with many relics including pottery, but their ancestors lived in caves belonging to the Paleolithic period, around 2,800 BC. Perhaps this was the reason why the Krizna expeditions were so intriguing, and the expedition’s first autograph inscribed on the cliff 1557. The expeditions continued through the centuries as a kind of discovery tourism. , but it was not until 1832 that an official report was produced by JJ Tobin, and in 1838 J. Cerar provided the first descriptive sketch. The discoveries weren’t really easy, and it wasn’t until 1962 that a group of high school students from Ljubljana Šiška crossed the first lake under the guidance of Professor Prezelj. Explorers from Slovenian and foreign clubs spent decades, from 1970 to 1990 searching, discovering new cave passages and halls, and especially diving to survey pipes. suction of the Kittlow well. Measurements, surveys and expeditions were promoted between the 1990s and 2003 through the Speleological society of Karlovec and the Assotiation of Krizna cave lovers. They began cleaning the caves, photographing it, and discovering new tunnels with deep diving, searching for new straws. And today, cave tourism has become a unique economic activity in Slovenia. Hoang Quan __________ References: Go Inside These World-Famous, Rarely Seen River Caves
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/destinations/europe/slovenia/photos-hidden-river-caves/ Slovenia is the cradle of historic cave exploration and karst science.
https://www.jamarska-zveza.si/index.php/foreigners/36-introduction History of Exploration
https://krizna-jama.si/en/history-of-exploration/