“Grotta del Diavolo” or “Jama Jablenza”? It has more than one name. We stand before Jama Jablenza, a cave also known by locals as Jama pri jeplenki. This isn’t just any hole in the ground. Jama Jablenza is a story etched in stone and whispered through legends.
Jama Jablenza sits at the bottom of a dolina. The dolina lies beside the road from Gabrovizza to Sgonico. You’ll find it on the right if you’re coming from Gabrovizza.
The names “Grotta del Diavolo” or “Jama Jablenza” come from old village legends. These tales likely scared young shepherds. They kept them away from the dangerous edge of the chasm.
Old folks in Sgonico still tell a story. A girl fell into the cave with her cow. They reappeared near Duino. This hints at a belief in an underground river flowing beneath the Carso.
The edge of the Jama Jablenza is mossy. It’s easiest to reach from the dolina’s west side. The other sides are too steep.
The initial shaft plunges 42 meters straight down. It meets a steep slope. This continues into a high narrow gallery. At the slope’s end is coarse rock. Then on a clay floor stand two columns. They broke when the ground sank.
From here you enter a large bare cavern. It’s full of fallen boulders. Calcite crusts cover some areas. A ledge on the south wall leads to a passage. It was found in 1946.
Unlike the other areas moisture is high here. Concretions are actively forming. Flowstone is abundant. There are many beautiful eccentric stalactites. You’ll also see strange tangled calcite growths. This is the cave’s most striking part.
On the cavern’s opposite side a narrow opening appears. It lies among the fallen rocks. This is the inner shaft’s mouth. It’s more like a steep gallery. Two vertical drops interrupt it. This section is dry with few concretions.
Halfway down you’ll see a huge boulder. It’s wedged between the walls. It measures about 130 cubic meters. Before reaching the boulder cross to the south wall. Here a short branch has small adjacent shafts. These show strong erosion.
Explorations continue at Jama Jablenza. In 1941 a caver named E. S. fell while climbing the inner shaft.
Jama Jablenza’s past is rich. The cave has been surveyed several times. The first survey was in 1894. The Club Touristi Triestini likely did it. However the inner shaft wasn’t found then. The cave wasn’t completely explored.
In November 2017 the detritus slope at the base of the access shaft was cleaned. It had been full of garbage. Jama Jablenza is more than just a cave. It’s a place of legends exploration and ongoing discovery. Its depths still hold secrets waiting to be uncovered.