Podziemna Trasa Turystyczna w Kielcach, Cave system in Kielce, Poland.
The Podziemna Trasa Turystyczna is a 140-metre underground route through the Jaskinia Odkrywców, a cave system formed by linking the Jaskinia Odkrywców, Prochownia and Szczelina na Kadzielni caves on Kadzielnia hill. The route follows a tectonic fault and drops 10 metres, passing Devonian sea fossils, mineral veins, stalactites and terra rossa, the iron-tinted red earth.
The caves were exposed during quarrying of Devonian limestone on Kadzielnia, which ended in 1962. Between 2004 and 2009 members of the Świętokrzyski Speleoclub explored them and in 2009 linked them into one system. The underground route opened to visitors in November 2012.
The cave displays fossils from an ancient sea, including corals and shellfish, presented through light and sound installations. Visitors can see these petrified remains from the Devonian period directly as they walk through the underground network.
Visitors should book in advance since tours are limited and conducted with safety helmets provided. The route takes about 45 minutes and temperatures remain consistently cool year-round, so warm clothing is recommended.
The route covers 140 m of the 392 m Jaskinia Odkrywców system, which drops 22 m between its highest and lowest points and follows a tectonic fault line. The caves were explored by members of the Świętokrzyski Speleoclub between 2004 and 2009 and joined into one system in 2009.
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