The Bijambare ( sr-cyrl, Бијамбаре) area, well-known for its cave complex, is located on the far north-eastern slopes of

Ilijaš Ilijaš ( sr-cyrl, Илијаш) is a town and municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located northwest of the inner city of Sarajevo and was established in Ma ...

municipality, near Olovo a small town near

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, capital of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. The protected landscape area is within boundaries of the Nišići plateau. It is accessible by the main road

- Olovo, from which an asphalt road branches out leading towards a mountain home and the especially known ''Bijambare cave''. Large parts of these caves are open to visitors.

Protected landscape

The middle part of Bijambare is a karst plateau with all its commonly observed characteristics: caves, lost rivers, intriguing funnel-shaped depressions, rocky massifs and ''Bijambarsko Lake''. There are numerous karst caves in the protected area, explored so far are the ''Middle (The Main) Bijambare Cave'', ''Ledenjača'', ''Lower Bijambare Cave'', ''Ðuričina Cave'', ''Upper Bijambare Cave'', ''Dimšina Cave'', ''Ledenica'' and ''New Cave''. The largest and most famous of the caves is the Bijambare Cave, which is open to visitors. It is 420 meters long and is criss-crossed by four corridors that are up to thirty meters high and sixty meters wide. The largest corridor is also called the “concert hall” due to its size around 60 m in diameter and 15–30 m in height. The cave has numerous

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

s and curtains as well as

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

stones. It is also called the "music hall" for its acoustic effects.

Biodiversity

It is home to numerous species of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s and

medicinal plants Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...

Tourist attraction

The ''Bijambare cave'' has been a popular tourist spot and a speleological site for a long time. Area optimum height above sea level (950 m on average), thick

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

woods, meadows, two water flows with lakes and chasms, five caves, rocky massif and high quality air provide ideal conditions for alpinism, speleology, skiing, mushroom picking, medicinal herb picking, or simply for nature excursions and visits.Bijambare Tour
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References

{{Authority control Karst caves of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ilijaš Zenica-Doboj Canton Karst plateaus of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nišići plateau Nature parks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Protected areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina Tourist attractions in Bosnia and Herzegovina Protected areas established in 2003

Protected landscape

Biodiversity

Tourist attraction

See also

References