Moravian Karst excursion. Moravian Karst - caves, abysses, underground rivers of a unique nature reserve

Moravian Karst - famous caves Czech Republic, one of the most famous in Europe. The Moravian Karst is located 30 km north of the city of Brno (wiki), among dense forests. This hilly area covers about 100 square kilometers. The caves were created by Devonian limestone. In the Moravian Beauty with (in the Czech manner Moravský kras) there are more than 1100 caves, five of them are open to visitors. In the interest of preserving this phenomenon, in 1956 the territory of the Moravian Karst was declared a Protected Landscape Area.

The territory of the Moravian Karst is penetrated by a network of hiking trails. A green hiking trail leads from Blansk to Skalny Mlyn (the "heart" of the karst with an information center and a car park), which starts at railway station... From Slope or the Sloupsko-Šoszów Caves, you will come here via the yellow trail. Another important landmark is the upper bridge of the Macocha Abyss. This is where the aforementioned yellow track from Slope crosses with the red track from Rudice.

The history of exploration for the Moravian Karst began in 1723 with the first documented descent of Lazar Schopper into the bottom of an abyss. In 1909, a group of researchers led by Karl Absolon (1887 - 1960) passed through the Punkvenny caves into the Macocha abyss from the Empty Trough along the Dry Road. The first part of the caves was opened to visitors in 1910, in 1933 the first excursions were held.

Macocha

The main attraction of the entire Moravian Karst reserve is the Macocha Abyss. Its depth is 138 m, which gives Macocha the deepest abyss in Central Europe. The upper part of the abyss is 174 meters long and 76 meters wide. To view Macocha, take advantage of the 2 observation bridges located along the edge of the abyss. And to explore its part - take a ride on boats plying along the Punkvenny caves to the abyss. A cable car is used to climb the Upper Bridge.

Puncture caves

The most popular caves in the Moravian Karst. The inspection of the caves is divided into two parts: "Dry road" and "Wet road". The "dry" part of the excursion implies walk along the paved paths, with a visit to 3 large cathedrals (caves) and an inspection of the dry part of the Macocha bottom. To get acquainted with the "Mokra" part of the excursion, they use boats that pass through three underground lakes, among the mighty stalagmites, stalactites and stalagnates, to the Massaryk Cathedral - the most beautiful cave in the Moravian Karst.
The Punkva Caves are open throughout the year.

Balzarka cave

The entrance to the cave is a 5 meter high passage. The front part of Balzarka is about 20 million years old, as evidenced by the finds of fireplaces and various objects that archaeologists date back to the Stone Age. The cave is a complex system of labyrinths, corridors, abysses and cathedrals, and consists of two levels. It is popular among tourists due to the fact that a rather large number and variety of stalactites are concentrated in a relatively small area of ​​the cave.

The cave is closed during the winter months; autumn and spring - Tue-Sun, summer season - open every day

Katezhinskaya cave

It is remarkable for large, sometimes up to several meters, stalagmites. The entrance to the cave is decorated with a Gothic portal through which visitors enter the main cathedral - the largest underground cathedral in Bohemia. Due to its perfect acoustics, music concerts are held within the walls of this cathedral several times a year. During archaeological excavations, a large number of remains of cave bears were discovered in the Katezhinskaya cave.

Stolbsko-Shoshuvskie caves

The so-called amateur caves. It is a vast complex of cathedrals, corridors and caves located on 2 levels, which is the longest cave complex in the Czech Republic. From time to time, the caves are used for concerts due to their acoustic properties.

The caves are open throughout the year, in winter Mon - closed

Vypustek Cave

Former classified military facility on the territory of the Moravian Karst. In the 60s of the last century, immediately after the Cuban crisis, the Chechen army built a large bomb shelter in case of a nuclear strike. Vypustek was supposed to save the lives of more than 250 military analysts and commanding officers who would lead the 50,000 military in Moravia. While preparing the cave for opening to the public, workers discovered the machines of ancient animals that lived in the cave more than 10,000 years ago, most of them are cave bears and lions.

Since 2010, a permanent exhibition has been presented here: "The Use of Caves by Man", where visitors will learn how, over 15,000 years, man has used cave goods rationally.

The cave is closed during the winter months; autumn and spring - Tue-Sun, summer season - open every day.

