| Stevnsfort's massive cold war bunker
On my trip to Copenhagen to ski (see separate article, alt. link) I also wanted to go underground. Sadly, Danish caves are in short supply, only on a remote island Bornholm. However, there are bunkers... while my visit first was going badly, it turned out to be a spectacular success! Not only did I get an in-person tour of the bunker, but I also got visit a secret sea shore beach from the bunker's under-the-cliff exit, and also got to see small sea caves!
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July 2026, Stevnsfort Cold War Museum, Rødvig Stevns, Denmark; Stevns Klint Beach Cave, Rødvig Stevns, Denmark
Urban-Exploration (Military, Bunkers); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Erosion, Surveying) |
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| Viiala's Devil's Nest
Nirsinkankaan Pirunkellari, in Viiala (Devil's Nest in Viiala) is a boulder cave listed in "Suomen Luolat" (the book of Finnish caves, by Kesäläinen, Kejonen, Kielosto, Salonen, Lahti). As I was visiting Tampere and drove back home on the highway that is near the cave, I wanted to drop by and see what the cave is about. A nice one!
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June 2026, Nirsinkankaan Pirunkellari, Viiala, Finland
Caving (Basic, Surveying, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Boulders) |
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| Research trip to Torhola
In June, the caving association did a combined research & training trip to Torhola cave in Lohja - Finland's largest limestone cave. The event was a in-cave training part of our basic caving course held by Ralf Strandell, the in-cave training was by Dare Talvitie and Jaakko Jääskeläinen, with five trainees (youngest was three). Jari Arkko was testing a new spatial information application that pinpoints where the cave is underneath on the map when you walk in the environment. Jari and Taina Nyman also scanned Torhola's two side caves. Dare, Taina, Jari and Jarmo Ruuth also observed flora and fauna in the cave.
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June 2026, Torholan luola, Lohja, Finland; Torholan luola 2, Lohja, Finland; Torholan luola 3, Lohja, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Surveying, Researching, Training) |
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| Skališkių and Čiobiškio caves in Lithuania
24 hours, and on a mission to ski on an indoor slope, have a spa visit, drive almost a full day between the sites, and ... visit two very interesting caves in Lithuania. Can I do it? Apparently it was just about possible, maybe half an hour to spare.
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June 2026, Skališkių uola, Liucionys, Lithuania; Čiobiškio urvas, Širvintos, Lithuania
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Sandstone, Surveying) |
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| Three-cave trip to Nuuksio
I was basically tossing a coin to decide what to do, had been cooked up inside for a long time. I started with the half-a-year-late raking duty on the yard :-) but then decided to not go for a swim or a trespassing at a closed ski resort, but rather hike in Nuuksio, and maybe see some caves.
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May 2026, Suolikkaan luola, Nuuksio, Vihti, Finland; Saarijärven lippaluola, Nuuksio, Vihti, Finland; Pöksynhaaran lippaluola, Nuuksio, Vihti, Finland
Caving (Rock, Basic, Rock-Granite, Surveying, Morphology-Crack) |
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| Aulanko swim and (man-made) bear cave
Another after-work evening activity: visiting Aulanko's spa (hosted by the Scandic hotel Aulanko). This is a historic spa location, the old spa building is still there but today's spa visits are in the new fancy building. I had also heard about "bear cave" in the adjoining Aulanko nature park.
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May 2026, Kylpylä Scandic Aulanko, Aulanko, Hämeenlinna, Finland; Karhuluola, Aulanko, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal, Infrared, Steam); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Other) |
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| Caving association introduction session
The caving association organized an introduction session to caving, how people got started with it, etc.
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May 2026, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Caving (None) |
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| Ruokolahti Safari
Safari in Ruokolahti. Sadly, I did not see a lion. But I managed to ski snow on second half of May, that's something. Well, ice. But still, quite nice views over the lake, not too bad! I also checked a cave, the Lassilan Linnavuoren luola (Lassila's Castle Mountain Cave). This was a total surprise, an excellent cave by Finnish standards. A through cave from one hole up on a cliff face to another hole on the same face. Wonderful!
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May 2026, Ruokolahden Freeski, Ruokolahti, Finland; Lassilan Linnavuoren luola, Ruokolahti, Finland; Lassilan Linnavuoren nuotioluola, Ruokolahti, Finland; Lassilan Linnavuoren lohkareenalusluola, Ruokolahti, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Crack, Rock-Granite); Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Boulders, Rock-Granite) |
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| Savonlinna caves & swims
I was returning from my trip to Punkaharju and again wanted to stop by interesting places on this four-hour drive. I picked two interesting caves south of Savonlinna, and a swim at Savonlinna's "PikkuSaimaa" swimming pool. Right by the lake, and where you can see Olavinlinna (Olavi's castle). Overall a very nice tour, even if the caves turned out to be mostly shelter caves not proper tunnels under the rock.
