Potpecka Pecina

The cave lies on the northern part of the 932 m high Mount Dreznicka Gradina near the village of Potpece, in a cliff which is more than 80 m high. The entrance is shaped like a huge horseshoe, 50 m high, 25 m wide in the arch and 16 m wide at the base. It is the largest cave entrance in Serbia.

The cave is a resurgence which is formed on three levels, all of which are dry which is nice for the visitors. However it does flood periodically. Two resurgences are to be found in front of the cave, one of which is the river Petnica, and another a tributary of the River Detinja. In the wettest part of the year the water floods from the cave entrance as a large river.

The tourist route is very attractive. One enters through an old fossil entrance on the left and exits through an entrance on the right, 30 m and 700 steps further up. After the entrance at Siljate Stene, one enters Tavan, a large chamber with a Byzantine style cupola. The chamber is lit by daylight, and has an unforgettable view. The outline of the entrance looks like an Elephant with the Strazar Tower, and these are found on the cave's logo. From Tavan one passes through the tunnel of Glavni Hodnik, to enter Prolaz Nade, a chamber, where during the past 10 years, cavers have discovered more than 2,185 m of passage. Though this chamber one comes to Niska Dvorana, where the remains of ice age fauna have been found. Another passage, Minerski Prolaz leads to Galerija Mladih Istrazivaca or the Hall of the Young Explorers. Next is Cvijiceva Dvorana, named after J Cvijic, the famous Yugoslavian speleologist. Visitors then pass through the Prolaz Slijepih Miseva tunnel to the Dreznick Canal, a part of Potecka Pecina which shows how this large cave system 6-8 km in length links the villages of Dreznik and Potpece. In this Canal there are groups of formations, Snezana, Sedam, Paluljaka, Don Kihot, a column 3.5 m high, Nevestinski Veo, Spemenik etc.

From Dreznicki Put visitors return by the same path till they are nearly back to Tavan, and then descend to the magnificent cave entrance by 150 steps.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.