Sand arches
Underground halls.
Aleksandr Abrosimov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aleksandr Abrosimov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aleksandr Abrosimov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aleksandr Abrosimov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aleksandr Abrosimov — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Piusa Caves are a network of man-made caves in sandstone near Piusa railway station in Võru County, south-eastern Estonia, about 27 km in a straight line east of the town of Võru. They were dug between 1922 and 1966 to mine glass sand, and their passages run for about 20 km. The caves are a series of halls and passages with white and sandy arches, separated by pillars left standing to hold up the roof, so they look like underground cathedrals of sand. Pine forest surrounds them, along with pits and orange sand slopes where parts of the roof have fallen in. The caves have been protected since 1981, and in 1992 the 48-hectare Piusa Caves Nature Reserve was created to protect them and the bats that winter there, an important wintering site for them. The oldest known northern bat was found in the caves. The caves reopened to tourists in 2001 after being reinforced, then closed again in 2006 because of the risk of collapse. The visitor centre next to them presents their history and nature, so check there what can currently be seen. Walking trails run through the surrounding forest.
Underground halls.
Wintering inside.
Walking trails.
Piusa, Võru County, Estonia
They have been closed to free entry since 2006; check with the visitor centre.
To mine glass sand.