Pećina Megara

Useful Information

Location:	Stapari, near Užice. (43.8569184, 19.7333540)
Open:	no restrictions. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=52 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Pećina Megara.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Пећина Мегара/Pećina Megara (Megara Cave) is an undeveloped cave which is quite spectacular, as it has two entrances, one above the other, in the same limestone cliff face. The lower level is a river cave, at least much of the year, the upper level is fossil. As the upper entrance is in the middle of the cliff face, its necessary to enter the cave through the lower level, which is possible only during times with low production. During summer and autumn the cave is mostly dry, just avoid times of heavy rains and keep an eye on the weather forecast before entering.

The cave is best reached from the hamlet of Mojkovići, in the village of Stapari. It is 8.5 km west of the city of Užice, as the crow flies. The name Megara is of Illyrian-Roman origin and means a sanctuary for offering sacrifices. The cave was a temple for the god Jupiter Partinsky worshiped by the ancient Partini, a Illyrian tribe. There are several Megara caves in the area, we have listed another one in Croatia.

This cave is rather unspectacular and small. Some prehistoric remains were found, but also nothing special. There is no development, not even a good trail to the cave Nevertheless, the site is advertised as a tourist cave on several webpages, including the wikipedia page. We do not know why this is so, but we actually would recommend to not visit this cave. It's really small and not worth the effort, also too many visitors might damage the cave.