About us

The Institute for Applied Karst and Cave Research
Institut für angewandte Karst und Höhlenkunde GmbH (IKH)

Your partner for the underground

The Institute for Applied Karst and Cave Research (Institut für angewandte Karst und Höhlenkunde GmbH) was founded in 2006 by the German Speleological Federation VdHK (Verband der deutschen Höhlen- und Karstforscher e.V.) and registered as a limited liability company (GmbH) in 2024.

The IKH brings together the expertise of around 2,300 speleologists across Germany, offering specialized services in the field. Speleology is a multidisciplinary science, integrating surveying, geology, hydrology, biology, paleontology, archaeology, and climatology.
We deliver firsthand underground data. Our teams explore and document cave and karst systems, using advanced techniques to navigate narrow crevices, deep shafts, and submerged siphons. On-site, we collect essential information—from location and biodiversity to cave contents and surface connections like springs and watersheds.

The IKH is not only open to speleologists but also specifically serves government agencies, municipal institutions, universities and colleges, companies in the construction and raw materials industries, engineering firms, nature conservation organizations, schools, and public educational institutions, as well as private individuals.

Management
Andreas Wolf

Elisenstr. 24, 82152 Krailling, Germany