Kateřinská cave, Punkevni caves and Macocha abyss

The starting point for you will be Skalni Mlyn. Here you can buy tickets to all caves, as well as tickets for ecological transport. A ten-minute walk from here is the Katerinska Cave, which is known primarily for its stalactite formation, the Enchantress (Witch) and the legend of Kateřinka and her lost sheep. A tour of these very popular caves takes about 30 minutes.

Return to Skalni Mlyn and board the ecological train that will take you to the Punkva Caves. The excursion in the cave is divided into two parts: overland and sailing on water by boat, the duration of the excursion is about 60 minutes. Important warning: children under 3 years old are not allowed to enter the caves. Not far from the entrance to the caves is the lower station of the cable car, which will take you to the upper bridge of the Macocha Abyss. In a similar way (or along the hiking trail) you will return to Skalni Mlyn.

Balcarka and the Slope-Shoszów caves

Through the village of Vilemovice you will arrive at the Island near Macocha, the Balcarka cave is located in front of the village. From the Island, head to Slope, which received the title of a village in 2000. The Slope-Šoszów caves were recently reconstructed, and the complex also includes the Kulna Cave, famous for its archaeological finds. You can walk along two tracks: a short and a long loop. The excursion along the short ring lasts about 60 minutes, for the more enduring we offer to walk along the long ring, the excursion lasts 100 minutes and during this time you will walk 1670 meters.

Vypustek Cave

From Blansko you will reach Jedovnice, then turn in the direction of Brno and you will come to Krštiny. Vypustek Cave is located in the Josefo Valley, about 1 km from Krštin. Several centuries ago, the cave was a long and unique system. However, in the twentieth century, the extraction of phosphate clays and the actions of the Czechoslovak and German armies left an expressive imprint on it. In the 60s of the twentieth century, an anti-nuclear shelter was built in one of the corridors. During the excursion, you will get acquainted with the history of the cave, including the former secret military command post. Currently, the preparation of the expositions "Vypustek Cave in the Krština Valley" and "The Cave of Ancient Rituals", which present Vypustek as the most ancient cave among the caves of the Moravian Karst, open to visitors, the "Dragons and Unicorns" cave and the largest bear cave of the Moravian karst.

And finally, an important tip: do not forget to dress warmly, the temperature in the cave does not rise above 7-8 ° C !!!

Useful tourist information

• Moravian Karst | Official site - moravskykras.net

Hello everyone! Today is my first review with a new name (yes, it happens, almost 4 years have passed on the site and I wanted something new). But my passion for independent travel does not change, so I want to tell you about a stunning place that I managed to visit on the last day of this fall.

I travel a lot around the Czech Republic, but it was this place that opened for me this magical beauty of the country from the other side. We are used to the Czech Republic being Prague, castles, etc. In fact, there is a lot of splendor created by nature here (well, people know how to maintain this beauty).

Moravian Karst (or, as they say, the Moravian Karst).

Over 1100 caves are located throughout the territory, of which only four are open to visitors

How to get there? If you are by car, then I think you can easily get to the signs. There is a large parking lot in the Moravian Karst. But if you are traveling by transport, then I can advise the following. The easiest way is to first get to the city of Brno (the second city in the country after Prague, the capital of Moravia). Here, at the main railway station, trains run quite often to the town of Blansko. The drive is not long, about 40 minutes. Or from Prague, go straight to Blansko, but the road will be very long. In Blansko, next to the railway station, there is a bus station, from where buses go to Skalny Mlyn (where we need to). Drive 10 minutes more. The fare is 10 kroons (less than 30 rubles). There are a lot of buses in the summer season. We went on November 30, so there was only one bus there and only one back. I had to adapt to him. By the way, all information on public transport is available on the Internet, everything runs strictly according to the schedule. If you have any questions, write in a personal, I will give useful links on transport in the Czech Republic. You can also write to the mail of the administration of the Moravian Beauty, even in Russian, they will answer all your questions and tell you how best to get in your case. Attention! If you are traveling to the SEASON (April-September), then tickets for excursions must be booked in advance!

What is there to do? So, here we are. It is best to go directly to the information center. They speak your language. You will be given a plan of the area, the timetable of the caves. There you can buy tickets for Moravian Krass transport - train and funicular. I advise you to take a combi ticket, it's cheaper. Tickets to the caves will also be sold there, although you can buy them on the spot. We bought tickets to Punkva Cave there, and took the train right up to it.

We were the only tourists. And on the train, especially for us, they included a recording of an introductory tour in Russian! The train travels for about 10 minutes through very picturesque places.

