The Pivka Cave is part of the Postojna cave system. Its entrance – the 65-metre-deep gorge, at the bottom of which the underground river of Pivka flows, is located just in front of the Pivka jama restaurant. The Pivka Cave can be reached by descending 317 steps, cut in a rock. The visitors’ path leads up the river of Pivka. Immediately after the first corner, a magnificent view opens up of the great Depression Hall with rare stalagmites, dark grey stalactites on the ceiling and curious worm-like formations, made of dark brown clay, that in some places look like patterns on a tiger’s skin. The hall ends with an enormous, 6-metre-high double calcite cascade, coloured from red to greyish-black. After the Depression Hall, the path leads through numerous galleries into a 10-metre-long hall called Chapel. From here onwards, the riverbed as observed from the gallery increasingly resembles a canyon. Then the river calms and turns into a green lake. The gallery leads us to a beautiful hall of brown painted stalactites and curtains, called also the Chapel. Here, the tour leaves the course of the Pivka and continues towards Erna Cave along a 100-metre-long man-made passage.

CRNA CAVE
The Erna Cave , which is more than 3 km long, is a labyrinth of passages. In its interior we can admire hanging, half-metre-long thin white tubes – “spaghetti”, stalagmites, pillars and black calcite cascades with glittering calcite crystals, that are covered with white calcite in certain places . In the Great Hall of Erna Cave, a broad artificial plateau was created, concealing the huge stalagmites, which were covered in a thin layer of black substance. The cave was named after this black colour (Erna Cave = Black Cave). After several analyses, it was established that the black colour was caused by the accumulation of soot from the torches used by past visitors.