Under these low wooded hills runs one of the great caves of Europe. The Baradla, a limestone passage about twenty-five kilometres long, starts near Aggtelek in Hungary and crosses the border into Slovakia, where it is called the Domica, so the same cave is entered from two countries. Water has been cutting it for millions of years, and the result is a series of halls and galleries filled with stalactites, stalagmites and dripping curtains of stone, kept at a steady temperature of about ten degrees all year. Guided tours go in through the Aggtelek entrance, and in one big hall called the Concert Hall, musicians perform, because the acoustics are so good. UNESCO listed the caves of the Aggtelek and Slovak Karst in 1995, one of the first cross-border natural sites in Europe.
The land on top is a karst plateau, a limestone upland with sinkholes, small meadows and beech woods, called the Gömör-Torna karst. It is a quiet, rural area of small villages, where farmers still cut hay by hand in some places and storks nest on chimney tops. Aggtelek itself has a few hundred people and a couple of guesthouses. On the Slovak side, Rožňava is a pleasant old mining town with a cathedral, and the cave of Domica is close to the border.
Riding in the Karst is quiet and rolling. The roads are narrow, patched and often empty, with views over wooded ridges and sudden drops into little valleys, and the bends are of the moderate, lazy kind. After heavy rain, mud and leaves can be slippery. The area is not high, with the plateau at about five hundred metres, so winter brings frost but not deep snow. May and June are ideal, with green meadows and flowering orchids, and autumn is golden. Take care in the villages, where geese, dogs and old tractors share the road.
Fuel is the thing to plan. Rudabánya is fifteen kilometres away, Szendrő a little further, and Rožňava, in Slovakia, has fuel, shops and a bigger range of services. Fill the tank before you reach the plateau. Bring a jacket for the cave, since the chill is surprising after the summer sun. A bowl of goulash or a plate of stuffed cabbage at a village inn is the right lunch, and the local plum brandy is strong.