Provalija Cave

Provalija Cave is hidden just 500 meters from the Nevesinje–Gacko main road, and can be reached through the bed of the Surdup stream — a short path that takes you into a completely different world. Also known as Mala Vjetrenica, this cave was placed under state protection back in 1954, as one of the first natural monuments of this type in BiH — and that status is no coincidence. With 4,100 meters of passages measured and mapped so far, it ranks fourth in length in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the direction of the passages and the terrain configuration suggest that what has been explored is nowhere near all it hides.

For the beauty of its cave formations, Provalija ranks among the most beautiful caves of the former Yugoslavia — helictites and cave pearls, extremely rare forms of formations found here, are something most caves in the region cannot offer. It was once one of the sources of the Surdup stream, and even today the rimstone pools in the cave are filled with water even in the driest part of the year — living proof that water never stands still here. Provalija is not touristically developed or commercialized — and that is precisely its greatest charm.