Forrás Cave is one of Hungary's most unusual caves - tucked right into the courtyard of Tihany Abbey, facing the church entrance. It's a strictly protected hydrothermal cave, now inactive, formed inside the spring cone upon which a medieval castle and later the abbey church were built.

Inside, you'll find delicate formations: geyserite deposits, yellow opal precipitates, and distinctive grooves on the walls coated with a thin carbonate crust. The cave consists of two interconnected chambers and two larger recesses, with a total length of about 14 metres. Its temperature closely follows that of the surrounding environment, and moisture appears only as condensation. It has an intimate, almost mysterious atmosphere and can be visited year-round, since it sits right in the heart of the village.

How to get there

• Tihany Peninsula, Tihany Abbey courtyard - short walk within the village, a few minutes, easy
• The entrance lies in the Csokonai Grove, at 186 m above sea level

Practical information

• The cave is strictly protected - it can only be viewed through the barred entrance gate
• The entrance is closed with a metal gate; the interior has automatic lighting
• Located within Balaton-felvidék National Park

The cave was only rediscovered in 1951 during landscaping work - before that, for two centuries, its existence had been completely forgotten, even though it once served as shelter for the castle garrison during Ottoman times.