Balekina Cave is one of Hungary's strictly protected caves, hidden away in the Bükk Mountains since its discovery in 1979. This isn't a spot for a casual walk-in visit - it's a serious caving destination, but its underground story and formations make it a fascinating piece of the Bükk's natural heritage.

The entrance opens in a filled-in, inactive sinkhole, close to the upper edge of the Nyavalyás-tető dolomite quarry. Inside, the passages are notably spacious - 5 to 10 meters wide and 10 to 15 meters high - with a stepped series of shafts divided into five sections. Visitors (with permission) can admire varied stalactites, helictites, and bush-like calcite crystal formations covering the walls. The showpiece is a 2.5-meter-tall, snow-white stalactite called Palma, found in the Palm House Hall. A permanent stream runs through the horizontal passage at the bottom, though a sump blocks further progress. Underground, the cave's water mixes with that of Jáspis Cave and resurfaces at the Wekerle Spring, which feeds into the Garadna stream.

• The reference point is the dolomite quarry at Nyavalyás-tető in the Bükk Mountains, with the entrance near the upper rim of the quarry - access is restricted to permit holders only.

• The cave is closed to the public and strictly protected - visits require permission from the Bükk National Park Directorate.
• Rope techniques and caving equipment are required for any visit.
• Due to its geological and hydrological significance, it is not open for casual tourism.

Discovered in 1979 by cavers from the University of Heavy Industry in Miskolc, the cave now stretches over 600 meters in length and nearly 90 meters in depth - a remarkable, if inaccessible, feature of the Bükk underground world.