Baredine cave was, in 1995, the first caves to open for public in Istria. You can go on a 40 minutes long guided tour and see the magical underground wonders of the effect of water on stones and minerals, creating beautiful sculptures. Nature has created here quite an astonishing underground cave, with large 10m high curtains of stalactites where an image of st. Mary and the tower of Pisa can be seen. Entering the cave you have to walk down about 250 steps and then you arrive in a hall 66m underground, walking further you will pass through several halls – among which the red hall and the figure hall. Each with it’s own unique formations!
Besides stalactites and stalagmites the unique underground environment is the living area for the olm or proteus. A unique animal that lives underground, has no pigment and is blind, as for underground living vision is not essential. It is an aquatic salamander of about 20-30cm long and is unique in the fact that it lives it’s entire live underwater. The locals call it the ‘human fish’, because of it’s light pink colour. It reaches sexual maturity at 14 years of age, and it has been shown that they can live for 10 years without food, they can live up to 60-70 years!
The entrance to the cave is not hard to find as there are many big, clear road-signs that will lead you there it is located in the north of Istria and you can easily find it when driving from Porec to Nova Vas. There is ample parking space with plenty of shade under the trees and the parking area is surrounded by an idyllic olive grove. At the reception, where is also a small cafe, you can buy your entrance tickets, and while waiting for your underground adventure to commence you can stroll around and have a look. There are some small farm animals, old tractors, an educational plate with the local geological column, and an area where large stones form an interesting area.
There is also nearby, along the entrance road, the entrance to the tractor museum. There are about 50 old tractors on display, as this area was always in use as agricultural land. The unique red soil is perfect for growing fine agricultural products besides olives and grapes.
- The cave has a path, steps, railings and is lighted
- The temperature in the cave is a constant 14C, so take a warm vest or jacket with you
- Another activity near the cave is: speleolit – to practise rope climbing and rope descending techniques
- There runs a cycling path from Brtonigla to Baredine
Holiday ideas for 5 days in Istria by Croatia4me
We from Croatia4me have some great ideas and tips to help you plan a day or more days out in specific regions in Croatia. These are just ideas you can add to your own holiday plans, you can follow the day to day ideas we have written below, or mix it all up or pick one or two items that …