Punkva Cave. They were already waiting for us there. We were the only visitors! Just some kind of VIPs! It was unrealistically cool, because the place itself is very touristy and during the season there is nowhere for an apple to fall, but here everything is just for us! The guide took us to a cave ...

We were warned in advance that nothing should be touched with our hands. It turns out that a stalactite or stalagmite can stop growing forever if you touch it.

In the cave itself, everything is made for tourists. Convenient paths and stairs, beautiful lighting. The excursion is switched on by the remote control! Yes, the conductor did not speak Russian, and with the remote control he switched on the Russian text in the right places.

The first part of the cave is completely pedestrianized. I've never been to a place like this before (adits don't count). Fascinating beauty.

But the most beautiful was ahead of us! Coming out of the first part of the cave, you find yourself at the bottom of the Macocha abyss. And this is a must see!

Macocha abyss with a depth of 138 meters is also the largest abyss of this type in the Czech Republic and in Central Europe

Looking up ...

But ahead of us is the second part of the cave, where we will have to move by boat along the underground river! A boat was waiting for us, driven by a very funny Czech. He asked us what language we speak, we said that in Russian, and a little in Czech. Well, that's how we talked. More precisely, we were sitting in a boat, and he told us about the depth of the river at the moment, underground waterfalls and lakes.

In general, it is forbidden to take photos from the boat. But we were allowed! Maybe because they liked us, maybe because there were only two of us.

The only thing is that it is difficult to take a high-quality photo there, especially since I often had to bend over so as not to hit the ceiling of the cave with my head. This route lasts almost half a kilometer.

Alas, time flew by there very quickly. The hour had never happened. On the boat, we reached almost to the place where the train originally brought us.

Is it cold in the cave? Everything is relative. The fact is that the temperature there is almost constant. About +8. In summer it will seem very cold, you need to take a jacket! But on the last day of autumn, when there is +1 outside, you can warm up in the cave.

Souvenirs from Punkva. there is a souvenir shop near the cave entrance. There is a very cool woman working there who speaks excellent Russian and has a wonderful sense of humor! We chatted with her for about 40 minutes. And, of course, we bought some souvenirs. The store has everything from literature about the Moravian Kras (in Russian too) to rare minerals. Well, and, of course, magnets and jewelry.

Funicular to the top of the abyss. You can climb to the top with this transport very conveniently and quickly. It is 5 minutes walk from the Punkva cave.

At the top there are hotels and cafes (alas, they do not work in the off-season) and observation platforms from which you can view the abyss.

From above it blue Lake it seems just a puddle. By the way, earlier this place was very fond of suicides. And there were employees on staff who removed their bodies from the bottom.

From the top, you can go down a little lower to the middle platform. Beautiful place for a selfie, by the way.

From there you can see the very place where we were when we left the first part of the Punkva cave. Everything seems so small.

The upper part of the abyss is 174 meters long and 76 meters wide. There are two observation bridges along the edges. The upper one was built in 1882, it is located in highest point Macokhi is called the Upper Bridge. The second one was built in 1899 and is located 92 meters above the bottom of the abyss and the bottom is clearly visible through it.

Having admired, we went on foot (decided to look at the area) to another cave - Katezhinskaya. The road was difficult.

So if you want to repeat our feat, keep in mind that the shoes must be ready for the rocky serpentine.

We bought tickets to the cave at the box office near it. The excursion was scheduled for exactly 14.00. This was the last day of the operation of this cave this year. Needless to say, we were the only visitors here too? The conductor spoke good Russian.

The name of the cave comes from the name of a girl who, according to a sad local legend, got lost in the cave and died. But let's not talk about the bad. The cave has excellent acoustics, so concerts are held in the cave in the summer!

The excursion to this cave lasted only half an hour.

The museum is very modern, there are many interesting pieces, interactive games. Even children will not be bored. There is a cinema.

In the Museum "House of Nature"

There is a hotel with a working restaurant near the bus stop. There you can have a good meal or just have a coffee.

About prices. The most expensive ticket to Punkva cave for an adult is 180 CZK (this is with a boat trip). The rest of the tickets are around 100 CZK. There is a system of benefits. In general, prices are very low.

There is a lot to see in Moraski Krasa. I already want to go back there, especially since there are a couple of caves left where we have not been!

I recommend a trip to Morasvky Kras. In the non-season without a crowd of tourists, the impressions were incredible. This is a fabulous place. And I will separately note the wonderful responsive workers and guides.

