Óra-fali Cave

The Óra-fali rock cave is a cave located in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, at Oszoly.

Description

In the outskirts of Csobánka, 140° at a distance of 20 m from the Óra rock tower located at Oszoly, at the same height as the Óra rock summit, the cave opens. Its entrance, with an elliptical section and visible from a distance, can only be approached by rock climbing. The cave was formed in Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone under phreatic conditions. From the corrosion passage, two small blind shafts rise upward, and fossil dripstone flows can be observed on the walls. The entrance to the almost completely untouched cave is greatly hindered by dense, spiny shrub clusters growing on the cave floor.

In 1997 the cave was first called Óra-fali-sziklaodú in the literature. In the literature it also appears under the names Óra-fali-odú (Kraus 1997) and Órafali sziklaodu (Kárpát 1991).

Research history

In the book *Pilisszék* (Pilisszék guidebook) published in 1967 it was reported that on the southern side facing Oszoly Csobánka, among the forest‑surrounded limestone rocks, there are several insignificant cavities. According to the notice published in the 1969 Karst and Cave Research Bulletin, in August 1969 the Speleology Cave Research Group placed fixed points in the Kevélyek during a camp organized in the Oszoly and the Oszoly side in eight smaller and larger cavities.

In the book 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 Mountains and the 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 must be mentioned because some of them provide excellent bivouac possibilities in the Oszoly rock walls regularly visited by tourists, especially rock climbers, and near them. In 1990 Vajda J. prepared the cave plan map with a cross‑section. In the 1991 compilation written by Kárpát József it is mentioned that the Órafali rock cavity (Csobánka) is 4 m long and 3 m deep.

The 1991 guidebook repeats the general description of the Oszoly caves from the 1974 guidebook. The 1996 cave day tour guide repeats the description found in the 1991 guidebook, which generally presents the Oszoly caves. On June 6, 1997, based on József Kárpát's 1990 Oszoly overview map, Sándor Kraus drew a site plan showing the geographic location of the caves in the D part of the Oszoly rock groups. The geographic position of the Óra-fali cave can be seen on the plan. In Sándor Kraus's 1997 report it is readable that the Óra-fali rock cave already had a map before 1997. The 1997 site plan was included in the report. The 2005 book titled Magyar hegyisport és turista enciklopédia mentions that in the Oszoly forest rock pillars and small cave openings alternate sporadically.