Bielańska Cave
What We Offer?
Bielańska Cave is the only cave in the Slovak Tatras open to visitors. It was the first cave in Europe illuminated with electric light. To reach the entrance at 890 m above sea level, you must climb 122 meters in elevation, covering a 1370-meter-long route, with the tour lasting 70 minutes. In the first half of the 18th century, the cave entrances were known to gold seekers but remained secret for a long time. The entrance was rediscovered by L. Gulden and gold seeker Fabry in 1826. In 1896, a power plant on the Biała River supplied electricity to the cave, which could only be visited three times a day. The guide opened it even if only one tourist was waiting. Today, the cave features numerous dripstone waterfalls, pagoda-like stalagmites, and small lakes. Later, we drive under the Tatra Mountains to Štrbské Pleso, a lake on the Slovak side, just a 5-minute walk from the parking lot where your driver will be waiting. Passing through Starý Smokovec and Tatranská Lomnica (a ski resort complex), you will see the beauty and power of nature, as the area was devastated by a massive hurricane in 2004, which felled 14,000 hectares of forests.
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Pricing
| Ticket Type | Bielańska Cave |
|---|---|
| Adult ticket | 90 PLN |
| Reduced ticket (children up to 12 years, students up to 26 years, seniors 65+) | 80 PLN |
| Additional charges (Tickets to Bielańska Cave - tour duration: 70 min) | |
| Adult ticket | 14€ |
| Reduced ticket (children 6-15 years) | 7€ |
| Reduced ticket (students and seniors 60+) | 13€ |
Trip Program:
- 8:00 - Departure from Zakopane
- 9:30 - Hike to Bielańska Cave (approx. 20 minutes)
- 10:00 - Cave entry (guided tour approx. 70 minutes)
- 12:00 - Transfer to Štrbské Pleso - Free time (2 hours)
- 15:00 - Return to Zakopane
- 16:30 - Planned return
Trip Description
- Štrbské Pleso - 300 years ago, there were three water reservoirs where the current lake is. The lake basin was formed by the melting of dead ice about 80 m thick left by a retreating glacier. Research in 1998 confirmed suspicions that the lake was formed by a massive earthquake that sealed the moraine and suddenly raised the water level, as mentioned in historical sources—the chronicler Gašpar Hain of Levoča mentions the formation of a new, large lake after an earthquake in the Tatras on August 6, 1662. The surface area of Štrbské Pleso is 19.76 ha. The maximum depth is 20 m, with a volume of 1,284,000 m³. The lake is covered with ice for an average of 155 days a year. It has no inflowing or outflowing rivers.
- Starý Smokovec - A popular tourist center, mainly for skiers and hiking enthusiasts. It is also an important hub for the electrified narrow-gauge railway connecting Poprad, Tatranská Lomnica, and Štrbské Pleso. Starý Smokovec also has the lower station of the funicular to Smokovecké Sedlo. A very famous building in Starý Smokovec is the Grand Hotel, built in 1904. Starý Smokovec is home to the headquarters of the Mountain Rescue Service (HZS). The forests around Smokovec were almost completely destroyed by a hurricane on November 19, 2004. The wind felled trees over at least 14,000 hectares, destroying about 60% of the spruce population in the Slovak High Tatras. About 3 million m³ of wood lay on the southern slopes of the Tatras. Clearing the fallen forest took about 2 years, while regeneration will take about 100 years. A monument commemorating the event was built in Starý Smokovec, revealing a view of the Tatras and Poprad. This was not the end of the disaster, as a few years later—in April 2013—a fire burned 22 hectares of young forest.
- Tatranská Lomnica - The settlement was established around 1881 and was initially treated as a tourist destination. In 1893, the first hotel—Lomnica—was built here. A significant increase in tourist importance dates back to the late 1930s when the construction of an extremely modern cable car to Lomnica with an intermediate station above Lomnický Pond was completed. The final section of the cable car overcomes a height difference of 850 meters on one span, with the cabin about 300 meters above the ground. Since 2001, the lower section has been closed due to unprofitability and the need for renovation. It is unknown if it will ever reopen; perhaps a museum will be established in the lower station building, designed by the famous Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič.
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