Demänovská jaskyňa slobody – Vyvieranie („Vodná cesta”)
The Demänová Cave of Liberty is a show cave in the Low Tatras, part of the Demänová cave system. Its underground river leads through sumps – the 'Water Road' – to the Vyvieranie resurgence in the valley. Vladimír Žikeš swam this route solo over seven months in 1982–83 and continued upstream with Ľ. Kokavec; on 16 December 1984 he died in the Pekelný ('Hell') sump of the Cave of Liberty. Divers led by Zdenko Hochmuth surveyed the Water Road in 1986–87. Sump depths and lengths are not published online.
Facts
- Region: Slovakia – Caves, Sumps & Karst Springs
- Area: Low Tatras (Demänová & Jánska dolina)
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: cave
- Coordinates: 48.998254, 19.585168
- Highlights: underwater 'Water Road' between the Cave of Liberty and the Vyvieranie spring, swum solo by Vladimír Žikeš in 1982–83, Pekelný sump – Žikeš died here in December 1984, surveyed by divers under Z. Hochmuth in 1986–87, show cave in the dry part
- 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: The position is the Cave of Liberty entrance (Wikipedia); the exact location of the Vyvieranie spring was not found. The dive depth is 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.