Aristocratic Gemer (Tour around Castles and Caves)
We will leave Prešov (other starting point is also possible) in the morning and our first stop will be in castle Krásna Hôrka. Second castle of our tour is romantic chateau Betliar. After we leave the castles, we will head for the mountains, where we will visit Ochtinska cave. This wonderful cave is full of fragile aragonite. Then we will see Gombasecka cave. The icing on the cake will be a surprise in a forest, well hidden Silická ľadnica, which is a huge gap in the rock filled with ice even it is hot summer! We will arrive back to Prešov sometimes in the evening.
Duration: 1 day
Mileage: around 190 miles (300 km) Price per each person: 1 person 265 EUR 2 persons 165 EUR 3 persons 120 EUR 4 persons 90 EUR more than 4 persons price depends on exact number of persons (price includes: transport, guide services, information materials, entrance tickets and fees, regional surprise) |
This trip is for everyone who wants to discover lovely castles from 13th and 14th century and age-old, mysterious, untouched, cold caves (UNESCO). If you like history and wonderful nature, this trip is exactly for you!
The Krásna Hôrka Castle is situated east of Rožňava. It stands on top of the conspicuous unwooded mountain, which dominates the Rožňavská kotlina basin. The main attraction though is the embalmed body of Sophia Andrássy-Serédy. Writer Mór Jókai used the motif of the mummy in his novel The White Lady of Levoča. The original Gothic castle was built around 1320. The courtyard of the upper part of a rather small castle with triangle-shaped ground plan has been preserved. Fortifications were added to the castle in time of the Turkish threat.
North-west of Rožňava in the east of Slovakia, in the valley of the Slaná river is the fairy tale-like two-storied manor house Betliar with four corner towers. It is a stately hunting manor surrounded by a wonderful English park with romantic structures including an artificial cave and waterfall. Its interior is equally interesting, as it contains a picture gallery, music and hunting halls, a library, antique furniture and exotic collections. Its reconstruction won a EUROPA NOSTRA award. Ochtinská aragonitová jaskyňa situated in the mountains Revúcka vrchovina in central Slovakia is a world rarity and unique natural phenomenon. It is interesting for variety and abundance of aragonite filling and a rare development of underground space. Due to its significance and unique ornamentation, it was included into the UNESCO List of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is obvious that it is not a large cave, but it is all the more rare and valuable for its aragonite ornamentation, the only of the kind in central Europe. There are not many similar caves in the world either. |