The protected landscape of Vjetrenica – Popovo polje is the pearl of Bosnia and Herzegovina. tourist offer in the very south of the country, which is recognized by more and more domestic and foreign guests, and this year recorded a record number of visitors.
“Regarding this season, we are on the rise compared to 2023 by a thousand more visitors. What makes us happy is that the number of foreign visitors is also higher and constantly increasing. This year is already a record for us and we believe that it will reach by the end of the year, that number will exceed 20,000 visits, which was our priority at the beginning of the season,” said Davor Baković, director of the Public Institution “Vjetrenica”, in an interview with Fena news agency.
He also points out that 50 percent of the guests are domestic visitors.
“Domestic visitors make up half of the guests, and the rest of them are mainly from the region, from Slovenia, Croatia, to Serbia and Montenegro. Also, Vjetrenica is visited by a large number of visitors from the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Scandinavian countries,” reveals Baković.
Visiting the largest cave in Bosnia and Herzegovina is possible throughout the year.
“Vjetrenica Cave, accessible to visitors 700 meters from the entrance, offers an unforgettable experience where, with our experienced speleologists, you can learn about the development of cave jewelry, how caves are formed, witness spectacular panoramas, lakes, streams, learn how bears and leopards lived in Vjetrenica, to experience live manfish and other species of the cave’s rich animal life,” he explains.
Vjetrenica, unlike similar tourist destinations, has one particularity. Namely, in the summer period, a special experience is the adventure through the underground lake, which is available to visitors a kilometer and a half from the entrance.
“It is a spectacular visit where our guests have the opportunity to cross the largest lake of Vjetrenica with a length of 200 meters. It is a unique experience, given that there are no underground lakes in this part of Europe where guests can directly visit such deep parts of the cave and experience speleologist’s experience”, points out the director of Public Enterprise “Vjetrenica”.
He adds that the mentioned tour lasts three full hours, and visitors must be at least 18 years old and there can be a maximum of six people in one group.
“For this reason, it is always necessary to register via email, where the ranking list is made and then we inform those interested about their appointment”, he explains.
Many tourist destinations in the region and Europe have raised prices, which is not the case with Vjetrenica.
“We try, especially for domestic visitors, excursions, faculties, to always meet them. We also try to remain honest and fair with our prices, and this is one of our forms of promotion. We want to encourage the local population, as well as those in the region, to with certain discounts visit protected areas, in order to understand the importance and value of this area,” said Baković.
Vjetrenica is a habitat for manfish, as well as many other endemic species, so it is extremely important to preserve the eco-system and microclimate of this speleological pearl of our country.
“We are always guided by the carrying capacity of the environment, our tours are strictly adapted for a group of up to 50 people in one tour. We take care of the sustainability of the ecosystem itself, especially because Vjetrenica is number one in the world in terms of biodiversity. We have 230 species of living organisms in Vjetrenica , and as we like to say, it is an underground museum visited by scientists from all over the world. In this sense, tourism must not become mass, but we try to ensure that every visitor has the opportunity to visit Vjetrenica and get to know its values,” concluded Baković.
Vjetrenica is the largest and most famous cave in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a protected natural monument since 1950. It got its name from the strong current of air at the very entrance, and it is adorned with seven kilometers of canals, 135 lakes and a constant temperature of 11 degrees throughout the year. It has been known since the year 77, when Pliny the Elder mentioned it in his work “History of Nature” (Historia naturalis), and it was also nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List.