Thank you for your attention! With you was Dasha, no longer Sowing, but Shadow Crystal

Have a nice trip!

And you will find my other travel reviews

Let's start a story about one of the most striking Czech natural attractions - the Moravian Karst, where we visited the Punkvna Caves and Macocha Abyss. In this publication we will tell you about the organizational side of the excursion.

Moravian Karst. A bit of theory

The caves are located in South Moravia, the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, north of the city Brno. In this region at the beginning of the twentieth century, enthusiasts, led by Professor Karl Absolon, gradually discovered several caves from 1909 to 1933. They arose, among other things, as a result of the activities of the Punkva River. Stalactites and stalagmites have formed in huge cavities of limestone karst over millions of years. Some of them grew together and became stalagnates, while others, under the influence of water, formed bizarre formations that look like an umbrella, then an owl, or a bunny.

The sight of such unusual natural wonders is so shocking that not a single epithet, not a single adjective in the most superlative degree can closely convey the impression of this amazing sight. Let's put aside fruitless attempts and present to your attention a few pictures. (Pictures of larger format are attached below).

Impressive? Fascinating? Is it shaking? Then include a visit to this attraction in your itinerary. And we will share some secrets.

Moravian Karst. Punkvnye caves. Tickets. Booking tickets. Schedule

1. We will refrain from advising you to book tickets to the Punkve Caves in advance, although the Dorling Kindersley (DK) series Czech Republic and Slovakia guidebook states that it is better to book an excursion during the high season by writing an email to [email protected] You can redeem tickets upon arrival. I give a link to the informational site of the caves, there is a Russian version on it. http://www.caves.cz/ru/jeskyne/punkevni-jeskyne/.

Ordering something in advance means being tied to an object in time, which is not always and not very convenient. Therefore, having drawn attention to the reservation “at the height of the season”, we decided that at the beginning of April there should not be a “peak” yet and let this matter take its course. But we have tailored the sightseeing schedule in such a way as to see the Punkve Caves on a weekday, specifically on Friday afternoon. Looking ahead, we will say that apart from us, there were no people who wanted to inspect them, we got into caves on individual excursion and for us everywhere they turned on Russian sound recording.

The caves are open all year round, but Monday to March is a day off. On the rest of the off-season days, they are open from 8.40 to 14 hours. In the season from April to September on Mondays open from 10 am to 4 pm, on other days from 8.20 am to 4 pm.

Moravian Karst. Punkvnye caves. How to get there

2. We will not help you with public transport, we ourselves move by car. Although we saw some kind of regular bus there. We put the name of the nearest settlement in the navigator, and then we followed the signs to Punkevní Jeskyně, “jaskini” in Czech means caves. You can fill in the address of the Skalny Mlyn hotel: Skalní Mlýn 96, Blansko, it is located next to the information center of the caves. And here is the GPS coordinates: 49 ° 22 ′ 15.9 ″; 16 ° 43 ′ 33.7 ″.

Moravian Karst. Punkvnye caves. Excursion

3. You need to know that the excursion can consist of two parts. The first part includes a visit to the caves, access to the Macocha abyss, boat rides on the underground river with access to the observation deck of the Masaryk Cave. In time, this part lasts about an hour, of which 20 minutes is boating. She will take you to approximately the place from where you started the excursion. It is accompanied by a local guide, the visit is organized by sessions, we got there at 14.40. You can refuse the boat, which we highly do not recommend.

Second part: you have the opportunity to independently climb to the top of the mountain. Or, like us, take the cable car. From there opens beautiful view to the Macocha Abyss. There are two observation decks along the route, an upper and a lower one. A rather steep staircase leads to the lower observation deck.

From the top observation deck steps are visible, to the right of them is the lower platform.

4. The navigator led you to the desired point. There is a large paid car park in front of the information center. The money must be paid to the valet at the entrance, the cost is CZK 50 without time limit. After the closure of the caves, parking becomes free until the morning.

5.If you have booked a ticket in advance, you must redeem it at the information center.

Information center building. There is a “train” in front of him, he takes clients to the entrance to the Puknevnye Caves.

It is not necessary to book in advance on low season weekdays. In the second or third window (in the first one sells tickets for the "locomotive" and for the cable car), first purchase a ticket for the next (or convenient for you) session. Here is the price list, please note that the permission to shoot is also paid.

Moravian Karst. Punkvnye caves. On foot or by train?

6. In front of the information center you will see a tourist train that takes visitors directly to the starting point of the excursion.

