Caves of Aggtelek

The Caves of Aggtelek are located in the Aggtelek National Park in northeastern Hungary bordering the Slovak Republic. Aggtelek was the country’s first national park that was set up to protect its geological formations. Formed in shallow seas during the Triassic Period over 200 million years ago, the park lies on limestone bedrock that is prone to karstification – the natural creation of caverns and sinkholes. There are over 260 caves that have been formed in this way in the park. The Aggtelek National Park also contains the ruins of the Háromhegyi Pálos church and monastery near Martonyi village. The Pálos were the only religious order to be founded in Hungary whose origins date back to 1308. The Caves of Aggtelek were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995.