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May 2026, Haukkavuoren Lippaluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Haukkavuoren Halkeamaluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Myllylahden Linnalouhen Iso Lippaluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Myllylahden Linnalouhen Kolmioluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Savonlinnan uimahalli PikkuSaimaa, Savonlinna, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Erosion, Surveying); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) |
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| Karkalinniemi cliffs & devil's churns
An evening. Not enough time to drive to any swimming place before they close, but maybe I could look up a nearby cave that I have not been to yet. How about in Pumminmäki, Lohja? This is on the famous Karkalinniemi (Karkali peninsula) that hosts also Finland's premier karst cave, the Torhola cave.
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May 2026, Pumminmäen kirnuluola, Lohja, Finland; Pumminmäen lippaluola 1, Lohja, Finland; Pumminmäen lippaluola 2, Lohja, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss); Caving (Basic, Rock, Surveying, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Erosion) |
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| Skiing, Caves, and Swimming on one trip
I managed a Mother's Day trip with a visit to see my mom, but also to ski a closed ski hill, hike to see a cave, and swim at a new swimming hall.
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May 2026, Kokonniemen hiihtokeskus, Porvoo, Finland; Kolisevan Pirunpesä, Iitti, Finland; Kuusankosken uimahalli, Kuusankoski, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Unknown, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Erosion); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal) |
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| Linear Park Tunnels
Bath. The Linear Park is a biking and pedestrian path or park in the outskirts of the city, built on an abandoned railway line and tunnels. There are two tunnels, the first one being shorter and the second one longer, together more than two kilometers long.
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May 2026, Devonshire Tunnel, Bath, United Kingdom
Urban-Exploration (Tunnels, Railways); Caving (Basic, Man-Made) |
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| Too cheesy for my taste Cheddar caves
I didn't have too much time after the visit to the ski slope (link, alt. link), so a proper a cave exploration was out of the question. I had found an easy(ish) wild cave that I could have visited, but instead I opted for visiting two show caves in Cheddar, at the foot of the Cheddar Gorge: Gough's Cave and Cox's cave. They are interesting caves, the former medium-sized and the latter small, but both have some beautiful cave forms. But ... Gough's was decorated with bright, illuminated-from-the-inside cartoon characters.
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May 2026, Gough's Cave, Cheddar, United Kingdom; Cox's Cave, Cheddar, United Kingdom
Caving (Basic, Rock, Showtour, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst) |
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| Lahti's Pirunluola -- Devil's cave in Kivistönmäki
Lahti. And the suburb of Kivistönmäki, just a kilometer and half from the center. There's a hill as the name ("stone hill") says, there's a water tower... and there are indeed stones. And a small cliff. Right on the cliff is a "devil's nest", Pirunpesä. Small but interesting cave. There's a nice route through the cave with some climbing involved to get from main, larger cave part and the bottom entrance to the upper level and upper entrance through a narrow passage.
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April 2026, Kivistönmäen Pirunluola, Kivistönmäki, Lahti, Finland; Kivistönmäen Pirunluolan parvekeluola, Kivistönmäki, Lahti, Finland; Kivistönmäen Pirunluolan kaariluola, Kivistönmäki, Lahti, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack, Surveying); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack) |
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| Searching for the Mullikkarotti cave (Mullikkarotin luola)
Mullikkarotti ("bull rat"?) is an interesting canyon near Jämsä. I was here to ski, but stopped on the way to look at caves. However, I was unable to find the actual cave. Later reading the book of Finnish caves ("Suomen Luolat") I realize that the cave was a 7m vertical crack on the cliff face. But I didn't actually see such a crack. And moving around was a bit challenging in the still ice-filled water pools at the bottom and falling snow. Maybe next time I'll find it. But I did find several other smaller holes.
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April 2026, Mullikkarotin luola, Jämsä, Finland; Mullikkarotin kivenalusluola, Jämsä, Finland
Caving (None, Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders) |
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| Unikonlinnan pirunpesä (devil's nest at the poppy castle)
There are many caves called "Devil's Nest" in Finland. I guess a remnant of pagan beliefs of odd places or just a joke. This particular Devil's Nest is in Janakkala, and called the Poppy Castle. It is a bit unclear if there's human construction in some of the rock arrangements on this steep hill surrounded by cliffs, but the cave itself is definitely natural.
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April 2026, Unikonlinnan pirunpesä, Janakkala, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack) |
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underground explorations around the world, from the point of view of a
beginner caver. The Planetcaver has explored underground places in
46 countries and 622 locations (473 natural in 42 countries and 150 man-made in 24 countries) and has written about 87 other places. You can also click on the map
on the left to see where in the world they took place.