Košice: Karst, Culture and Tokaj

Košice and the Košice Region offer very different reasons to travel: in Košice, museums and galleries meet a long urban history, while karst landscapes, caves and winegrowing provide further highlights. Košice is the region’s metropolis and a regional centre for trade, crafts, culture and education. When planning your trip, it is worth first considering which of these aspects interests you most.

Gorges, Karst and Hiking Trails

Slovak Paradise National Park, a natural gem of the Spiš region, encompasses plateaus, deep canyons, gorges, waterfalls, surface karst features and underground spaces. The Slovak Paradise Natura 2000 site also extends into the Košice Region. If you want to experience the Hornád Canyon on the water, bear in mind the seasonal rule: boating is permitted from 1 May to 31 October. The regulated kayaking route runs from Hrabušické Mýto to Čingov; check the conditions before your trip.

In the southern and southeastern part of the Gemer region lies Slovak Karst National Park. More than 1,300 caves and chasms are known there. Around 270 kilometres of hiking trails and about 50 kilometres of cycling routes are marked. One specific destination for a walk is the Zádielska tiesňava nature trail: it is the national park’s oldest nature trail and has seven information boards or stations. In Slovak Paradise, hiking trails to the Tomášovský výhľad viewpoint start in Spišské Tomášovce, Smižany or Čingov. The viewpoint is also regularly used for mountaineering training and climbing competitions.

Planning Cave Visits

The caves differ not only in their rock formations but also in the length and duration of the tour. In Gombasecká Cave, the tour route is about 530 metres long and takes around 30 minutes. Particularly thin, hollow sinter straws are a feature along the route. Ochtinská Aragonite Cave is 300 metres long; the tour also takes about 30 minutes. Its ceiling is adorned with extraordinary eccentric aragonite formations. In the Milky Way Hall, white aragonite looks like a starry sky. From the car park, it is 300 metres to the cave; a gently sloping path leads to the entrance.

In Jasovská Cave, pagoda-like stalagmites and stone waterfalls are among the stalactite formations; the cave is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The developed section is 720 metres long, the guided tour takes 45 minutes and includes 314 steps. The entrance is about 100 metres from the car park and can be reached without a change in elevation. The Brotherhood Inscription, dating from 1452, is also located in the Hussite Hall. For comparison with other caves in terms of duration and route, Dobšinská Ice Cave has a 515-metre tour route, 43 metres of elevation gain and a tour duration of about 30 minutes. It lies on the southwestern edge of Slovak Paradise National Park and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

Museums, a Manor House and a Park

In Košice, the East Slovak Museum covers several themes. It holds more than 500,000 objects, a selection of which is displayed in five thematic permanent exhibitions. The Košice Gold Treasure comprises 2,920 gold coins, including ducats and double ducats, as well as three gold medals and a Renaissance gold chain. The interactive exhibition puts this treasure at its centre. At Mikluš Prison, the exhibition includes underground rooms from a former torture chamber with a permanent wax figure installation. The East Slovak Gallery welcomes visitors at its locations at Hlavná 27 and Alžbetina 22 and presents the permanent exhibition Comedy of the Spirit.

Kaštieľ Betliar offers a different way to explore history. The manor house was built in 1881–1886 as a residence that served primarily as a hunting lodge and a museum for its owner’s collection. It is the only manor house in Slovakia to have been preserved after 1945 with its original furnishings and collections; since its nationalisation, it has effectively served as a museum. The park, laid out towards the end of the 18th century and covering more than 80 hectares, includes a Masonic pavilion, a Chinese pavilion, a Japanese bridge and the Hermes Fountain, among other features. At the end of the main walking path, by the pond, there is an animal enclosure designed as a medieval castle with turrets. The Andrássy Mausoleum in Krásnohorské Podhradie is one of the two branch sites of the Betliar Museum and was built in 1903–1904 as an exceptional funerary chapel.

Tokaj and Lower Zemplín

In the eastern part of the Košice Region, excellent Tokaj wine is a defining feature of Lower Zemplín. The Slovak part of the Tokaj wine-growing region covers 907 hectares and is the smallest wine-growing region in Slovakia. The Tokaj Wine Route links Tokaj villages and winegrowers with wine producers, cultural and historical monuments, wine shops, wine taverns and craftspeople. For a trip focused on wine, this variety offers a different thematic framework from the caves and museums. The area around the Zemplínska Šírava reservoir is also one of the most visited tourist areas of Lower Zemplín.

Choosing a destination thus becomes the starting point for finding a suitable hotel, without bringing the region’s different themes together into a single excursion itinerary.

Discover more destinations: Rožňava, Košice, Vyšná Rybnica, Spišská Nová Ves District, Trebišov District, Gelnica District, Michalovce District, Sobrance District, Košice-okolie District.

View the main travel overview: Slovakia.