Ribnička Pećina

Useful Information

Location:	Paštrić. A2 exit Rubribreza, 258А or 27 towards Valjevo, exit Divci, road 150 to Mionica, after the city turn right to Monastery Ribnica in Paštrić. On the opposite side of the river from the monastery. In the village Paštrić, 9 km south of Mionica. (44.2055709, 20.0923470)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave River Cave Karst Spring
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=123 m, Ar=1130 m². Portal: W=12 m, H=25 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Ribnička Pećina, Tel: +381-.
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

1976	placed under state protection.
1993	revision of the natural asset.
1999	declared a Nature Monument.

Description

Рибничка пећина or Ribnička Pećina (Pond Cave) is located close to Ribnička Monastery on the left side of the river Ribnica, the right tributary of Kolubara. The cave is located in the Споменик природе Рибница (Natural Monument of Ribnica), an area of 28 ha covering the canyon of the river Ribnica. The Reka Ribnica (Pond River) cuts through a limestone ridge forming a meandering gorge, which is up to 200 m deep in some places. The cave has a huge portal with a barrel vault, 12 m wide and 25 m high, the floor is at river level, the cave is a river cave and resurgence. The cave river Pećinski flows immediately into the Ribnica. When the river Ribnica has high water, the entrance hall is flooded and river sediments deposited. It was primarily protected as a valuable habitat for 14 species of bats. Later it was confirmed that the cave actually has 15 species of bats.

The cave is located on the opposite side of the river at the Monastery Ribnica in Paštrić. Follow the signs to the monastery, park at the monastery, behind the church Peter and Paul is a bridge across the river. Currently, the country tries to identify potential tourist objects and develop caves as show caves, this is such a potential show cave. This is one of the caves which might become a real show cave soon. Due to the cave river, it's actually a good idea to wear gum boots. During low water, both the Ribnica river and the cave river are quite shallow. During high water, it is possible to use the bridge, but it's not possible to enter the cave.

Beneath the cave, a walk through the gorge is quite interesting. At the monastery the gorge widens, and there are fields, that's the reason why the monastery was built here. But both upstream and downstream the river forms a spectacular gorge. There are numerous karst features along the gorge including several caves, like Boškovića Pećina, Pećina Govedara, Kozja Pećina (Goat Cave), and Vrbička Pećina. The last is the longest cave of the gorge with a total length of 224 m. The gorge is currently under thread, as the government plans to build a hydroelectric power dam which would flood this cave and others.