Supernova Cave
The Zupanova Jama, or "Supernova cave" as we call it, is just 45 minutes from the Lodge in an unlikely cave location for Slovenia, but is actually the closest show cave to the centre of capital city Ljubljana!
We say "unlikely location" as the south west of Slovenia or the Green Karst where Lipizzaner Lodge is located is usually regarded as the show cave hub!
But half of Green Slovenia's landscape is "Karst" and there are mini rocky Karst cave regions all over the place, so it is well worth keeping a look out for those brown "Jama" signs as you explore.
Grosuplje is a busy little commuter town just south east of marshy Ljubljana, but the thick forest, natural sinkholes and white rocks everywhere will soon remind you of the beautiful Green Karst.
The geology at Grosuplje is made up of leaky limestone rock with a large disappearing lake near to the Zupanova jama, which we hope you will remember the name better if we humbly call it the Supernova cave!
Zupanova jama actually means "the Mayor's cave" as it was "discovered" by the shy local mayor who descended down a big hole in the cave roof on a rope, Indiana Jones style, got his photo taken and ended up getting the cave named after him too!
There are a lot of fantastic caves to visit in Green Slovenia, so we need to tell you a bit more about this particular one and other stuff to do around here, in case you might just be able to squeeze it onto your "to do list"!
This cave is obviously very old, but the infrastructure also has that antique feel of a cave that has long been open to the public..
Indeed between the 2 world wars, when the south west of Slovenia became chopped off and part of Italy, the Zupanova cave was the major underground tourist grotto in Yugoslavia, which explains the dated, but extensive network of steps and passageways to explore.
Nowadays, it is clear this cave is suffering from a lack of marketing exposure, which is a real shame, BUT ALSO A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO COME VISIT AND AVOID THE CROWDS!
The cave is just outside Grosuplje (which also has a train link to Ljubljana and therefore also to the Lodge), on a small wooded hill and there is a car park and visitor centre with little shop and a small info exhibition about the cave and the Mayor's story.
A friendly local guide will accompany you and tell you all about the cave as you explore, so this is a major reason on it's own to do this tour for the exclusive contact you will get with a lovely English speaking local!
First up is a long flight of steps down into the cave and to start with there is actually a rare ice cave as you go in, where the cold weather penetrates the cave and turns it to ice!
You need to have good basic fitness to explore here as there are steps and walkways all through the cave and several very large chambers to enjoy with some really giant dripstones in all shapes and sizes.. and of course, NO QUEUES!!
If this amazing cave was in your country, it would be extremely well known and full of visitors and probably treated as a national Green treasure.. one of the reasons you have not heard about it though is cos there are so many other amazing caves in Slovenia to choose from and some have louder marketing voices than others!
To be even clearer, ALL the 20 - 30 Slovenian showcaves are completely different with unique features that makes each one special, so the one mistake you MUST NOT make here is to assume there is nothing extra worth seeing at Zupanova jama compared to other caves.. there is a lot!
The really fantastic unique bit about this cave is the original roof entrance the Mayor used to swing in!
Our guide explained that on certain occasions, instead of using the newer stone staircase to enter the cave, visitors can get roped up and spiderman down into the cave like a fireman on a pole from the roof entrance!
Now that would get the guide books talking and the internet chitter chatting and we would still bet that even then this cave would not be so busy as some other places here to visit!
Yep, that would certainly beat going into a cave on a kid's train and we honestly do not understand why this rope option is not offered as a standard ticket to swing down into the main chamber as the start your tour!
So why would I visit Zupanova Cave?
If they did the rope entrance.. we would be first in line to go back and do it tomorrow!
In the meantime, this cave can be a perfect part of a wonderful multi day out in the Grosuplje mini region seeing all sorts of different Green natural wonders in just one day!
By visiting and spending time with the Local TIC (lovely tourist info people) here, we found there is a Grosuplje disappearing lake, with several natural water sources to find, a fantastic secret Fortress Church, the Tabor, right next door to Zupanova jama and accessed from the same cave car park AND another fortress church to visit on the other side of Grosuplje!
What a day, so we called them all the Grosuplje Fab 4 !
All these wonders have an interconnected history and in medieval times the Zupanova cave was also used by villagers to hide from Turkish raiders in combination with the fabulous Tabor fortress church..