Csókási Sajt Cave

Csókási Sajt Cave is among the specially protected caves of Hungary. It is located in the Bükk National Park. Because of its labyrinthine passage network, it is one of the special caves of the Bükk region.

Description

In the middle part of the Little Plateau, on the western side of the protrusion called Csókás, north of Csókás ridge, north of the Csókás ridge water‑draining cave, about 160 metres away, at the bottom of the second sinkhole counted from the water‑draining cave, on the steep‑sided sinkhole on the western, left side of the Csókási forestry road, in the north‑ and north‑north‑west part of the sinkhole, in a forest, on a nationally protected area, at the foot of a rock climbing wall, near the Csókási Cave, there is a natural entrance 1.3 metres high and 70 centimetres wide, oriented along the slope axis, of irregular shape.

In Upper Triassic limestone, along tectonic cracks, formed by the action of water flowing in from the surface. Inactive water‑draining cave, but takes in water in small amounts during heavy rains. Because of the complex arrangement of passages, it is similar to a karst‑origin cave. The cave is divided into three levels. In several places, on a large surface, stalagmite floor appears. Domes, pits, spherical chambers, meanders, ceiling channels, spherical columns, sinls, finger‑tip arches, wave shells and hieroglyphs are present. In the passages one can observe pendant stalactite, flowstone, stalactite column, straw stalactite, stalactite rod, stalactite flag, stalactite poisoning and stalactite flow, as well as typical spherical pepperstone, or flow pepperstone. The highest dome starts from the Clean Hall and is eight metres high. The deepest, 10‑metre‑deep pit is the entrance pit. Its horizontal extent is 26 metres. The distance from the cave’s end point to the entrance in a straight line is 19.23 metres. The unrestricted cave can be traversed with permission and basic caving equipment. In the entrance area it is recommended to use a 10‑metre‑long handhold rope. Water‑level marking has not determined where the water flowing in the cave emerges.

The cave is aptly named, because the impassable‑size yet transparent openings and the perforated limestone passages that interlock truly resemble a very holey cheese. The cave appears in literature under the names August 20‑cave (Regős 2003), August 20‑cave (Lénárt 1977), August 20 cave (Lénárt 1982), Csókási Labyrinth‑pit (Regős 2003), Csókási‑Cheese‑cave (Regős 2003), Csókási‑water‑draining‑cave (Bertalan 1976), Csókási water‑drainer (Borbély 1955), Csókási‑water‑draining‑cave (Lénárt 1979), Csókás‑field‑cave (Hevesi 1977), Csókásfield Labyrinth‑pit (Ferenczy 2009), Labyrinth‑cave (Regős 2003), Fairy‑tale‑cave (Ferenczy 2009) and Cheese‑cave (Lénárt 1975). In 2006 the cave was first called Csókási Cheese‑cave in the literature.

Research history

Exploration of the cave began in August 1953. Its first significant section was revealed on 20 August 1953. Sándor Borbély published in the 1955 Hydrological Gazette that the water‑drainer is located in a sinkhole 800 m east of Újmas, 750 m east‑north‑east of the triangulation point of Kovács‑stone, at an altitude of 450 m above sea level. It was uncovered on 20 August 1953. It starts with a vertical shaft 9 m deep. The shaft leads to a small chamber, from which a sloping passage leads to another small chamber. Three passages depart from the chamber. Two of them narrow at the end and the third ends in a chamber. From the chamber three side‑by‑side shafts continue further. The deepest shaft can be bypassed via a winding corridor and through several shafts. The deepest point of the cave is heavily clogged with wet clay. Water inflow was detected only through cracks. In the previously described explorations in the study, no active water conduit was found except for the Szeleta‑pit. The study was accompanied by a map of the floor plan of Csókási Cheese‑cave.

The 1975 MKBT Report states that the sinkhole is located in the pit east of the Csókásréti cave, becoming a labyrinth at about 15 m depth. Very fragmented, corroded forms are present in this cavity. The Miner Cave Exploration Group works in the cave. According to the manuscript completed in 1976 by Károly Bertalan, the Csókási sinkhole cave is in the Bükk Mountains, Parasznyán, about 200 m east of Csókás, on the left side of the road, in a pit, accessed by a mine shaft, at an altitude of 450 m above sea level. The cave is about 50 m long. The periodic sinkhole cave has a collapse‑dangerous entrance. The description was written based on a publication.

The 1977 publication titled Bükk Trail Guide reported that the Csókási Sajt cave is an old sinkhole located near the Csókási cave. Its vertical entrance leads to a labyrinth that is very narrow in many places and only passable by crawling in some sections. The 1979 book Caves in the Bükk states that the Csókási sinkhole cave opens at the foot of a tree in the second pit on the left side of the road, when turning right from the Csókási cave onto the road. It is also called Sajt cave because it is very winding, with intersecting passages. The entrance area can be traversed with rope protection, but also by free climbing. Several lower parts are reachable only by flat crawling. On the map attached to the book, which shows the area of the Bükk Mountains richest in caves, the cave marked with number 11 shows its geographical location.