Škocjan Caves

Škocjan Caves Regional Park is situated in the Kras Plateau of South-West Slovenia. The protected area of 413 ha conserves an exceptional limestone cave system which comprises one of the world's largest known underground river canyons, that was cut into the limestone bedrock
by the Reka River. This exceptional system of limestone caves comprises collapsed dolines, some 6 km of underground passages with a total depth of more than 200 m, many waterfalls, and one of the largest known underground chambers. The site, located in the Kras region, is
one of the most famous in the world for the study of karstic phenomena. In the drier ceilings and walls of the canyon, limestone deposition from dripping water has been shaping astonishing stalagmites and stalactites, such as the so-called Giants in Velika Dvorana ("Great Chamber") and the magnificent rimstone pools in Dvorana Ponvic ("Chamber of Rimstone Pools"), equally impressive manifestations of calcite deposits. The famous pools have been attracting scientists and artists ever since their formal discovery in 1888, and their representations came to epitomize the otherworldly beauty of the Škocjan Caves. The main channel of the celebrated underground river resurfaces in two picturesque collapsed dolines named Velika and Mala which the breath-taking view has never ceased to fascinate visitors, artists, and scientists.