Coming from a distance a man could not understand that in such a rocky and barren mountains is hiding such a beautiful river. On bare hills rarely could be seen an occasional tree, and the landscape looks much like the coast of some Mediterranean island.Passing through the town of Blagaj at some places we could see the river which hides between the houses, but after we arrive at the parking lot faced at huge vertical cliff we could see a cave underneath which flows a river.
Fresh oasis in hot Herzegovina
At the source of the Buna is almost always windy and the wind lifted from the water is so cold that feels nice in the warm summer days.
When you step on the bridge that connects the two sides of the river you find yourself surrounded with a beautiful aquatic environment, and sound of water and the freshness reaches you from all directions. In front of your eyes lies a huge rock below which flows the river and after a few meters from the exit of the cave river provides a visitor with an incredibly beautiful scene of a beautiful semicircular waterfall.
The source of the river is considered the largest source of drinking water in Europe and it is estimated that in one second gives about 43 cubic meters of water.Water temperature in the cave is 9 degrees Celsius.
Recent cave explorations
According to some data, river flows about 20 km below the Earth's surface before it appears in the sunlight in Blagaj. In recent years the French explorers came into the cave with diving equipment. They dived about 500 meter underground to explore the structure of the cave. The cave has several sections and branches in several directions. In some places, the measured water depth was from 30-70 meter, while in the cave has been found a couple of larger rooms with natural lakes, some of which had its coast covered with sand and fresh air to breathe.
Unfortunately, one of the divers died while diving so the research was suspended until further notice.
One of the attractions of the source of river Buna is the Sufi lodges, which was erected next to the springs and caves. “Tekke” is mentioned in a book of Evliya Çelebi in 1664th, and is currently closed to visitors because it is under reconstruction.
