Krupaj Spring

Krupajsko Vrelo is the resurgence of an underground river that emerges from a submerged cave beneath a limestone cliff, and the water is a strong turquoise, cold at around eleven degrees, and startlingly clear; a speleological survey in 1998 traced the flooded siphon to more than seventy metres deep without reaching its end. A low dam of about three metres turns the outflow into an oval pool some forty metres long, spilling over in a small fall. Around the pool the site has been developed with wooden mill wheels, walkways, a small artificial waterfall and a bathing area, which makes it photogenic and also somewhat staged, a point on which visitors divide. The setting under the cliff is genuinely striking regardless. It sits in the karst country below Beljanica and is usually visited together with Lisine and Resava cave on a circuit through the eastern limestone.

Highlights

• The turquoise pool - water rising from a flooded cave under the cliff.
• The cave mouth - the submerged opening the river emerges from.
• Mill wheels and walkways - the built additions around the spring.
• The limestone cliff - the wall rising directly behind the water.

When to go

April to October; colour is strongest in bright light and the water is clearest in dry spells. Summer weekends are crowded. The site is open in winter but facilities close.

Before you go

The development around the spring is heavier than photographs suggest, with wheels, decking and a cafe close to the water. Swimming is in a cold walled pool rather than the spring itself. Entry is charged and the visit is short. Weekend crowds are substantial.

Nearby

Lisine waterfall lies west; Resava cave is beyond it.

Key facts