Demänovská Ice Cave — Attraction in Demänovská Dolina

Decided to see the famous ice cave when heading back home. This was the only attraction we decided to see in Slovakia before a long drive back.

Nowhere does it state that the tours are only on certain times. So we had to sprint up the mountain, which literally took our breath away. Had to recover from the steep climb.

So the tour started and our guide started speaking in Slovak. Ok, well maybe the guide does a multilingual tour. But NO. The whole tour was only in Slovak which sadly meant that we had no idea what she was talking about. Which was a big shame. Should have been some information somewhere about the tour and languages spoken during it.

Also the tour was done so quickly that at one point we thought that the guide wanted to do a time record. Most of the time we were the last ones in the group because we wanted to look around the cave, take in the beauty and magic of this place. Once the guide had almost finished her story at a certain location we had to start moving to the next location basically mid-sentence. Seemed like she was so fed up with all of that and had switched herself on robot mode completely. And before we had even reached the others fully the light behind us was shut off leaving us partly in the dark.

The actual icy part of the tour lasted only a couple of minutes before we were told to move along towards the exit. Which was also a hike up many stairs in a quite fast pace.

So in general we didn't feel welcome at all - more like a burden.

Oh yeah - about the parking: be prepared to pay 6 EUR for parking, on a regular parking lot. I just...

Demänovka It is located in Nízké Tatry. Of the total length of 1900 m, 680 m are accessible to the public, I physically walked 1458 m in the cave complex. The entrance hole lies at an altitude of 740 m above sea level. The cave consists of spacious corridors and domes, spread over three cave levels. The cave is entered through a narrow fissure corridor to the lowest floor 40 m below, where until recently the floor was covered with ice and more robust stalagmites and stalagmites in the size of the Great Dome and Kmet's Dome, which the guide pointed out and could not forgive the reminder of global warming. . In the spring, ice stalactites also hang from the ceiling. The other areas do not have more permanent ice formations and are characterized by stalactite formations, painted gray to black on the surface from the soot of tar pitch. The glaciation of the cave was made possible by the vertical shape of the entrance parts, which prevents the penetration of warm air in summer. The stability of ice formations in summer depends on the degree of cooling of the cave walls and on the accumulation of ice in winter. The relative humidity in the cave ranges from 96 to 98%. My veil was completely sweaty after the east. Many Thanks to the two great guides who had great...

Amazing cave! The location is better indicated than other caves from the area, the guides are extremely considerated and well informed, the view point at the entrance is the best sight, sadly do not expect to see ice anymore but the cave is very spacious and has a strong identity. There are signs on the way toward the cave about biodiversity and history, also there is a sound and light mini show inside that is a great addition to the visit

-Visit can be followed in various languages including english -cheap price -great location -family activity -good ambiance, and kind staff -the way up the cave is rough but don't worry, not long -the visit is 45min long but everything is explained very well

Special thanks to Matus and Filip for their benevolence and help