As a tourism professional (or I will be if I can survive my phd), I don’t believe that anything can be classed as a hidden gem. In the world of social media and trip advisor, we are constantly recommended ‘new finds’ to one another. However, Postojna definitely qualifies as, quite literally, a hidden gem.

When we arrived in Ljubljana we had an extra day outside of exploring the city and of course visiting lake bled, and we didn’t know what to do with day 3. Our hotel just so happened to have one left over leaflet for Postojna Caves. No where else when we had searched had even mentioned this so we were very intrigued.

We asked at the reception, and she advised the best way to go was via bus from the main bus station. The bus cost €7.50 pp each way so it totalled €30 just for us to get there.

As we struggled to find information on it other than reviews on trip advisor that consistently complain that the cave was cold and they had to do a lot of walking (like it’s a cave what were you expecting?).The bus took about 40 minutes to get to the town of Postojna and then there was a 10 minute walk up to the caves.This whole time we had no idea if it was even going to be worth it or if it was overpriced.

In the ticket office we were given a few ticket options. Ideally we wanted to do the caves and the nearby castle. However, the castle was 4.5 miles away and the only way she could offer us to get there was by taxi costing approximately €30 each way. So we settled with the caves and the animal exhibition. This ticket cost €35 each. So it was quite expensive when you factor in the bus here and back.

We were booked into the 12pm tour and the English tour had around 40-50 people on with us.We went in and the first place our tour took us to was a train station. you heard that right, a train station.

The train itself was crazy long and when it set off, the hair on my neck stood on end.

I’ve never been in such a place before in my life. I’ve seen them on nature shows with voice over from Sir David Attenborough. But never with my own eyes.

I have put a video on my Instagram page which perfectly shows the amazement of this part of the adventure.

Once we had arrived at the underground station, 100 meters below the surface, the tour began.

This cave is 3 million years old. It’s an age we can’t comprehend. Imagine the size of the cake to hold all those candles!

It was carved out my a river running underground which wore away the softer rock and made space for the now 24km of tunnels.

These photos don’t allow you to take in the sheer size of these chambers. But the whole place was beautiful, a proper natural wonder.

These icicle looking things are made from calcium from the water that drips from the roof of the cave.

They also created these funny looking stacks at a growth rate of 1cm every 100 years. Talk about a late bloomer.

The walking part of the tour lasts about 45 minutes and the walk can be steep and a little slippery. Nonetheless, it is absolutely worth it.

I feel I walked around with sheer amazement on my face the entire time as it was just a phenomenal place to encounter.

I can’t recommend it enough! But if you are going keep these things in mind;

1. It is a fucking cave. So yes it will be cold, you will have to walk and you will get dripped on.

2. Be patient. Everyone wants to take photos and everyone wants to see the view so don’t get huffy with people when they stop to look at the amazing assets.

3. Be respectful of where you are because it is a privilege to visit such a place.

Have you ever visited this cave system or anywhere like it? I’d love to hear all about it.