Lipa Cave is perhaps the most famous karst cave in Montenegro, located only 5 km from the historic center of Montenegro — the city of Cetinje, in the village of Lipa. It would seem that what can be interesting in a mountain hole? But Lipa Cave surprises even the most inveterate skeptics.
Entering it, you seem to get into another world where you are surrounded by a variety of interesting reliefs and the most important thing — the mountain icicles, called stalactites. Apart from them you will also meet stalagmites and stalagnates, but more about that later.
Infrastructure of the cave
Despite the fact that most of Montenegro is occupied by mountains and there are about 10,000 caves throughout the country, they all tend to be little explored and in some cases even dangerous to visit. The same cannot be said about Lipa cave. Its research is still continuing, but we already know for sure that its length is at least 3500 meters, part of which occupies the underground river; the height difference inside reaches about 300 meters, and the most striking thing is that Lipa cave has an underground connection with other famous gorges of the region — Obodska Cave and Cetinje monastery caves.
For tourists is available only a small part of the underground, a total length of about 400 meters, but even this part is enough to enjoy the magnificence of the underground kingdom of stalactites and stalagmites.
History of cave discovery and study
The discoverers of such places are usually people, but the Lipa Cave was an exception, because it was first discovered by a dog who fell through a hole in the mountain. This happened in the 19th century. After the loss people began to look for their dog and miraculously found a four-legged friend in the mountain hole, which was the entrance to the cave. Word of the discovery of the cave spread throughout the country and soon the Montenegrin ruler Petar II Petrovic Njegoš issued a decree on the study of the cave. For this purpose, experts from various countries, including Austria, Italy, and Germany were invited and the cave became an important infrastructure facility for the city of Cetinje. Depending on the needs, it was used as a refrigerator, water source, warehouse, meeting place, and diplomacy.
The Austrian authorities at the beginning of the twentieth century even purposely widened the entrance by means of an explosion, as they used the cave for storage and access to drinking water.
But scientists returned to the in-depth study of the cave after the end of the wars and post-war reconstruction. So the first guided tours began to take place in the cave as early as 1967, but these activities were soon discontinued due to the flood, which raised the water level in the cave too high to be realistic.
The cave only acquired a new life in 2015 thanks to private and public investments. Thanks to this, it was possible to renovate and furnish the site, which allowed it to open in the form in which it can be seen today.
Visiting Lipa Cave and Cost of Entry
Today the Lipa Cave is open to all tourists from April to December. In winter, the cave is still flooded, so the descent of tourists is prohibited.
Near the cave is a parking area, cafe, as well as waiting area for the departure of the tour with a beautiful panoramic view.
In high season (from May to October inclusive) a day there are 5 excursions from 10 to 16 hours, they are every 1.5 hours.
The entrance fee to Lipa Cave is €12.90 for an adult and €7.90 for a child from 5 to 15 years old (children under 5 years old are admitted for €1). The ticket price includes basic accident insurance, parking, a ride on the tourist train to the cave entrance and the services of a guide.
During a standard tour you will walk about 400 meters inside the cave with a height of 3-5 meters and visit very interesting places where you can take beautiful pictures.
Also in certain periods, you can order an in-depth tour with a visit to the underground river inside the cave, but it is not always available, due to weather conditions and technical reasons. For more details about this tour and the possibility of conducting it, please visit the official website.
How to get
There are several ways to get to Lipa Cave. Let's consider each of them.
By own car
As mentioned above, there is an equipped parking area near Lipa Cave, so you will have a place to leave your car for the duration of the tour.
After leaving the highway, follow the asphalt road to the cave, but note that it is quite narrow (standard for Montenegrin mountains). Two cars can pass each other only by pulling over to the side of the road. It is worth mentioning that there are a lot of places for such a junction and there should be no problem to drive apart. But be careful!
By public transport
There is no direct public transport from Cetinje to Lipska Cave, but this does not mean that there are no options.
In the first case, you can take an intercity bus to the bus station in Cetinje and from there you can get either by cab or on foot. The remaining distance will be about 5 km. You will see a lot of cabs with «Lipa Cave» stickers around town, so you can safely get there this way.
In the second case you can ask the driver if he is ready to drop you off at the road near the turn to Lipska Cave and if the answer is yes, get off there. This will shorten your journey by a couple of kilometers. The turn to the cave is here:
As part of the tour
This location is quite popular among tourists, so you can go to any kiosk with excursions and clarify information about this destination. Most likely, you will find a suitable option.
