Aerodrom Željava

Useful Information

Location:	Unnamed Road, 53233, Željava, Croatia. From Karlovac D1 south 70 km, at village Ličko Petrovo Selo turn left to Željava. (44.8364604, 15.7550362)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	L=3.5 km.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Aerodrom Željava, Tel: +385-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1957	begin of construction.
1968	completed.
1992	base destroyed by retreating Yugoslav forces.

Description

Aerodrom Željava(Zeljava Air Base) was once the largest military air base and underground hangar in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). It was built under the code name Objektat 505 (Object 505), as you can see there were many "Objekats". Sometimes it was called Bihać Air Base, because the city Bihać is only a few kilometers to the east in the same polje. Located at the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is located right on the Croatian side, so we listed it under Croatia. There was no border during Yugoslavian times, but today these are two countries and there is a border only a few hundred meters away. During the war, it was secured with landmines, and even 30 years after the war there are still some there, which were not found. So if you visit the site, which is not a museum or a tourist site, stay on the concrete roads and trails. But actually the site is not closed and gated, the gates are actually wide open or missing, and there is even a little infrastructure like a small café. The abandoned Douglas C-47 B Dakota 71212 YAF is somewhere between a monument and modern art, the airplane is covered in colourful stickers.

First you reach a sort of base, where the above-mentioned airplane is located. The former military buildings are either abandoned or have new owners and inhabitants. If you follow the road at the western side of the polje south you will reach the tunnel entrances. There are actually three of them, three access roads for the planes meeting right in front, where the airfield starts. The portals are quite unique. They are high enough for the wings of the planes, but not high enough for the body, so they have a sort of bulb in the middle which allows a plane to roll through, but only in the center. About 300 m further down the road there is a fourth portal. It is actually located right on the border, in a sort of clear-cut corridor through the woods which actually marks the current border. As already mentioned, wandering through the undergrowth is strongly discouraged. However, it is not entirely clear whether simply visiting the portal constitutes an illegal border crossing, which is why this fourth bunker is generally not mentioned.

The bunkers of the base could accommodate up to 80 aircraft. The tunnels have a total length of 3.5 km and were massive enough to withstand a nuclear bomb blast. Today they are more or less empty, except for some garbage, and the floor is often uneven and broken. We strongly recommend good hiking shoes and two lamps per person, and do not go alone. The visit is quite harmless though, and as the floor is flat for the airplanes, the visit is, at least mostly, even wheelchair accessible. Just don’t explore the undergrowth.