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Speleology in Croatia
The karstic areas of Croatia abound in over 850 caves and other nature holes.
They con be found on the mainland, on islands, by rivers, on the sea bed and
in the mountains. For over half of them all we know is that they exist, but
everything else is unknown and they are yet to be thoroughly investigated,
Some of the more attractive caves, include those in Istria, Gorski kotar, on
the mountains of Medvednica (whose range is higher than Zagreb), Papuk (wich
includes the regions of Kordun, Lika, Dalmatia and Zagora) - are open to
visitors with no previous experience in speleology. Their inventory is varies
from dripstones (such as stalagmites and stalactites), curtains and all the
other fascinating features found in caves.Many underground spaces are protected as geomorphological monuments, such as Modra spilja (Blue Cave) on the island of Bisevo; Cerovacke spilje (Cerovac Caves) near Gracac; Manita pec (Furious Furnace); Veternica, near Zagreb and many others. Also protected are all denizens of the underground world, relics and endemic species - bugs, shells, sponges, olm (or proteus), a cave leech discovered in Luka's Hole on Velebit.
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