Steam locomotive tickets are sold in the first window of the information center. There are tickets of different categories: one way, round trip; complex: round trip to the steam locomotive and to the cable car. It is most advantageous to buy a complex ticket.

This list of prices and categories of trips showed up at the top platform of the funicular. We didn’t notice it in the info center, we probably didn’t pay attention.

A ticket for the cable car can also be bought from the operator at the point of departure of the carriage.

Moravian Karst. Punkvnye caves. Where to stay? Where to have a snack?

7. If necessary, you can spend the night at the information center of the caves, the hotel is called “Skalny Mlyn”.

We had the pleasure to familiarize ourselves with the cuisine of the hotel restaurant - worthy of all praise.

The hotel is not cheap. They did not find anything suitable in neighboring Blansko, but they found a wonderful hotel “Olberg” in the village of Olomuchany. An excellent hotel, highly recommended. We talked about it in more detail in the article (paragraph 7).

Moravian Karst. Punkvnye caves. Personal observations

And now we dwell in detail on one specific excursion and invite you, dear reader, to the Punkva Caves. In this article, we share our experience, we found miserable crumbs on the network, mostly incredibly beautiful pictures of caves without much details about important details. Geology and shine.

Using the navigator we get to the caves. We give 50 CZK to the valet, park the car and go to the information center. As an English-speaking crew member, the Head of the Expedition entrusts his stupid Flight Journalist with the responsible event of buying tickets and asking for details about the algorithm of actions. She weakly understands what they want from her and what algorithm they are talking about, pokes into the first window, mumbles something about tickets, they demand money from her and give 2 cardboard cards.

Glavvred requires clarification of further actions, he is shown to the next windows. It turned out, out of fright, we first bought transport tickets - we were sold a complex one, for everything there and back. And only after that we go to the ticket office and buy tickets to the Punkva Caves and Macocha Abyss.

According to the price list, you can buy a ticket without boating. We are being sold for everything, we are still buying permission to shoot and a book about caves. And do not deny yourself the pleasure of underground swimming - this is a very interesting part of the tour!

The beginning of the excursion

There is still time before the start of the excursion. But we are not far from the engine. After a while, we are invited by a gesture to take our places and we shake for 10 minutes in this vehicle, looking around and looking at the almost steep mountain slopes overgrown with forests

and the Punkva river babbling along the road.

We were brought to the starting point of the excursion. This is a fairly large area, there is one building on it.

I can't say for sure, but it seems that tickets can be bought here as well. We while away the time in a souvenir shop selling products made from minerals and semi-precious stones. I still regret not having bought the “wind chime” made from multi-colored jasper.

A saleswoman in a souvenir shop, who speaks good Russian, warns us not to touch stalactites and stalagmites. After that, they stop growing.

By the time indicated in the ticket, we go out to the central hall and after a while the guide invites us. Here we realize that no one will be on the excursion apart from us. We are led through long, cold labyrinths.

Moravian Karst. In the Punkvny Caves

The air temperature in the caves is constant - about 8 degrees. After a while we find ourselves in the front hall. We turn on the sound recording, but the visual impressions are so strong that the brain refuses to remember the sound information.

They tell about the history of the discovery of the caves. In the course of the story, the guide illuminates with a flashlight this or that bizarre figure of a stalactite or stalagmite, or a stalagnate - a stalactite fused with a stalagmite and turned into a natural column, calls them by association with one or another object.

We get a little frustrated by the difference between the scene around us and the limited view in the viewfinder. No, our cameras will not transmit all the fantastic beauty of this underworld... Along long corridors

we are led to another cave,

then another one,

in the fourth.

Moravian Karst. Macoch Abyss

And so we find ourselves under open air- at the bottom of the abyss Macokha.

Once upon a time this part was also an underground cave, but the vault collapsed and now it is an open cavity with a small lake. The sound recording is turned on and we learn the legend about the Macokha abyss and its name - matzOkha means “stepmother”. We offer a video with a legend, the translation from Czech into Russian is not very good, the word stepson is replaced by the combination “not his own son”.

We will tell you more about the Macokha abyss in a separate publication, where we will give a slightly different version of the legend. Here we will only mention that in the old days, until 1914, an unusual craft existed in neighboring villages - cleaning the corpses of suicides from the bottom of the Macocha abyss.

