The Barać Caves

The Barać Caves are an institution in their own right. The wider area around them has been declared a protected landscape, and they are among the best-known caves in Croatia – yet they are neither the largest nor the richest in formations. So what is the secret?

There are around 150 caves in the Rakovica area. Most are still being explored and lie on inaccessible terrain. The Barać Caves are on very accessible ground and are well suited to tourist visits.

They are in central Croatia, equally easy to reach from all the major cities – Zagreb, Split, Zadar and Rijeka. The proximity of other tourist attractions such as Plitvice Lakes, Rastoke, the old town of Drežnik and the Slunjčica makes them ideal for rounding out a multi-day trip to this part of the country. Although Rakovica belongs to Kordun and lies in Karlovac County, the area has thrown in its lot with Lika as a top destination, and the two appear on the tourist market together.

Besides the good geographical position, the most important part of this tourism success story is undoubtedly the dedicated, systematic work of the people behind it all. Although we are not fans of over-developed, over-touristed places, we are well aware that there will always be a need for that kind of offering too.

Around the Barać Caves a spacious recreation area has been laid out with all sorts of facilities to suit every age. Events are held here too, such as the Barać forest trail, which draw very large numbers of participants. Well-kept infrastructure, walking trails graded for different levels of fitness, meadows, woods, and more recently the Speleon Underground Heritage Centre (location on the map) – all of it has helped lift this place to the level it is at now.

The caves

There is an Upper, a Lower and a New Barać Cave. The one open to visitors is the Upper Cave, and what delighted us most about it is that it is completely unlike any cave we have seen before. For a good part of it you feel as though you are walking at night along some well-trodden forest path between petrified trees. We are used to caves having a pronounced rocky floor with plenty of climbing, descending and squeezing through… Here you get a quite different experience. Although there are parts where the ceiling rises to over 15 m, it somehow left us with the impression of a low cave.

The Upper Cave is about 495 m long, and its greatest attraction is the fully preserved skeleton of a cave bear at the bottom of one of the pits. Left lying there in its natural setting, it makes a far stronger impression than an exhibit in a museum would. The cave has in fact yielded a good many bones of different animals from various periods of history. Some of the finds are now exhibits at the Speleon Underground Heritage Centre.

The tour lasts a little under 1 h. The cave temperature is the usual 9 °C, which makes for welcome relief during the summer months.

Our guide was great – informative and entertaining. “Cave” guides never cease to impress us. They are one of the reasons we often drop in at Grabovača in Perušić as well!

The complex has a spacious car park, and if there is no room there, cars are directed a few hundred metres back, at the last turning.

Before visiting, do check the opening hours and other information on their website, baraceve-spilje.hr