Optional Tour

The Škocjan Caves and their surroundings were entered on UNESCO’s list of natural and cultural world heritage sites in 1986. In 1999, the Caves were entered on the Ramsar Directory of Wetlands of International Importance and in 2004, the Škocjan Caves Park was included in the world network of biosphere reserves called MAB - "Man and the Biosphere"; all of this was under the auspices of UNESCO. The Škocjan Caves are, above all, a natural phenomenon of global significance, ranking side by side with the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands, Mount Everest and others.

The Škocjan Caves are typical and the most characteristic Karst area of global importance and are considered to be one of the natural treasures of planet Earth. It is therefore necessary, proper and ethical to preserve them for our descendants.

The Škocjan Caves area ranks among the classic examples of contact Karst that has developed at the juncture of impermeable flysch and permeable limestone.

The regional park comprises a unique landscape that brings together a large number of natural valuable features or natural heritage in the form of Karst or other phenomena and interesting features. The regional park constitutes a typical “Karst architecture” with its system of caves, collapse dolines and individual natural monuments. The unique distribution of flora and fauna co-existing in an extremely small area proves that this is a highly diverse region in terms of both biotic and abiotic parameters and simultaneously a vulnerable one. With the assistance of local residents, the Park's employees pay attention mainly to the preservation of natural ecosystems and life in the genuine natural environment.

Source: www.park-skocjanske-jame.si