Along the Punkva river

The tour continues with a boat trip along the underground river. Our guide is replaced by a boatman. He honestly conducts his excursion in Czech, from which we understand only the depth of the underwater part. Not having time to bend down, Glavvred painfully knocks his head on a stone. We then joke that it was necessary to install a sign: "Bizza up the wall here." We sail to another grotto, here the colors are already completely different than we saw in the dry part of the caves.

We continue our boat ride and suddenly, as if someone had turned on the light, we find ourselves outside. That's all, they sailed.

Not thinking of anything after what we saw, we do not immediately come to our senses. And we continue to get acquainted with those around us.

Punkvnye caves. Continuation of the excursion

We pass a little forward to the lower station of the cable car.

Below you can see the landing point.

There is no need to wait for anyone, the mechanic immediately turns on the electric motor.

We follow the signs to the upper observation deck. On the way we pass a small cafe.

Either we don’t want the kind of beer that is bottled there, or we don’t intend to waste time. We admire the lake at the bottom of the Macocha abyss.

We see the steps and the lower observation deck.

Then we go down

to the lower observation deck and see the upper balcony, on which they stood about 20 minutes ago.

In this photo, at the bottom right, you can see the platform where we stood during the excursion along the bottom of the Macocha abyss.

We take a few pictures and slowly climb up the same road. I did not read the signs carefully, but it seems that from here you can immediately go down to the parking lot and the information center.

Everything is the same, but in reverse order - up the stairs,

past the upper observation deck,

past the cafe, to the cable car station.

Our locomotive with the same driver was already parked at the lower platform. It seems that he was just waiting for us, we sit down and go to the "Skalny Mlyn".

Moravian Karst. Punkvnye caves. Excursion cost

Those vivid impressions that we got in the caves and on the underground river cannot be estimated by any material equivalents. We can only announce the cost of our excursion: the fantastic pleasure of staying in the underground kingdom, including the parking fee, cost 710 CZK or 1,278 rubles for two.

Another article on the site is devoted to the Punkve Caves:. It focuses on the geology of the caves and the history of their discovery, and also sets out the full illustrated version of the excursion to the cave.

At 5:51 am, our train departed from the main railway station in Prague. There were almost no people on the platforms at such an early hour, so we were traveling in the “compartment” together. We settled down comfortably on the soft seats (read: lay down and almost fell asleep), and almost immediately the train started. Outside the window, in the morning fog, cozy houses with red roofs, yellow rapeseed fields and green meadows flashed through the morning fog.

Main station.

Dawn landscapes.

Many reports from the Internet talked about how difficult it is to get to the Moravian Karst on your own. We decided to take a chance.

The Moravian Karst is a huge territory where the processes of karst formation were actively taking place - limestone rocks were slowly eroded by water. As a result of karst processes, over many millennia, on an area of ​​25 kilometers long and wide in different parts from 2 to 6 kilometers, many caves have arisen, today about 1100 are known! Only 5 are open to the public.

So, how to get to the Moravian beauty:
We went with Central Station(Hlavny Nadrazi) by train to Blansco. The beauty of this train is the absence of transfers and connections - at 5:51 am we get on the train in Prague, at 8:52 am we get off at the station in Blansko. The next direct train leaves at 7:51 and arrives at 10:52. We decided it was a little late :)

After exiting the railway station, there will be a bus station on the left. 10-15 minutes after the arrival of the train, a bus leaves for Skalni Mlyn - the entrance to nature Park.

Across the street from the station, there is an information board that will help you find your way.

We left the platform, turned right, walked along the river and came across a bus stop with a cleverly written timetable. Having considered the schedule from all sides, we assumed that either the bus would arrive in 2-3 minutes, or we did not understand anything in the schedule :) The bus did arrive.
On the way to the bus stop.

Ten minutes on the way and we are at the Stone Mill. Here we bought in advance booked tickets(on the website of the Moravian Beauty it is said that it is better to book the entrance to the most popular Punkva cave in advance, otherwise you can wait a few hours - they are allowed inside only with excursions, and sightseers almost always come by whole buses ...).

Our excursion in Punkva started at 13 o'clock, so we went to the nearby Kateřín cave.

We bought tickets in a tourist house on the way to the underground, waited 10 minutes and went on an excursion. In Czech :) The girl-guide gave a printout with the text in Russian, using it we followed the course of the excursion.

Cave entrance.

The largest underground grotto in Europe is located in the Kateřinská Cave. It even hosts concerts and an impromptu stage.
By the way, all caves are equipped with concrete paths, handrails, stairs. The lighting switches on and off at the click of the guide.

