Margitligeti szirtoldali Cave

The Margitligeti szirtoldali Cave is a cave located in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in the area of Oszoly.

Description

In the outskirts of Csobánka, at Margit-liget, north of the Oszoly rock wall, three metres from the highest point of the last large rock slab, to the south, five metres below the summit, the cave entrance is in the rock wall. From its entrance the entire cave is clearly visible. The tiny cavity, just the size of a cave, consists of a single chamber and a few narrow fissures. From the small chamber a narrow fissure, impassable for a person, leads inward and sharply turns at the end point. No basic caving equipment is required for viewing, but because the entrance is in a very exposed location, it is recommended to approach the entrance with rope protection.

It also occurs in the literature under the name Margit-ligeti-Szirtoldali-cave (Kraus 1997).

Research history

The book Pilis útikalauz, which appeared in 1967, mentions that on the southern side facing Oszoly Csobánka, among the limestone rocks surrounded by forest, there are several insignificant cavities.

In the Pilis útikalauz published in 1974, in the list of caves of the Pilis Mountains and the Visegrád Mountains (pages 19–20), it is mentioned that among the caves of the Pilis and Visegrád Mountains are the Oszoly caves. According to the section describing the caves of the Pilis Mountains, there are about a dozen small caves among the Oszoly rocks rising above Csobánka. These were mapped and regularly explored by the Speleology Cave Research Group. Most of these small caves are not very spectacular, but they should be mentioned because some of them provide excellent bivouac possibilities in the Oszoly rock walls regularly visited by tourists, especially rock climbers, and in their vicinity.

The 1991 road guide repeats the description from the 1974 road guide, which generally presents the Oszoly caves. The 1996 cave day tour guide repeats the description found in the road guide issued in 1991, which generally presents the Oszoly caves. On May 28, 1997 József Regős surveyed and, based on the survey, on May 31, 1997 Sándor Kraus drew a floor plan map with longitudinal and cross sections.

On May 31, 1997 Sándor Kraus drew a site map showing the geographical location of the Margitliget‑szirtoldali caves. The site map is based on an entry on May 29, 1997. The site map shows the geographical location of the cave marked with the name Szirtoldali. In Kraus’s 1997 report it is readable that a cave unknown before 1997 had its map made in 1997. The 1997 site map was included in the report. The book titled Magyar hegyisport és turista enciklopédia, published in 2005, mentions that in the Oszoly forest rock blocks and small cave openings alternate sporadically.