Pál-völgyi Cave System

The Pál-völgyi Cave System is the longest cave in Hungary. It is one of Hungary's specially protected caves. One part, the Pál-völgyi Cave, is one of the caves developed for tourism in Budapest. The cave's surface protected area, about 4.7 hectares, is under the management of the Danube–Ipoly National Park as a separately legislated, nationally significant nature protection area. A 500‑meter length has been developed for tourists.

Visiting

The entrance to the cave system is in Budapest's 2nd district, under Szépvölgyi út 162, and can be approached by bus numbers 65 and 65A from Kolosy Square. The cave temperature is constant year‑round at 11 °C.

On the developed section there are 400 steps scattered, some leading down and some up. The most serious challenge is the eight‑storey continuous stairway with steps up to 30 cm high in places, complemented by the seven‑metre long Tyúklétra ladder. The narrowest section is 80 cm wide.

The basic tour lasting one hour cannot be completed by children under 5 years of age or under 115 cm tall because of the ladder and 30 cm high steps. Smaller children can also visit in a carrier or stroller in the Szemlő-hegy Cave located 800 metres away.

Because of the 30‑person limit, groups larger than 10 people should register in advance by phone.

Permission from the Danube–Ipoly National Park Directorate is required to visit sections of the cave that are not opened to tourism. There is no developed route in the Mátyás-hegy Cave, therefore it can be visited by prior registration and guided cave tours.

Attractions

The cave offers a variety of sights: from the well‑acoustic Színház Hall to the fairy‑tale stalactite formations of Meseország (some brought from elsewhere). Some stalactites resemble animals, such as an elephant and a crocodile. Its most interesting attractions are the varied sparkling calcite crystals and shell imprints, as well as the fairy‑tale stalactites and special rock formations.

One of the most beautiful capital city caves, a protected natural value of Budapest. Highly protected cave.

Research history

The caves opening from the stone quarry established along Szépvölgyi Road attracted the attention of passing tourists in 1902, however after a few‑meter walkable section the caves narrowed in succession. In June 1904, according to oral tradition, the ground collapsed under a sheep at the edge of the quarry yard. The son of the cave supervisor, János Bagyura, rushed to rescue the animal and noticed that the cavity had a continuation. When the speleology tourists, including Károly Jordán and Pál Kornél Scholtz, inspected the cavity, after a small rock breaking they managed to enter the first section of the Pál‑völgyi Cave, also decorated with dripstones. The new cave also attracted the attention of Benno Wolf. In 1904 the book *A Pálvölgyi barlang* written by János Vigyázó was published.

The researchers continued their work until 1910, and in places, using blasting, discovered about a 1 km long section of the cave. After the research and mapping of the cave, members of the Pannónia Tourist Association were the first to equip it with stairs, railings and bridges. The thus made walkable section could be visited by the general public accompanied by qualified guides, from 1919, by the light of carbide lamps. The cave’s visitation received a great boost when the First International Speleological Congress was held in Hungary in 1927. For this occasion, with the support of the capital city, the visitable cave section was equipped with electric lighting, making the cave visit safer and more comfortable.

During the Second World War the cave was used as a shelter. This resulted in a lot of damage to the cave's installations and formations. After the war the damage was partly repaired, but more extensive renovation only took place in 1973, when the National Parks Directorate, at great financial cost and with the help of the social work of speleologists, modernised the electric lighting and the pathways in the cave. After several decades of inactivity, in 1980 the exploration of the Pál-völgy Cave resumed, which led to very significant results. At that time, following the route of the draft, two members of the Zsolt Imre Gábor Speleological Group managed to penetrate into previously unknown sections of the cave. As a result of their purposeful and persistent work, the known and surveyed length of the cave then already exceeded 19 kilometres.

The Honvéd Osztyapenkó SE Zsolt Imre Gábor Speleological Group, the Kelenföld Sports Association Acheron Speleology Section and the Óbuda Brewery Kinizsi Sports Club Speleological Group had a research permit in 1982 for the exploration of the Mátyás Hill Cave. In 1989, on the occasion of the 10th International Speleology Congress held in Budapest, another passage and a new exit were constructed. This made it possible to visit the section built for tourism without retracing the route, and at the same time the cave's capacity increased. With this last extension the constructed section reached a length of 500 metres. Meanwhile, scientific study of the cave also yielded good results, such as continuous monitoring of the bat population, study of algae species settled near the lamps, and monitoring of the quantity and quality of infiltrating water.

From May 14, 1998, according to the decree of the Minister of Environment and Regional Development 13/1998. (V. 6.) KTM, the sections of the Pál-völgy Cave in the Budai Mountains that are not opened to visitors, namely the Cold Hole, the Mátyás-hegy Cave and the Bagyura-Harcsaszájú-Kis-Hideglyuk cave system, may be visited with the permission of the Directorate of the Danube–Ipoly National Park, which has jurisdiction over the area. From May 17, 2001, according to the decree of the Minister of Environment 13/2001. (V. 9.) KöM, the Mátyás-hegy Cave and the Pál-völgy Cave located in the Budai Mountains are designated as highly protected caves. Simultaneously, the provision 1/1982. (III. 15.) OKTH concerning the determination of the area of highly protected caves loses its effect.