Szádelői völgy, Zádielska Dolina, Zadiel Gorge, Slovak Karst

The Slovak Karst is the most extensive and most developed karst area in Slovakia. It is located in the south-eastern part of the mountain ridge Slovenské Rudohorie, and covers an area of 34,611 ha, with a buffer zone around it of 11,741 ha. It penetrates into the districts of Rožňava (Rozsnyó) and Outer Košice (Kassa). The plateau-like area is divided by rivers into a system of plateaus with numerous above-ground and underground karst phenomena (such as lapiés, karren fields, karst holes, caves and abysses). Here are situated some of Slovakia’s best-known caves open to the public – Jasovská and Ochtinská aragonitová jaskyňa. The cave of Ochtínska, for instance, offers a unique display of underground karst with extraordinary decorations of clusters and bunches of milk-white aragonite, precious in terms of their mineralogy. Also of great interest is the Silická ľadnica – an abyss of a falling nature with permanent ice decoration. In 1995, 12 caves of the Slovak Karst were entered into the UNESCO list of World Cultural and Natural Heritage sites.