Divje babe, the cave where the Neanderthal flute was found

The Neanderthal flute

It was found by Ivan Turk’s team from the Institute of Archaeology of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences, during a systematic dig. It’s the left thighbone of a young cave bear with four holes, two whole and two broken, lying beside a hearth in a layer between 60,000 and 50,000 years old. Archaeologists tested how the holes were made using replicas of the cave’s own tools and ruled out animal bites. The museum regards it as the only Palaeolithic flute definitely made by Neanderthals, some 20,000 years older than those made by modern humans. The original is on display at the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana.

Much more than a bone

The cave was a cave bear den that Neanderthals, and later the first modern humans, visited from time to time. The excavated layers are between 35,000 and 116,000 years old and have yielded bones of more than sixty species, stone and bone tools and the remains of hearths. In December 2025 the park was listed as a national-importance cultural monument, which is why the cave is kept locked.

The tour and when it runs

It starts in front of St John’s church at the top of the plateau, where the guide sets the scene of Ice Age life. You then walk down for 15 to 20 minutes over steep ground with a few uneven steps to the cave, about 120 metres lower. Inside, the Cerkno Tourist Board has created Slovenia’s first digitised cave, with projections on the walls and the sound of the flute played where it was found. Photography isn’t allowed inside. The tour ends at a viewpoint over the Idrijca valley and takes about two hours. For visitors with limited mobility there’s a version with virtual reality headsets.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Cerkno on Expedia and filter by area before price.

St John’s church and the trenches

The meeting point is worth a look in itself. The Cerkno Tourist Board places a first church here in 1152, destroyed in 1763 and rebuilt in 1870, and around it are First World War trenches and dugouts from behind the Isonzo front. From the viewpoints you see the Idrijca valley, the Bohinj peaks and Porezen.

How I’d plan it

The tour season ended on 15 October 2026 and starts again on 15 April 2027. I’d pair the cave with Cerkno and the Franja Partisan Hospital on the same day, checking first whether Franja has reopened. With children from six up the walk is manageable in proper boots. And if you’re there in winter, with the cave closed, Cerkno has the Cerkno carnival of the laufarji. And if you want more caves afterwards, the guide to caves in Slovenia takes you to the big Karst ones.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Divje babe and pick one that fits your day.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Cerkno on Booking.com and filter by area before price.