The Caves Of Saint Beatus

Along the northern banks of the Thunersee, or Lake Thun, about thirty minutes from Interlaken you will find the caves of Saint Beatus. Though not as grand as some of the other caves we have seen, they are still worth visiting and at 13.50 Swiss Francs for entry per person, they are fairly reasonable to afford.

Tickets For Two – Saint Beatus Höhlen, Switzerland

Getting There

From Wengen we took the Wengneralpenbahn to Lauterbrunnen and then the Berner Oberlandbahn from there to Interlaken Ost.

Wengneralpenbahn – Lauterbrunnen Valley – Wengen, Switzerland

Once we arrived in Interlaken Ost, there was a short walk to the other side of town, Interlaken West train station, to wait for Bus 21 which took us directly to the caves of Saint Beatus and later back. Again, we purchased the Oberlander Pass, so there were no charges for this ride which is normally around 9 Swiss Francs for a round trip.

Berner Oberland Bahn – Interlaken Ost, Switzerland

Bus Ride to Saint Beatus Höhlen – Thunersee – Interlaken Ost, Switzerland

Interlaken

Since our bus was leaving from the other side of town, we had plenty of time to wander through the town and bit and enjoy some of its charm. The river Aare runs between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz here and the parks along it are understandably decorated to make it the perfect backdrop for photographs.

Höhematte Park – Interlaken Ost, Switzerland

Saint Beatus Höhlen

When you arrive at Saint Beatus Höhlen, or caves, you are welcomed with a large waterfall. This swift moving water which comes from the upper watershed area and quickly moves through the rocks towards it destination in Lake Thun, is responsible for carving out the long necklace of caves that you are able to hike.

Main Entrance – Saint Beatus Höhlen, Switzerland

It is damp, wet and a bit chilly in the caves so bring something a little warm. The overall duration of the walk through the caves is about forty minutes or so, depending on how much time you stop to take photographs.

Self Guided Tour – Saint Beatus Höhlen, Switzerland

When you finally exit the caves there is a nice refreshment stand where you may purchase food and drinks, at the customary inflated prices.

Patti and Ericka – Saint Beatus Höhlen, Switzerland

Restaurants

Upon our return to Wengen we had dinner reservations at the Lecker Asia Restaurant, our break from the local cuisine.

Lecker Asia Restaurant

Lecker in German means tasty and the food here is definitely tasty. A good break from the fusion of French and German cuisines that we have been eating all week. It is a small restaurant with limited seating, so reservations is a must, since it does get full quickly during dinner time.

All the food was very good and spiced to your taste, without any unnecessary salt or MSG to worry about. Even though we were seven people with one baby and one toddler, they were still able to accommodate us.

Lecker Asia Restaurant – Chinese Food – Wengen, Switzerland

Postonja Cave

The Postonja Cave, an enormous network karst cave and cavern system, is located forty-five minutes to an hour from Ljubljana driving south on E61 towards Trieste, Italy. The best way to get there is driving, but you can take a bus or hire a tour (which is what we did). Our coach tour cost us 93€ each and we were eight people total, a very manageable group size.

The Cave Tour

The tour is fairly well managed and is split into a train ride tour, which brings you deep into the mountain; and, a walking tour inside the cave system, which explains the geology and processes going on in the cave itself. They also explain some of the fauna that lives in the cave, as well as the ecology. The entire tour from entrance to exit is about one and a half hours. The temperature in the cave system is around 50°F, so bring a jacket or sweater, if you are inclined to get cold. I wore a short-sleeved shirt and was fine, though the train ride was a bit chilly due to the breeze.

Postonja Caves – Tickets For Two

Below is a set of short video clips recording the train tour, and a slideshow of the walking tour. Both are in order of when they were taken. I took more than enough photographs because it is such an amazing thing to see and how often does anyone actually go underground for anything?

If you ever get a chance to go, it is well worth the trip. It is one of the largest cave networks in the world, and the second longest in the country of Slovenia.

The Train Ride Tour