Discovering Slovenia’s underground labyrinths, one cave at a time

The grass flickered gently above a crack within the limestone and Ludvik Husu instinctively knew he had discovered what he became browsing for: a brand fresh collapse Slovenia’s dramatic Karst converse.

The seasoned cave enthusiast, with bigger than 50 years’ experience, steered AFP that “the must haves had been most attention-grabbing… the whole signs pointed to something beneath” as he felt the air recent push up from beneath.

The 63-year-extinct had come across a brand fresh, 60-metre (196-foot) deep limestone cave, a discovery that made the headlines this summer season in a rustic that prides itself in its 14,000 underground grottoes.

The shrimp Alpine nation is surprisingly prosperous in caves, that are a important tourist attraction. One even homes a total castle and any other became extinct by the European Home Company to help sing astronauts.

Biological like trove

Presumably only known is the Postojna cave system, the longest in Europe, unearthed by any other newbie enthusiast two centuries within the past.

When native lamplighter Luka Cec decided to explore a hidden crack whereas scouting out the Postojna situation for a sing over with by Austrian Emperor Franz, he’s reputed to love acknowledged that he had came upon “a fresh world… a paradise!”

The Postojna system extends for 24 kilometres (15 miles) and has supplied up treasured finds for biologists.

Stanislav Glazar, a Postojna cave manual and speleology enthusiast, steered AFP that bigger than 150 species had been stamp within the system.

Among them is the Proteus anguinus or “shrimp dragon”, an broken-down aquatic salamander that can are residing up to 100 years and became beforehand belief to be as residing proof that dragons had once existed.

A cave-converse beetle -– the slender neck beetle or Leptodirus hochenwartii—became additionally discovered here, apparently by Cec.

Glazar sid Postojna is one in every of the richest caves on this planet “in limestone formations, with a dense concentration of stalactites, columns, pillars”.

The cave, located some 50 kilometres south of the capital Ljubljana, became additionally dwelling to the world’s first cave tourist sing, which started transporting guests in 1872.

‘No fear!’

Elsewhere within the Karst converse, the cave systems are of historic, cultural and even extraterrestrial curiosity.

The dramatic, medieval Predjama castle became inbuilt a cave mouth to beget access complicated and to create an escape route thru a shaft within the rock face.

The Vilenica cave, which Slovenes had been exploring since 1633, is famous for the annual eponymous literary prize awarded in its interior.

And the UNESCO-listed Skocjan system became the set up the European Home Company despatched some astronauts to prepare for all times in situation.

“Astronauts know that the Karst world is extra special, in a same methodology to the atmosphere in situation: you fabricate no longer know what to demand at the next circulate,” acknowledged Skocjan Caves supervisor Tomaz Zorman.

But for Husu, it is the hunt which proves most rewarding.

The “supreme time for cave browsing is the winter” when the air above ground is cooler than that within the caves.

As soon as he knows there is something beneath, he digs all around the crack to widen it and alerts fellow cavers to help invent access.

He then makes expend of ropes and a lamp to drop into what are vertical entrances in most caves, is named “chimneys”.

But would not he indubitably feel any trepidation at coming into such unexplored depths?

“You enter a cave out of curiosity, there is not very any fear! Folks that really feel fear ought to love dwelling,” he acknowledged.

© 2021 AFP