“A mere fifteen meters from the Abisso del Colle Pauliano a fascinating world unfolds.” This is the Grotta del Paranco. Its entrance is subtly tucked away on the south side of a dolina. Don’t let its unassuming exterior fool you. The Grotta del Paranco is a hidden gem a significant cave system in the Carso Triestino near Sgonico.
Its official name is Grotta del Paranco. Its catasto number is 4215. This remarkable cave boasts a planimetric development of 180 meters. Its depth reaches 40 meters with an equal total vertical drop. The cave floor sits at 245 meters above sea level. Only one entrance leads into this subterranean labyrinth. The entrance was surveyed on October 19 2014. Its exact location needs further verification. A marker does however clearly show the way.
The initial passage is low approximately one meter high. It opens into a larger chamber. This chamber is two to three meters high and five meters wide. It slopes steeply downward. After about ten meters the passage shows a fine example of a channel in the ceiling. About twenty meters from the entrance the ground changes. It is covered in a thick layer of fine soil. It becomes flatter here. From the ceiling hang thin stalactites.
The cave continues. Its average width is five meters. Its height is about three meters. It opens into a large chamber. The floor of this chamber is strewn with small rocks. Many of these rocks are cemented together by a thin layer of calcite. A large flow of calcite significantly reduces the passage’s size in one section. To the left a narrow passage leads to a small drop. Following this passage past the calcite flow you find a larger chamber. Its dimensions are approximately ten meters by five meters.
Another narrow passage only one meter wide and forty centimeters high leads to the main cavern. This vast chamber measures 40 meters in length. Its width varies from ten to almost fifteen meters. Long thin stalactites hang from the ceiling. Impressive columns appear to support the ceiling. For about thirty meters the ceiling remains at an average height of four to seven meters. Then it abruptly rises to fifteen to seventeen meters. At this point the layer of rock separating the cave from the outside is certainly less than five meters thick. The floor of this large cavern is covered with a thick layer of calcite. It is complicated by numerous small pools. There are numerous stalagmite formations and large fallen column sections. These are cemented to the ground. A thick stalagmite group rises about five meters in the center of the cavern. This is near a chimney.
The cave continues south. It is a narrow passage between the rock and a calcite flow. The walls are richly decorated with crystalline formations. Between the layers of the calcite flow you can admire eccentric formations. After about ten meters this passage opens into a small chamber about four meters wide. It is richly concreted. The gallery descends to a height of about 12 meters maintaining its dimensions. The floor gently slopes downward. It is entirely covered by a layer of calcite. Numerous completely dry pools have formed here. Their bottoms are covered with very fine and sharp crystals. The center of the ceiling where the rock is not yet concreted is marked by the channel. The channel gradually disappears towards the end of the passage. On the sides hang beautiful stalactites. They are completely covered in calcite crystals.
The last fifteen meters of the passage are quite difficult to traverse. The ceiling lowers forming an impassable tunnel. There is heavy concretion here. The floor appears covered with small rock fragments.
The Grotta del Paranco. A journey into the heart of the earth. An adventure waiting to be explored.