In the heart of the Slovenian karst landscape of Kras, below the village of Škocjan, is one of the most important cave systems in the world, the Škocjan Caves, a world of caves into which the Reka River has dug deep into the limestone.

Here, Nature has created a mysterious underground world, a labyrinth of caves, corridors and halls decorated with stalactites of various shapes and sizes. In an entire human lifetime these sculptures grow only a few millimetres, a comforting timelessness of primeval silence and beauty.

In 1815, exploration of the cave system began and now six kilometres of paths, steps and bridges have been painstakingly created.

The river created the caves. Emerging from the underworld, it crosses two collapsed dolines and disappears underground once more.

The underground cave world of Škocjan is a unique testimony of the Earth’s history and in 1986 was designated as a World Heritage Site.