Tripods with a variety of measuring instruments are everywhere.

In addition to the underground hall, the Katerzhinskaya Cave is known for a huge number of finds of the bones of fossil bears.

Bear fireplace. Most of the fossil remains have been found here.

And here are the bones.

A business cards serve the so-called "bamboo forest" - stalagmata, spaciously "grown" in a small area of ​​the cave.

And the "old woman", who was even made a symbol of this cave. Education is almost completely natural: the exception is a stalactite stick, which the researchers gave into the hands of a witch bent over a gingerbread house.

Very high stalagmite.

"Pagoda".

After the excursion, we went along the path, dashingly climbing up, to explore the natural park.
Greenery, birds sing. Nice weather. Nice walk out :)

We approached from above to the Macocha abyss - the symbol of the Moravian Beauty. Once it was a huge underground hall, but many years ago the vault of the grotto collapsed, revealing to the world an abyss 138 meters deep. There are 2 observation platforms near the abyss. But, in my opinion, the best vantage point is from the bottom of the abyss.

The second observation deck is visible on the left in the frame.

View from the second observation deck

From the Macocha abyss to the Punkva cave, the trail drops in height and winds between the rocks. By the way, if you started your way from Punkva, then you can climb to the abyss by cable car, and not stomp up the hill. But this is for the lazy and not strong in spirit;)

Crowds of people, cafes, ice cream, souvenir shop near Punkva cave. Popular place.

The place where the underground part of the Punkva River comes to the surface.

We were lucky, at 13 o'clock a Russian excursion group set off, to which we were joined. Still, listening to excursions in Czech is almost useless :) I was surprised by the form of the excursion - the girl-guide turned on the audio recording in Russian - the announcer told everything in detail, the speakers broadcast the speech to the entire underground hall. And the guide only led the group along the route.

Grottoes, narrow corridors, stalactites, an underground lake ... the wealth of decoration provided a wealth of impressions.
A concrete tourist path is visible on the right.

Small stalactites, mostly broken off.

You can imagine the size of the hall.

Such a wide ring at the top of the stalagmite is formed when drops fall from a great height.

Flow education "Canopy".

"Angel".

This part of the corridor is already artificial.

Finally, we got to the observation deck at the bottom of the Macocha abyss. Once I read the phrase that "the light is better seen from the darkness." Standing at the bottom of the abyss, I realized that this was absolutely true, there were no objections. Sheer walls covered with green moss, a turquoise lake at the bottom, bright green young foliage of trees. All this, bathed in sunlight, after the darkness of the caves seemed like an emerald fireworks that burst from the bowels of the earth.

And then the excursion continued ... on boats along the underground river. The helmsman so dexterously steered a rather large boat in a rather narrow space that I was only amazed. From time to time the helmsman announced the names of the stalactites, the depth under the boat in meters and the words "carefully right / left" - you need to take care of your head, stalactites and stone ledges tightly surround the channel. That is why you cannot hold onto the sides of the boat. In some places, in the rocks of the walls, I saw deep scratches made by the boat's sides, my fingers would obviously not be good in those places.

Underwater bridge.

Pay attention to the color of the stalagmite. Blue-green algae cannot live in the dark, but they have covered the surface of the stalagmite, which is illuminated by artificial light. And they live great :)

After the excursion, we went on a hiking trip to Blansko, with unexplored paths and asphalt roads. On the way we were surrounded by beauty.

We had lunch in a cafe at the hotel and at seven in the evening went to Prague.

It is not for nothing that they call it the main treasure of the Czech Republic unique nature... One of the most beautiful places Central Europe is protected by the state and is a hilly area of ​​one thousand square kilometers. The largest karst massif, the Moravian Kras, is the most famous miraculous attraction in the country.

Protected area

On the territory of the protected zone, scientists have discovered more than a thousand caves with traces of the life of primitive people, but only four of them, equipped and illuminated, are accessible for tourists. The rest of the entrance is allowed only to professional speleologists.

The unique Moravian Karst, declared a nature reserve, is a wonderful option for exploring the natural beauty of the Czech Republic. A mesmerizing journey through the karst region amazes with the grandeur of the underworld.

It is noteworthy that special trains run through the protected area, delivering guests to all interesting points of the reserve.

Punkva Labyrinths

The caves of the Moravian Karst attract visitors to the Czech Republic with their unusual beauty. Mysterious grottoes, picturesque canyons, deepest gaps, underground lakes are of great interest to enthusiastic travelers.

