Vjetrenica Cave

As with many World Heritage Sites, I think the reasons for its selection and justification of its Outstanding Universal Value aren't readily apparent when visiting. The cave itself isn't that impressive compared to others I've visited (Phong Nha in Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam immediately comes to mind as more impressive), but I'm sure the biodiversity and history justify its status on the WHS list.

Reaching the cave hasn't changed since the previous reviews. You need a car to get there, it's 10 euros to take a guided tour (only way to go inside the cave), and winter hours are from 10-2. I wasn't sure if the last tour began at 2, or if they closed the gates at 2, so I arrived at 1pm when I visited in November 2024. The museum is still nearby and included in admission, the nearby restaurant is closed at this time of year, and the view of the surrounding valley is as impressive as the cave itself.

I'll come back some day to take a tour of the lake deeper in the cave during summertime if I'm nearby, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to visit again.

We visited Vjetrenica Cave in early October 2024. You can only visit the cave system with a guide from the site. It opened at 10.00am and we undertook the first tour with just the two of us and the guide. Cost is 10 Euro each and the tour take up to 45 min to an hour, with your ticket price including a visit to the museum to view artifacts that have been found in the cave and preserved in the museum for display. The biodiversity of the cave system one of the main reasons for its inscription and it is not a visible part or your experience in the cave, however you do see an array of different cave system structures which are pleasant but not awe inspiring in itself. In summer, which we were not there for, you can undertake a longer tour of up to 3 - 4 hours which includes a boat tour in the underground lake area of the cave. This is not open to the hourly walking tour group to either view or undertake. If in the area, I potentially will return in the summer to do so, but I would not specifically go out of my way to undertake. Whilst you only tour a very small part of the cave system, you can appreciate its value in preserving and protecting.           

To get to Vjetrenica cave you need a car, as the place is located far from large cities and the nearby village is not connected by public transport. Personally, I liked the surrounding area and the road to the cave more than the cave itself. It is open every day with the possibility of visiting every hour with guided tour. Translated from the local language, the cave is called Windy, although, as the guide explained to us (he spoke English very well), the wind blows inside the cave only in the summer time. Since our visit was in Marth we didn't notice any wind inside at all. In general, the cave is small and it is not different from ordinary karst caves in Europe. The real motive for including it in the list of WHS is not entirely clear. The entrance ticket includes a visit to a tiny museum located two kilometers away from the cave entrance. The museum staff is very friendly and they rent bicycles as well. There is a convenient parking space and a very large and clean toilet nearby.

You may be thinking: "yet another cave?! Caves are boring!" Well, you are right! After visiting many caves for art, rock formations, it does become boring. However, this cave is famous for having a huge amount of troglobite (refereed to by the official document as "troglobionates" which I assume is incorrect), animals that live in the darkness. The caves feature prominently olms common in caves in this area of the world. These aquatic salamanders have adapted to live in the dark and feed on small crustaceans, insects and snails. You may now be thinking that you never see these when you visit and the water puddles at the front of the cave look so clean, that's because they only live well beyond what visitors get to access.

Vjetrenica cave is just wedged between the borders of Croatia and Srpska, with the latter only having a sign post that you enter the region. Looking at the map you might think a trip from Croatia is quick but I found out the hard way that the nearby border post is for local residents only (~2015) and the "road" leading south isn't for the faint of heart. 

I emailed ahead to arrange a visit and met my lovely guide (pictured above, that's obviously not me) who confirmed the time and was waiting at the nearby restaurant/bar only a stone-throw away. We then drove up the 200m to the entrance even though it's perfectly walkable. The cave is really well done, with …