Tours and Tales about Postojna Underground

Green Karst invites you to experience the unforgettable adventures in Karst caves. Everyone knows the Postojnska jama cave – the best-known cave in the world. It is an icon of Slovenian tourism and one of the best-known tourist attractions in Slovenia. In the period of 200 years, the cave saw more than 35 million visitors and is one of the largest Karst monuments in the world. Treat yourself to the underground tour and feel the green and active Slovenian Karst only 50 kilometres away from its capital city of Ljubljana. In this exceptional landscape, green forests spice up the white and earthly colours of Karst phenomena. This landscape also created major literary heroes, such as Martin Krpan, a muscleman who freighted and smuggled saltpeter and could, if necessary, move his mare with his bare hands.

Welcome one million years underneath the ground, as it is said in Postojna. On the world scale, the Postojnska jama cave is special for its double-track railway line, which leads you through vaulted halls, along stalactites and stalagmites that seem like large chandeliers or designer standing lamps! In the beginning of the second half of the 19th century it was not possible to visit the Postojnska jama cave. That was the time, when the railway from Vienna to Trieste started to develop – it brought progress and was screaming out for solutions that would enable visitors to experience the beauties of the Postojnska jama cave. One of Austro-Hungarian geographers even suggested that the visitors should enter the cave on top of donkeys. Well, the railway was built instead, enabling a unique and adventurous almost 4-kilometre long ride nowadays. Near the "railway station", bustling with life during the summer a Vivarium Proteus can be found where you can explore the animal world of the Green Karst caves. There are around 150 animal species to be found in the Postojnska jama cave only, the most known among them is proteus: species with no eyes and human-resembling skin.

Above the mysterious Karst underground, you can find pearls of cultural heritage such as the Predjamski grad castle and castles Snežnik and Prem. Visitors find the Predjamski grad castle especially fascinating, as it is abundant with mysteries and is literally attached into a steep overhanging rock that even serves as a wall in the backside spaces of the castle. Have you heard about the exciting story of Erazem Predjamski, a handsome robber baron, who used his secret underground passages leading from the castle onto the surface in order to steal goods from the others and always got away? Finally he was tricked by his servant, who marked the path towards his toilet with a burning candle.

The Green Karst does not only enthral cavers and historians, but also birds watchers, fishermen, fanciers of horses and horse-riding in the wilderness, as well as hikers, mountaineers, and cyclists. It is a home to an abundant flora and fauna with many protected species, and for that reason the network Natura 2000 encompasses more than a half of the area, therefore being the largest such area in Slovenia.

Freshness and innovativeness are brought into this tourist offer by a real trekking in the underground Karst world, where you can meet the mysterious depths of the Postojna cave system! Nowadays, it is possible to explore the Postojnska jama cave, the caves Pivka and Črna jama, as well as the cave underneath the Predjamski grad castle in an entirely different and adventurous way – in a caving suit and with a carbide lamp on top of your head. The cave trekkings differ in difficulty and duration. Passages of the Pivka and Črna jama caves offer easier tours that are suitable for everyone. More demanding paths can however be found away from the regular tourist paths and usually require additional physical condition. Participants feel like they are the first to enter the world of passages and caves. Tour organizers will make it even more intriguing for you by taking you down the caves and by boating on underground waters. In the Postojnska jama cave, you can take part in one of the most adventurous programs called Following in the footsteps of Luka Čeč. It is especially appropriate for smaller groups that would like to cooperate more and be more interactive. Team-building provides them with the tale`s background and knowledge about the explorers` first steps while exploring the cave and its passages.

This year, you can use the free bus to roam the Green Karst. It will take you from the Postojnska jama cave to the Predjamski grad castle. The Postojnska jama cave, including the castle and other sights, saw almost 800,000 visitors last year, and for that reason, a free bus-ride was organized to relieve traffic congestion in the surroundings of the Predjamski grad castle. There are six two-way bus services each day and the bus is full almost all the time. Get you own seat and take a ride towards new adventures!

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