A name from steam
Warmer inside air produces vapour in cold — hence hell.
Sl-Ziga — Public domain · Unknown authorUnknown author — Public domain · Unknown authorUnknown author — Public domain · Tomaž Planina — CC BY-SA 4.0
A karst cave near Šempeter in the Savinja valley whose name means hell in Slovenian, containing an internal waterfall of about four metres — which is what sets it apart from Slovenia's other caves. The name comes from the steam. On cold days vapour rises from the cave mouth because the air inside is warmer than outside, and local people in earlier centuries explained that in the way that seemed obvious to them: an entrance to the underworld. What makes the visit different is the water. The Ponikva river runs inside the cave, and the route follows and crosses it on bridges, ending at the internal waterfall. Most caves are visited dry; here the water is the content. Slovenia is the country that gave the world the word karst — from the Kras plateau — and holds thousands of recorded caves. Postojna and Škocjan are the internationally famous ones; Pekel is far smaller and quieter. Practical points: entry is ticketed and the tour is guided, lasting about an hour. The temperature inside is around twelve degrees year-round — take a jacket whatever the weather outside. The path is wet and slippery. Hours are seasonal.
Warmer inside air produces vapour in cold — hence hell.
The route follows and crosses the water instead of being dry.
The international term comes from Slovenia's Kras plateau.
Near Šempeter, the Savinja valley
Far smaller, simpler, cheaper and quieter. Postojna is vast, has an internal train and takes large crowds; Škocjan has an enormous underground canyon and is a UNESCO site. Pekel does not compete with them but offers an alternative for anyone who has seen those or wants a cave without crowds, with the internal waterfall as its distinctive feature.
Šempeter itself has an excavated Roman necropolis with reassembled stone tombs, among the most important Roman sites in Slovenia. The two together make a good half day from Ljubljana or on the way to the Logar valley.
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