Bajóti Büdös Cave

The Bajóti Büdös-lyuk is a cave located in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in the Gerecse Mountains. It is among the specially protected caves of Hungary. If we are attentive, we can also encounter the Denevérek living there.

Description

In the outskirts of Bajót, on the Domonkos Hill plateau, the cave is at the bottom of a fissure-like sinkhole, with an entrance 1.3 m wide and 1 m high. Its narrow, flat and very unstable entrance section connects after 5 m to a spacious corridor. The front part of the slightly winding corridor heading towards D is 11 m long, 1.5–3.8 m wide and 1.8–5 m high. The middle part, 5 m long, and the inner part, 7 m long, are 1–1.5 m wide and 2.5–3 m high. The progressively narrowing passage cross‑section separates the individual sections from each other. The cave formed in middle Eocene limestone. Its main passage, sloping gently inward and steeply rising near the endpoint, developed by dilation along the ENy–DK and E–D fault lines, while the side passages follow the ENy–DK and EK–DNy fault lines. Angular, cornered collapse‑fall forms are characteristic of the cavity system. Many rockfall debris are found within it.

The many protruding roots indicate the proximity of the outer surface. The wall surfaces are covered in spots with a powdery limestone crust, there are no other formations in the cave. Almost constantly weak air movement is experienced in the cavity. Its humidity is slightly lower than average, only 80–85 %, but its temperature is higher, and it does not drop below 11.5–12 °C even in the winter period. The closed, easily accessible cave can be visited only with permission, a research group and for research purposes. Visits are restricted between January 1 and December 31 to ensure the tranquility of the bats living in the cave. During observations in the cave, the Gerecse Cave Research and Nature Protection Association determined that there are 7 bat species in the cave; lesser horseshoe bat (R. hipposideros), greater horseshoe bat (R. euryale), greater mouse‑eared bat (R. ferrumequinum), common bat (M. myotis), water bat (M. daubentonii), greater mouse‑eared bat (M. bechsteinii) and western barbastelle (B. barbastellus).

In 1989 the cave was first called Bajóti Büdös‑lyuk in the literature. The cave received its name from the vapor cloud that flows out of its entrance in winter. In the literature the cave also occurs under the names Büdös‑lyuk (Bertalan 1976), Büdöslyuk (Vigh 1937) and Domonkos‑hegy cave (Bertalan 1976).

1937–2005

It was reported in the 1937 issue of Turisták Lapja that according to the latest Gerecse Mountains and Gete tourist map, Büdöslyuk is located on the K‑i slope of Kökényes‑hegy near Bajót, near a cart track, at an altitude of 240 m above sea level. The study by Sándor Láng in the 1956 Geographical Bulletin mentions that the Domonkos‑hegy cave (Büdöslyuk) has not yet been studied.

According to the cave name index of the Hungarian speleology bibliography compiled by Bertalan Károly and László Schőnviszky and published in 1976, the artificial cavity (Büdös-lyuk) is located at Bajót, on the Kökényes K slope. The cave name index mentions 1 publication that deals with the cave. In the manuscript titled *Hungary’s Cave Register* completed in 1976, it is written that the Büdös-lyuk (Domonkos Hill cave) is located in the Gerecse Mountains at Bajót. The cave is situated on the ÉNy slope of Domonkos Hill, near the road leading to Bajót, alongside the National Blue Trail route. The entrance of the cave is at about 240 m above sea level, and the cave is 8 m long. A cave similar to a stone shelter may be of artificial origin. Unstable ground. The part of the manuscript describing the cave was written based on 3 publications.

In the national cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984, the cave Büdös-lyuk (Domonkos Hill cave) is listed among the caves of the Gerecse Mountains. Associated with the list, a 1:500 000 scale map showing the geographic location of the caves of the Dunazug Mountains displays the geographic location of the cave. The Vértes László Karst and Cave Research Group determined during the exploration of the Bajót Büdös-lyuk on January 26 1986 that there are no bats in the Bajót Büdös-well.

During the April 1989 inspection of the Bajóti Büdös-hole by the Gerecse Cave Exploration and Nature Protection Association, a small collapse of the vertical, slightly overhanging limestone wall above the cave entrance was noticed. The association members cleared the wall and removed the debris that had fallen in front of the entrance. In July 1989 they performed a repair coating on the closing element. During the visits on 15 January 1989 and 12 August 1989 the association determined that there were no bats in the cave. The Gerecse Cave Exploration and Nature Protection Association had a research permit in 1990 for the exploration of the Bajóti Büdös-hole. In 1991 the association did not experience any extraordinary events at the cave. It regularly performed maintenance of the locking mechanism. In the 1994 Limes, in a paper written by Székely Kinga, it was published that the Bajóti Büdös-hole (Büdös-hole, Domonkos Hill cave) with the cave cadastral number 4661/16 appears on card number 11 in the cave catalogue compiled by Bertalan Károly. At the Cave Research Institute the cave has no cadastral master sheet and map, but it has a photograph, a research master sheet and a literary master sheet.