Julian Alps
Julian Alps Trail Run
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They are among the most important caves in the world and are the largest underground canyon in Europe. The Škocjan Caves, in the southwest of Slovenia.
With their unique and impressive underground canyons, huge cave halls, extensive corridors and perfect condition, they occupy a special place among caves in Slovenia and the world. This is confirmed and underlined by their inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Škocjanske jame Regional Park with the Škocjan Caves is located in southwestern Slovenia in the Karst region. It is located in the municipality of Divača, 20 km from Trieste, 80 km from Ljubljana in the direction of Koper and 12 km from the Lipica Stud Farm. The park covers an area of 401 hectares and includes the villages of Matavun, Škocjan and Betanja.
The caves are named after the village of the same name, Škocjan, which lies above the river Reka.
The Kraška reka is a river that flows 54 km above ground and around 35 km underground in Croatia, Slovenia and Italy and has created a huge cave system in the Slovenian Karst, the Škocjan Caves.
For many millions of years, this river created the 2.6 km long underground canyon with its extraordinary subterranean scenery. Its impressive natural bridges, huge stalactites, more than 30 waterfalls and rapids. The largest underground hall, the Martel Hall, is 308 m long and is one of the largest cave halls in the world.
Every day of the year (except January 1 and December 25) and regardless of the weather, experienced guides wait for visitors at the entrance to the Škocjan Caves Regional Park and lead them into the underground paradise. The Škocjan Caves are a network of eleven caves, landslides, sinkholes and natural bridges. The cave guides, who speak Slovenian and English, will take you on a three-kilometre hike (about one and a half hours) through the impressive cave world.
The murmur of the water flowing underground and the majestic natural bridge over the river take visitors into another, fairytale world. You will be enchanted by the colorful and huge stalactites in the form of organs and pans. In summer, you can follow the river a little further to the river hole in the Mahorčič and Marinič caves and visit these too.
The caves were first mentioned by the Greek scholar Posidonius of Apamea in his writings as early as 60 BC. Since then, they have fascinated countless generations of people. The Skocjan Caves have been proven to have been inhabited for over 5,000 years. Archaeologists have been able to prove this with finds of various objects from prehistoric times.
Anyone wishing to visit the caves can already look forward to a fascinating journey through time into a mystical world far from the sunlight and yet radiantly beautiful.
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