Witeleloch

The Witeleloch, also called the Elisabethhöhle, is a limestone cave set in the Spallafluh massif above Götzis in Vorarlberg. It lies on the alpine trail known as the Kapfweg, which climbs from Meschach to the Kapf summit. The cave entrance sits about 835 metres above sea level, hidden behind dense trees that block the view from afar. Geologists first recorded the cave in 1907, naming it Elisabethhöhle, though its origins remain uncertain. Since 1979 it has been protected as a natural monument for its geological interest. Recent surveys have extended its known length from seventy-five to roughly two hundred metres, with a vertical drop of twenty-nine metres. The cave formed where water cut through the boundary between harder limestone and softer marl layers. Visitors reach the cave along the Kapfweg, a path that is steep in places but well maintained. The triangular entrance portal opens into a short daylight zone before the interior passages plunge into darkness. Inside, small chambers and tight passages show signs of past water flow, while the walls bear potholes and clay deposits. Nearby lie other shafts and hollows, including the thirty-six-metre-deep Kapfschacht and the shallow Witeleschluf.