Bear Cave at Kletno

The cave at Kletno was uncovered in the 1960s when a marble quarry broke into it, and it turned out to be the longest cave system in the Sudetes. The section open to visitors is a guided circuit through chambers of stalactites, columns and flowstone, kept deliberately dim and cool. Its name comes from the quantity of cave bear bones found in the sediment, along with remains of other animals that fell in or sheltered there, and casts and bones are shown along the route. The setting adds to it: the cave sits in a narrow forested valley in the Snieznik massif, well away from any town.

History

The first 200 m of the cave were found in October 1966, while the new Kletno III marble quarry was being worked. New corridors, including the Palace Halls, followed in 1967, the lowest parts in January 1972 and further passages in 2014-2015, bringing its length to over 2 km and making it the longest cave in the Sudetes (Wikipedia, Kletno Bear Cave).

The landscape

• The main chambers - large halls of dripstone formations lit in sections as the group moves through.
• The bone deposits - cave bear remains and casts displayed where they were found in the sediment.
• The corridor route - a fixed circuit of walkways and steps through the accessible part of the system.
• The Kletno valley - the quiet forested approach in the Snieznik massif, worth a walk on its own.

When to go

The cave is a constant few degrees above freezing all year, so weather outside barely matters. Numbers admitted per day are limited and tours run at fixed times, which means booking online well in advance for July, August and holiday weekends. Weekday mornings out of season are the easiest, and there are usually spare places at short notice then.

What to expect

Tickets sell out and turning up on the day in summer often means being refused entry. Tours run in Polish by default, so foreign visitors may follow without commentary. Inside it is around six degrees and humid, the route has a lot of steps and low sections, and photography is restricted. The drive in is on a narrow valley road with limited parking.

Nearby

Snieznik and its trails rise above the valley, and the spa town of Ladek-Zdroj is a short drive north.

Key facts