Brestovská jaskyňa
A cave near Zuberec in the Western Tatras with an active underground stream, lakes and sumps; its dry front part is a show cave. After the dry part was explored, divers needed decades to get further: the first diving attempt in 1968 failed, in 1979 J. Kucharovič and V. Sláčik crossed the sump and discovered new passages, and in 1981 Z. Hochmuth, Kucharovič, P. Marek and Sláčik surveyed them. Today a water-filled passage with seven sumps is explored and surveyed.
Facts
- Region: Slovakia – Caves, Sumps & Karst Springs
- Area: Western Tatras (Orava)
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: cave
- Coordinates: 49.258167, 19.660983
- Highlights: show cave in the Western Tatras with an active underground stream, water-filled passage with seven sumps, first sump crossed in 1979, national natural monument
- Permit: In Slovakia every cave is a natural monument (Nature Protection Act 543/2002, §24(3)); entering or penetrating a cave that is not open to the public is prohibited (§24(4)a), exploration and research need the consent of the nature-protection authority (§24(5)a), and research may only be done by a qualified authorised person notified to the State Nature Conservancy 7 days ahead (§56). In practice consent comes from the district office's environment department (e.g. Okresný úrad Prešov, 2015); the cave custodian is the Slovak Caves Administration (SSJ). There is no tourist or commercial cave diving – only permitted expeditions of caving clubs, with Full Cave / sump-diver qualification.
- Issuer / contact: State Nature Conservancy of the SR – Slovak Caves Administration (Správa slovenských jaskýň, cave custodian); consent is issued by the nature-protection authority (district office, environment department)
- Phone: +421445536411
- Email: caves@ssj.sk
- Website: https://www.ssj.sk/sk/kontakty
- Unverified: Sump depths are not published.
- Tips: Not a tourist site: dived only on permitted expeditions of caving clubs, with Full Cave / sump-diver qualification and in cooperation with Slovak cavers (SSS). The entrance is gated and the cave is a natural monument.