Miskolctapolca

The Cave Bath is a thermal bath in a natural cave in Miskolctapolca, which is part of the city of Miskolc, Hungary, another cave bath is only at Sklene Teplice, Slovakia.

The thermal water (temperature: 30°C/86°F) is reputed to reduce joint pain, and since it has a lower salt content than most thermal waters (around 1000 mg/liter), people can bathe in it for much longer, practically an unlimited amount of time. The Cave Bath can be visited all year long, except for January.

The cave and the thermal spring have been known since ancient times, but Tapolca became a popular bathing place only after the Ottoman occupation of Hungary (16th-17th century). During this time the area belonged to the Greek Orthodox abbey of Görömböly; the development of Tapolca into a bathing place was the idea of the abbot in 1711. He also brought doctors from Kassa, today Košice, Slovakia to examine the beneficial effects of the water. Three pools and an inn were constructed in 1723. The cave itself was not used yet, as the pools were outside. The water was colder than it is now, because the cold water springs of Tapolca (which now play an important role in providing Miskolc with drinking water) were used too. By the mid-18th century, after a short period of popularity, the bath was neglected and by the 19th century the buildings were in ruins.

Entrance to St. Beatus Caves

The St. Beatus Caves are an extensive cave network located in Switzerland right above Lake Thun. a Legend has it that Saint Beatus killed a dragon who was living in the caves (around the 9th century), there are very impressive waterfalls next to the old Monastery.

St. Beatus is believed to be berried  between the monastery and the cave entrance. a Monastery was established near the openings the caves. Nowadays tourists can access a small part of the caves; the old monastery is no longer operating and instead there is a restaurant and gift shop.

Skaftafell Ice Cave

Ice caves are temporary structures that appear at the edge of glaciers. They look amazingly beautiful from the inside. This particular cave is located on the frozen lagoon of the Svínafellsjökull glacier in Skaftafell, Iceland. The centuries old ice coming down the slopes of Öræfajökull via Svínafellsjökull glacier has metamorphosed into highly pressurized glacier ice that contains almost no air bubbles. The lack of air means that it absorbs almost all visible light, apart from the blue fraction which is then visible to the naked eye. However, this blue ice can be seen only under certain circumstances. It can be seen in winter after long periods of rain when the surface layer of the glacier has been washed away. It can be seen in ice-caves like this one and on floating icebergs that have recently rolled over.

This cave in the glacier ice is the result of glacial mill, or Moulin where rain and melt water on the glacier surface are channeled into streams that enter the glacier at crevices. The waterfall melts a hole into the glacier while the ponded water drains towards lower elevations by forming long ice caves with an outlet at the terminus of the glacier. The fine grained sediments in the water along with wind blown sediments cause the frozen meltwater stream to appear in a muddy colour while the top of the cave exhibits the deep blue colour. Due to the fast movement of the glacier of about 1 m per day over uneven terrain, this ice cave cracked up at its end into a deep vertical crevice, called cerrac. This causes the indirect daylight to enter the ice cave from both ends resulting in homogeneous lighting of the ice tunnel.

The cave is accessible through a 22-foot entrance on the shoreline. At the end it tapers to a tight squeeze no more than four feet high. Ice caves are in general unstable things and can collapse at any time. They are safe to enter only in winter when the cold temperatures harden the ice. Even so one could hear constant cracking sounds inside the cave. It was not because it was going to collapse but because the cave was moving along with the glacier itself. Each time the glacier moved a millimeter loud sounds could be heard.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves attraction is a cave at Waitomo on the North Island of New Zealand, known for its population of glowworms, Arachnocampa luminosa. These glowworms are found exclusively in New Zealand and are around the size of an average mosquito. This cave is part of the Waitomo Caves system that includes the Ruakuri Cave and the Aranui Cave.

Cave of the Swallows

The Cave of Swallows is one of the biggest natural depths of the world located in the town of Aquismón in the state of San Luis Potosi (Mexico). The depth of the abyss is about 376 meters, a Tour Eiffel could fix inside it. The top has a diameter close to the 60 meters, while the bottom has an aperture of nearly 300 meters. It has the characteristic of having the aperture smaller than the bottom, giving it a conical shape overall.

The name “swallows” is due to the habitants of the region, who were the first to saw the unique phenomenon that happens every day in its interior: thousands of birds of the family of swifts, which the locals call “Swallows” leave the bottom of the abyss, filling the sky with their flight from the Huasteca, which is repeated in the evening when all the birds return to the cave indicating that, one more day is over. In the cave is also possible to find a species of parrots, called locally Cotorras de la cueva (Cave’s Parrots).

The history of the Cave of Swallows started at 1976, the year the cave was discovered by a team of ornithologists from the University of Texas, who made a detailed survey of birds in the Huasteca potosina area.

Currently, the Basement of Swallows is highly frequented by lovers of climbing, base jumping and spelunking; its beauty and uniqueness makes it one of the largest protected natural areas of Mexico.

Marble Caves

The Lake General Carrera (Chilean side) or Lake Buenos Aires (Argentine side) is a lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile. Both names are internationally accepted.

Unusual geological formation is Marble Caves with Marble Chapel and Marble Cathedral located at the centre of the lake and representing a group of caverns, columns and tunnels formed in monoliths of marble. Marble Caves have been formed by wave action over the last 6,200 years.