Notes from the Underground: Cave Month in Budapest

You wouldn't know it living elsewhere, but Hungary has a huge and growing underground culture. We're not talking about the 'noise' scene or craft beer, but the variety of caves and caverns around the country, several of which are in Budapest. As it's National Cave Month in the Hungary, we thought we'd offer a peek into some of the more striking Hungarian cave and cavern networks.

Hungary is known for many things, but caving has yet to become part of its national identity abroad. But this may change with the much covered (including on this blog) opening of the János Molnár underwater cave to divers. Hip international sites like Atlas Obscura made much, and rightfully so, of the gorgeous network, which is still being fully charted.

photo by Janne Suhonen

photo by Janne Suhonen

Then there is the Agytelek National Park network of caves and caverns in northern Hungary. You can actually enter the network on Hungarian territory and come out in Slovakia, though we don't recommend this as a safe or legal alternative to a bus. The entire network comprises over 250 caves and covers almost 200 square kilometers of ground. Some of the cave are thought to have healing properties, like the Peace Cave, which is said to relive the symptoms of asthma.

Aggytelek National Park, via their Facebook page

Aggytelek National Park, via their Facebook page

The Lake Cave in Talpoca is part thermal bath, part caving experience. With a three-kilometer meter long watery cave that runs straight under the town, it is also popular with health tourists who claim it cures respiratory issues.

Tapolca

The Szemlőhegyi Caves, along with the Pál-Völgyi Caves, are some of the more popular caves in Budapest. Szemlőhegyi offers one of the more straightforward caving experiences in the country. Cold, dark and loaded with gypsum crystals, it's ideal for a morning or afternoon trip. You may even see a bat or two.

Hungary has only begun to open up the extensive cave networks across the country for tourism, but dedicating a month to these treasures will go a long way in bringing them much needed exposure. Throughout the month, the organizations that support individual cave will be hosting events like tours and concerts, so we suggest contacting them directly for programs.

via the Pál-Völgyi Caves' Facebook page

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.