Cerovac Caves (Cerovačka špilje)

Personally, I didn’t have overly high expectations of these caves. I knew they were the largest, but a TV feature had mentioned that they had been quite badly damaged during the Homeland War. At that time, anyone who wanted could enter them, so they were left at the mercy of various individuals and groups. The trails were damaged and the accompanying facilities destroyed.

However, the caves were finally restored a few years ago, the trails renewed, and a modern visitor centre built at their foot. Today they are a top attraction and hold enormous value — touristic as well as exploratory and scientific.

After years of putting it off, we finally visited them and… we were thrilled!
Surely every graffito or damaged cave formation is a form of devastation, but as visitors we didn’t notice any. The protection of this valuable site clearly came just in time!

The Cerovac Caves are our largest caves. They are part of the Crnopac cave system, whose total length exceeds 62 km. They lie on the north-eastern slopes of Crnopac on southern Velebit, above the southern edge of Gračačko polje.

There are the Upper, Middle and Lower Cerovac Cave. Of these three, the Upper and Lower caves are open to visitors. They were named after the nearby Cerovac railway station.

Visitor centre

The centre is the first thing that impressed us. Together with the large car park, it covers over 7,000 m2.

It is managed by the public institution “Velebit Nature Park”. It looks very modern and impressively designed, from the smallest details such as the information boards to the very appearance of the building.

From it, at the end of the car park, the trail to the caves begins.

How to visit the caves?

If you don’t have time to visit both caves, it’s better to plan your visit for another time. Each cave is special in its own way, so it would be a shame to come here and visit only one.

Visits take place with a guide, and the schedule is generally every hour and a half. Before arriving, be sure to check the latest information on the centre’s website in good time: https://cerovacke-spilje.hr/planiraj-posjet/info/raspored-ulazaka-radno-vrijeme

Ticket prices are quite reasonable. After buying a ticket, you should head towards the cave entrance for your allotted time slot. Our recommendation is not to go in summer. The climb to the caves takes a good half hour (about 15 min to the Lower and another 10 min to the Upper Cave). You spend most of the time climbing stairs and a steep trail, so the climb to the caves in summer is probably hellish. True, most of the trail leads through shade, but that’s not enough to save you from the heat.

Our recommendation is to visit the Upper Cave first, then the Lower.

When you arrive at the entrance of a particular cave at your booked time, a guide will greet you, give you all the necessary instructions and lead you through the cave. A visit to each individual cave lasts about 50 minutes.

The air temperature in the caves is around 7 ºC.

The sensation of cold is even greater in the Lower Cave, where in places there are air currents. So, layered and warm clothing is mandatory throughout the year! People often approach dressing for a cave with suspicion. They reckon that if it’s 35 degrees outside, it’s crazy to wear warm clothes. The climb also warms up the body, so it feels hot even when it isn’t. The moment you stand before the cave opening, you begin to realise that all the recommendations were spot on. For the climb itself, we recommend dressing very lightly. A short-sleeved hiking shirt that doesn’t absorb sweat is enough. A cotton shirt will definitely get wet, so you should carry a spare in your backpack. For inside the cave, over that you should put on a warm long-sleeved shirt and a warm jacket. In the Lower Cave the cold will make your ears go numb, so a tour of the caves is ideal for cooling off during the warmer part of the year.

The trail to the caves

The trail leading to the caves starts at the end of the car park. In a little over half a kilometre you need to overcome some 130 m of elevation gain. It doesn’t seem like much, but in summer it can be strenuous.

Fortunately, the trail mostly passes through shade and runs along the northern slopes of Crnopac.

Along the trail there are educational boards about the flora and fauna of this area.

After you pass the entrance to the Lower Cave, interesting views open up over the valley and the visitor centre.

Only when you see the cars in the car park do you realise how high you’ve climbed.

And then an even steeper section with stairs awaits you!

Upper Cerovac Cave

As its name suggests, it lies at a higher level than the Lower Cave. It takes about 25 minutes on foot from the visitor centre to reach it.

The explored length of all the passages of the Upper Cerovac Cave is 4,035 m, while 725 m is open to visitors.

Numerous cave bear bones have been found in the cave, as well as traces of Palaeolithic hunters. Our recommendation is to tour this cave first and then descend to the lower one.

Lower Cerovac Cave

The explored length of all the passages of the Lower Cerovac Cave is 4,058 m, while 608 m is open to visitors.

A distinctive feature of this cave is the air currents in some of its parts, so the feeling of cold is considerably more pronounced in it than in the Upper Cave.

The Lower Cerovac Cave was discovered by chance in 1913, during the construction of the railway line towards Split. The person most deserving of credit for its exploration, protection and promotion is engineer Nikola Turkalj, so this cave is also known by the name Turkaljeva pećina (Turkalj’s Cave).

Traces in the rocks show that a large number of cave bears lived in the Lower Cave for generations.

Conclusion

No matter how many caves you tour, each is special in its own way. The same goes for the Cerovac Caves. They are impressive in every respect, and photographs can never come close to conveying the fullness of the experience. So be sure to visit them!

More photos of the Upper Cerovac Cave…

More photos of the Lower Cerovac Cave…