Oleksynska

The location is amazing with its wonderful history and the internal structure of the underground passages. Today the cave is quite a popular and interesting research object despite the fact that it was discovered relatively recently. The Oleksynska cave differs from other underground caves in the high level of groundwater, which corresponds approximately to the limit of the middle and lower packs of gypsum thickness. This is about 3 meters higher than that of the neighboring cave Mushkarova Yama. You can find the sinter formation and gypsum crystals inside.

Description of Oleksynska Cave

The cave is considered quite young and interesting in terms of speleotourism. It consists of several halls and passages, most of which are filled with water almost to the ceiling and are not available for tourists. Some locations can be overcome only by inflatable boats. The underground is a network of multi-kilometer labyrinths, stretched in the meridian direction of 180 meters, with a width of 70 meters. The equipped area to visit is relatively safe.

History of discovery

The Oleksynska Cave was discovered by a group of speleologists under the guidance of a tourist instructor Galaychuk. At that time, a previously unknown cave was found in the interfluve of Nichlava and Seret. Speleologists were able to reach a number of underground halls, from where a network of very long mazes began to branch out after excavating the bottom of the karst formation. At that time many of the galleries were flooded, making it difficult to observe them. The first conclusions of the researchers showed that the Oleksynska Cave has a length of several tens of kilometers.

In 1987, the underground cave was mapped by caving team from the city of Kamenets-Podolsky (called "Hnom"). In the corresponding process was also involved Ternopil caving club "Podillya". It should be noted that the former name of the cave was Komsomolska. Its entrance remained washed away for a long time after the opening of the object. The situation was corrected only by the summer of 2012. A group of speleologists from Kyiv "Karst", led at the time by I. Stefanishyn, equipped a reliable and convenient entrance.

Morphometric indicators

The length of the Oleksynska Cave is 1244 m, the total area is 1720 m2, and the total volume is 2600 m3. The thickness of the clay slab of the cave, located above the gypsum layer, reaches 7 meters. The cave is at a relative distance from natural "drains". In fact, it is located in the central watershed part of the karst massif. It should be noted that it is adjoined by drainage collectors that discharge a considerable part of surface runoff near the Oleksynska Cave.

Galleries of the cave

The accessible volumes of the cave are mostly in the middle tier of the gypsum sequence. All tested passages are characterized by small width (often up to 1 meter) and height up to 4 meters, which looks more like huge slits. Only in two places of the cave there are developed wide low halls with subhorizontal ceiling, exiting into a layer of bentonite clay formations. Adjacent to these halls sections of the labyrinth network are characterized by the width of the passages not more than 3 meters.

Interesting facts

The Oleksynska Cave has had a high level of groundwater for the entire period since its discovery. Specialists have calculated that it is watered by about 70%. Some areas are characterized by a water depth of more than 2 meters. There is a lack of normal air circulation inside the cave, so it is very poorly ventilated. This has affected the special "love" to the cave by wild foxes and bats.

Visiting conditions

Your visit to the cave is desirable to pre-agree with a guide. Experienced specialist can be found on the appropriate forums cave explorers. Good rubber shoes and warm clothes should be taken with you, as most parts of the cave is flooded. A wetsuit will also be useful to you. Flashlight and helmet will allow you to make a relatively comfortable and safe short trip underground. The cost of the tour is determined individually. Due to the complexity of the underground passages categorically not recommended trying to visit the underground on their own.

Location

The Oleksynska Cave is located in Ternopil region, Borshchiv district, Oleksintsi village, 3 kilometers east of the village, just 800 meters to the north of the cave Mushkarova Yama. The simplest way to get to the cave is by public transport from regional centers, such as Ivano-Frankivsk, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ternopil, or Khmelnytskyi. You should take a look at Borshchiv and Tolstoe if you're going by your own car.