Budapest caves

  Being in August, which has usually a splendid weather in Budapest, it is a bit rainy at the moment and we can enjoy also less sunshine, as summer should show us.
What to do in such a weather? Except of the numerous spas, which is often referred to Budapest, and of course except of the usual sightseeing spots, and not having the time to leave the city for a further excursion (like Aggtelek, where you can find Hungary's most famous cave system), there is an another option, known by few, that this city can be called also the city of caves......, because approximately 200 smaller and bigger caves can be found under the capital. The majority were discovered in the 20th century, 9 of them are strictly protected and 3 are open to the public: Pálvölgyi, Szemlőhegyi and Castle caves, all they are in Buda site.

The biggest is Pálvölgyi, my pics show some details of this cave.


It was discovered in 1904, during  a stone extraction, and opened to the public in 1924. The speleologists found 1200 metres long passages and beautiful stalagmit formations. Since 1944 it is a nature protected area and even the surrounding areas can be visited and are an interesting nature experince.
There has been continous search for new passeges and by 1980 the lenght exceeded 13 kilometres. In 2001 the connection with the neighboroughing Mátyáshegyi cave was discovered and as a result of this today this cave-system is the second longest in Hungary with its 18km length.

For visitors guided tours are organised in every hour.
The temperature is around 8 Celsius,
warm clothing is recommended.
The tour lasts about 50 minutes
during which 500 metres are covered.
There are ladders and steep stairs, it is not recommended for the physically challenged and for children under 5.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 4pm.
The full price ticket is 1000,-Ft( 4 € or around 5 $), discounted (as children, retired or disabiliated people) : 750,-Ft