The hidden labyrinths created in limestone rocks are known far beyond the borders of the country. The most popular cave is Punkva with the Macocha abyss and the river of the same name, along which rafting is organized.

Colonies of calcareous formations

Discovered relatively recently by speleologist K. Absolon, who went all the way to the end, the attraction receives tourists all year round. Moravian Karst (Czech Republic) is famous for its amazing beauty with whole colonies Bizarre calcareous formations, similar to "Romeo and Juliet" stretching towards each other, reminiscent of a silk cape "Palantin" will make the hearts of tourists beat with admiration.

Punkva is famous for the most wonderful figure, resembling an angel with folded wings, who for a long time protected people and was exhausted. Tired and unable to hover above the ground, he found his refuge in the underground galleries.

Mirror lake

In one of the halls, an underground lake with a mirror surface reveals its charms to the guests, which does not disturb anything. Inverted stalactites are reflected in the reservoir, and this sight is simply unforgettable. Near the lake there is a gigantic stalagmate "Salma", which delights everyone who is in the underground kingdom with its size.

The most beautiful grotto

During the laying of artificial passages, a small grotto was accidentally discovered, decorated with drop-shaped and rod-shaped stalactites. In the hall named after the hall, guests arrive in a silently gliding boat along a dark corridor filled with water. In the grotto "Masaryk" they make a stop so that all tourists can admire the limestone formations closer. The hall resembling a human dwelling is considered the most beautiful in the cave.

Macoch Abyss

The fascinating walk ends at the bottom of the deepest abyss Macocha, with which chilling ancient legends are associated. Tourists climb the cable car and inspect the hole from the top of the mountain.

The large natural gorge with Punkva is 138 meters deep. For guests of the reserve there are two equipped bridges, from which a charming and at the same time frightening panorama of the abyss opens.

Kateřinská cave

But the Moravian Karst is famous not only for the underground treasures of Punkva. No less beautiful is the Kateřinská Cave, the magnificent acoustics of which are known to all guests who have arrived at the reserve. The largest "Main Cathedral" often hosts musical performances and vocal competitions.

The so-called Witch's stalagmite, shimmering in different shades in the light of the spotlights, makes an extraordinary impression. It seems as if an unusual formation really became a product of dark forces.

The "Bamboo Forest" is a whole cluster of tall stalagmites that resemble wild thickets. And in one cave, researchers discovered the remains of a prehistoric giant bear.

Balcarka cave

The Balcarka Cave of scientific interest is another natural attraction, for the sake of which tourists rush to the Moravian Karst. Here they found the largest number of animal skeletons of the Pleistocene period, human tools made of bone and stone. Well, the main decoration of Balcarka is numerous stalagmite laces of bizarre shapes and colors that carry visitors into a real fairy tale.

Only here are unique stone formations - helictites, which grow parallel to the ground.

Slope-Shoszow system

Two-tier complex underground caves with vaults in the form of a dome and branching galleries, attracts tourists with a special charm. Guests seem to enter a magical world with bizarre formations and the quiet whisper of an underground river. But the most breathtaking sight of the Slope-Shoszów system is the amazing view from the bridge to the bottom of the Stupnovit abyss.

Moravian Karst: how to get there?

How to get to the reserve on your own? From Prague you need to get to the city of Brno (this is about three hours by bus), from there by train or public transport get to settlement Blansko.

Bus number 226 will take you to the Skalní mlýn stop, from there you will have to walk more than a kilometer to the reserve.

Excursions

You can take an excursion to Moravský kras from different places. For example, for a tour from Prague, which includes the road and sightseeing, you will have to pay about a hundred dollars per person.

You can buy tickets at the entrance to the caves before the start of the one and a half hour excursion (170 CZK for an adult, 40 CZK for photography). Independent travelers will have to wait for the group to form. As they say seasoned travelers, Russian visitors should not be complex, because everything that the guide tells you can be found in the guidebook. The main thing is the feeling of being in the underground galleries.

Remember that you will have to pay separately for the opportunity to take pictures, however, during an exciting rafting down an underground river, it is strictly forbidden to take pictures so as not to dazzle the boatman.

All tourists agree that the Moravian Karst, whose photo perfectly captures the magical world of a natural miracle, is an unforgettable sight. A fascinating trip to the caves and acquaintance with the protected area will leave an indelible impression. A place that has no equal, must be visited by everyone who is in a hurry to