Maglić belongs to the Dinara mountain range and it is located on the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Although it is a bordering mountain, it is domestic – with the highest peak of 2386 meters in BiH and slightly more, 2388 meters, in Montenegro.
The mountain is situated between the rivers Sutjeska, Piva and Drina. In addition to the highest peak, this zone also has many plateaus and important peaks on them, such as Vučevo with Crni Vrh at 1591 meters, Rujevac at 1835 meters, Sniježnica at 1804 meters, Prijevor with Makaze peak at 1668 meters and Mratinjska Gora at 1576 meters.
Climate on the mountain is very sharp and vegetation at higher altitudes, where the influence of the Mediterranean cannot be felt, is adjusted to the short vegetation period of 120 days. The mountain is characterized with low temperatures and frequent extreme minimums, even under -25 degrees. Due to the clash of two climates, the sub-Mediterranean and continental, the mountain is abundant with rainfall, with an annual average of over 1.000 milliliters per cubic meter. During the winter the mountain is impassable because the show is often higher than 2 meters. Such climate conditioned the very specific vegetation, with abundance of endemic and rare species.
Perućica takes up the largest part of the Bosnian part of Maglić. It is the largest preserved rainforest in Europe, a protected reserve within the National Park Sutjeska. Length of the rainforest is 6 kilometers and the width is three kilometers, and it covers 1434 hectares. Although it is a small area, under the influence of geological and climate conditions it developed extraordinarily rich flora and fauna.
Perućica is one of the wealthiest rainforests in Europe and its beauty is reflected primarily in extreme diversity of landscapes, from tamed valleys, dense forests, vast pastures, river canyons and karst, to the high mountain peaks. Also, the rainforest is the home to the Peručica Creek, whose waterfall Skakavac drops down an 80-meter cliff, which makes it one of the highest waterfalls in Europe.
The beauty of Maglić is protected through the National Park, but there is a threat for it. The reason is the increasingly present human hunger for energy and authority, which drains enormous profit from it regardless of consequences and corrupted authority that works in favor of its petty financial interests and sells the most valuable natural beauties for the construction of small hydro power plants on the Sutjeska River.
Thanks to the efforts of experts from the Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo, due to its beauty and natural wealth Perućica was declared a strongly protected area of nature in 1952, which is exclusively used in scientific and educational purposes, while in 1954 it was put under the protection of the state as a nature reserve. Since 1962, Perućica has been a part of the National Park Sutjeska. Rainforest Perućica is home to trees higher than 50 meters, over 170 species of trees and bushes, and more than 1.000 species of herbaceous plants, many of which are endemic.
(Source: svjetlorijeci.ba)
