Hole of Darázs

The Darázs-lyuka is one of the caves located in the Aggtelek National Park. Together with the other caves of the Aggtelek Karst and the Slovak Karst, the cave has been part of the World Heritage since 1995.

Description

On the Upper Mountain plateau, north of the centre of Bódvaszilas, south of the boundary stone No. XII.43.4, about 310 metres away, not far from the boundary stone No. XII.44, west of the Vecsembükki sinkhole by 200 metres, in a forest, in a specially protected area, on the north‑eastern part of the large sinkhole, at the edge of a small depression, it opens on a remarkable rocky section. From the Vecsembükki sinkhole, along the tourist trail marked with a yellow stripe, it is located about 150 metres south of the trail.

The sinkhole lies directly next to the Vecsembükki sinkhole mound and contains the entrance of the Banán sinkhole, as well as the entrance of the Karácsony sinkhole on the top of the sinkhole. It lies on an imaginary line drawn between the Vecsembükki sinkhole and the Banán sinkhole at an altitude of 522 metres above sea level. The entrance is of natural character, vertical in the axial direction, irregular in shape and formed along a well‑visible fissure.

It has three shafts, one of which reconnects to the main shaft. Above the bottom there is a small ledge with tiny dripstones. The walls of the sinkhole are very muddy, therefore the cave appears very dark. Access requires permission and the use of rope‑technical equipment.

The cave also occurs in the literature under the names Darás-lyuka (Vlk 2016), Darás sinkhole (Vlk 2016) and Prepadlisko Osia (Vlk 2019). In 2019 the cave was mentioned for the first time in the literature under the name Darázs-lyuka.

Research history

The caves of the Aggtelek Karst and the Slovak Karst were declared a World Heritage site in 1995 and therefore this cave is also part of the World Heritage, although it was discovered later. In the past the cave entrance was made impassable by rock blocks and mud. In 2015 the cave was discovered by the Barrandien Cave Research Group by removing the dangerous rock blocks and cleaning the entrance. In that year Daniel Balvín and Mikuláš Vlk surveyed the cave, and then, based on the survey, they drew the longitudinal section map of the cave and two cross‑section maps. The longitudinal section map shows the location of the two cross‑sections within the cave.

In the book on the karst phenomena of Alsó-hegy published in 2019 it is written that the Darázs-lyuka (Prepadlisko Osia) is 8 m long and 8 m deep. The cave identification numbers are: in Slovakia 219, in Hungary 5452/100. The book published the maps of the cave made in 2015. The cave was surveyed in 2015 by Daniel Balvín and Mikuláš Vlk, and then in 2015 Daniel Balvín and Mikuláš Vlk drew the cave maps based on the survey. The maps were digitized in 2015 by Luděk Vlk. A colour photograph showing the cave entrance was published for the description. A detailed map of Alsó-hegy was attached to the publication. The map was made by Luděk Vlk, Mojmír Záviška, Ctirad Piskač, Jiřina Novotná, Miloš Novotný and Martin Mandel. On the map, where caves and sinkholes are marked with black dots, the geographical location of Darázs-lyuka (5452/100, 219) can be seen.