From the parking lot we had to cross under a bridge to get to the park area and walk along a path with flowers and trees along a river. A handful of older structures dotted the landscape, especially around the river. The view into the woods along the banks of the river was soothing to the senses, but we saw some yellow trees in May? How strange!. The walkway around the river had a few people strolling along its wooden plank walkway.
Once we entered the grounds we noticed the The Hotel Jama, or Cave Hotel, which gave tourists a chance to really stay close to the caverns since the entrance to the cave was only about 150 feet from the hotel.
My chocolate loving husband found a candy cart where one kilo (2.2 pounds) of candy cost US $5. Carlos selected $25 worth of candy. Can you believe it? Most of the candies were chocolate, and the one that Carlos loved was filled with rum. Another tasted like fudge frosting rolled in sprinkles. Yummy! I have never seen the types of candy we bought there elsewhere.
The entrance to the cave was just a short way fromt he hotel, but you had to climb up a big flight of stairs. Slovenian people must have tremendous hearts and lungs the way they climb up so many flights of stairs several times every single day.
The actual entrance to the cave was covered with the facade of a building where tickets were sold and a handful of souvenirs were on display. The entrance fee was US $6 per person. From the entrance area there was a beautiful view of the surrounding area.
After a short wait, we walked inside the cave, and together with a very large group we boarded a small electric train. We were then told that the Predjama cave was the only one in existance with a train going through it that was built at the beginning of the 20th century specifically for tourists, and it is still in use on a daily basis. It took us about a mile and a half into the bowels of the cave at which point we were split up into groups of different languages. I was amazed at how many different language groups there were during an off season period. Fortunately, the English group always existed because there were always people who spoke other languages than the normal ones there: Slovenian, Croatiam, Italian, Hungarian and German.
We weren't allowed to take photographs inside the cave, but I did buy a postcard of a scene in the cave.
When we were at the deepest point, our guide pointed out a small table with an open display area on top. He explained to us that the tiny little white salamanders we saw there were blind because they lived in the depths of the cave without light. Every week they would change the three or four lizard like animals for others so that they wouldn't be too stressed. They wanted the visitors to see them, but they didn't want the salamanders to start having reactions to the light. Exact size ceramic copies of the blind salamanders were for sale in the gift shop are exact size copies of the blind salamanders that live in the cave. Three or four of them are kept on a rotating display so that visitors see them, but they aren't there long enough to have reactions to the light.
Click a picture to see a larger view.