Hajszabarnai Pénz-lik is one of Hungary's strictly protected caves, carved into dolomite on top of Mount Hajszabarna in the Bakony Hills. This is no ordinary cave visit - it is one of the four most populous winter bat roosts in the entire Bakony region, making it a genuine natural treasure.

The cave opens in the rocky north-eastern slope of the mountain, near its summit. Inside, visitors would find numerous dripstone formations and large cave pearls (borsókő), all shaped by surface water dissolving cracks in the Upper Triassic dolomite bedrock over time. The entrance is sealed with a metal grille that still allows bats to pass through freely, and an information board stands beside it. The atmosphere is wild and quiet, dominated by the surrounding rocky ridge rather than crowds - this is a scientifically valuable site rather than a tourist attraction in the usual sense.

How to get there

• Branches off the National Blue Trail (Országos Kéktúra) - marked with the blue cave symbol (kék Ω), on foot, moderate difficulty

Practical information

• Entry requires permission from the Balaton Uplands National Park Directorate
• Visiting is forbidden during the bats' winter hibernation period (13 species overwinter here, 6 of them strictly protected)
• Lighting fires and littering are prohibited inside the cave and its surroundings
• The site also holds archaeological protection status

A fragment of a green-glazed Ottoman-era jug was once found inside, and among its many historical names the cave is also known as Sobri Jóska's Cave, after a legendary Hungarian outlaw.