Béke-barlang

Béke Cave

Useful Information

Location:	At the border to the Slovak Republic, NE part of Hungary. In the Aggtelek National Park, the entrance of the cave is 3 km from the village of Aggtelek. The cave system has three entrances: near Jósvafõ, near Aggtelek and between the two towns near Vörös-tó (Red Lake). Best access from Budapest: Budapest-Eger-Kazincbarcika-Aggtelek (220 km)
Open:	Registration 2 weeks in advance, minimum 5 participants. Maximum 10 participants per tour. [2008]
Fee:	Adults HUF 7,000, Children (6-16) HUF 3,500, Children (0-5) free, Students HUF 3,500, Seniors HUF 3,500, Disabled free. [2008]
Classification:	Karst cave Triassic limestone, 230 million years old.
Light:	electric torches.
Dimension:	L=6,408 m, VR=59 m, T=8-9 °C, A=338 m asl,
Guided tours:	L=800 m, D=180min
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	György Czuppon, Attila Demény, Szabolcs Leél-Őssy, Mihály Óvari, Mihály Molnár, József Stieber, Klaudia Kiss6, Krisztina Kármán, Gergely Surányi, and László Haszpra (2018): Cave monitoring in the Béke and Baradla caves (Northeastern Hungary): implications for the conditions for the formation cave carbonates, International Journal of Speleology 47 (1) 13-28 Tampa, FL (USA) January 2018. pdf László Zambo, Derek C. Ford (1998): Limestone Dissolution Processes in Beke Doline, Aggtelek National Park, Hungary, Earth Surface Processes And Landforms, Vol 22, 531–543 (1997) pdf
Address:	Tourinform-Aggtelek, Baradla oldal 3, 3759 Aggtelek, Tel/Fax: +36-48-503-000. E-mail: Aggteleki Nemzeti Park Igazgatóság (Aggtelek National Park), Tengerszem oldal 1, 3758 Jósvafõ, Tel/Fax: +36-48-350-006. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1952	discovered by Prof. László Jakucs.
1953	artificial entrance opened.

Description

Béke-barlang (Peace Cave) has a main passage which is about 4,300 m long and has two side branches, Felfedező ág and Kavicsos ág. There are three entrances: two natural and one artificial. One natural entrance leads to the Felfedező-ág branch, the artifical entrance which is called Main Entranc to the Kavicsos ág. Another natural entrance is located at the other end near Jósvafő.

The cave is visited on cave trekking tours which are offered by the National Park at Aggtelek. Tours must be pre booked and are only offered for small groups. They require 4 km walk on the surface and 2 km walk underground, often in the river which is up to 0.5 m deep. The tours normally enter at the artificial entrance and end at the Jósvafő entrance.

The Béke Cave was discovered in 1952 by Prof. László Jakucs. Dying tests had proved the existence of the cave, but only after a hard exploration the scientists could enter the cave.

There is an active stream in the cave. It has built some 430 travertines (natural limestone dams), this way 120 lakes formed during the course of time. With only one exception all lakes can be waded.

The passages are divided by 16 syphons. The cave is rich in other speleothems (stalactites, stalagmites, bacons, flowstones). Iron-oxide causes the reddish coloration of many of the speleothems. All the shades of this rusty colour and the pure white make the cave really spectacular.

One part of the cave is used for speleotherapy, the air of the cave is beneficial for patients with respiratory diseases (asthma, bronchitis, simple cold) and allergy. The therapies are run by a private company (Gyógybarlang Kft.) Béke Cave is a registered medical cave.

Text by Zsuzsa Tolnay, Aggtelek National Park (2001). With kind permission.